tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13115749058238308242024-03-12T18:56:32.752-05:00Sunrise BreakingBlog By Charlene BaderCharlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.comBlogger154125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-41454132946314835472023-07-07T09:16:00.005-05:002023-07-07T09:24:22.034-05:00Reflections of a Second-Year Teacher<span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span> </span><span>When people ask my opinion on public education today, I don't know what to tell them. Can a farmer whirling about in a twister issue comprehensive national climatology reports? </span></span></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><br /></span></span></span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span><span><span> For the record, on this year's penultimate day of school, </span>that</span><span> tornado analogy proved more than figurative. </span></span><span><span>A</span></span><span><span> storm 6 miles north of campus dispatched exterior classes to interior rooms for shelter as every cell phone in the building blared alerts. For the first time in two years, I felt gratitude for the windowless, cinder block walls that surround me 9 ½ hours each day.</span></span></span><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span></span><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDUjTMrcyYImiYsDbOx0EBypw-hU44gLOQlaDggktYNTdKIVJfQwSg4iK43G1IBzw1SBCa2Xi-0IEkXWhdusi2RzhTEMv8_Xt3pdcS7ElSOmCubiM9zn5tJgV4izuHhKYUlIslrl3RPNyvWJ1v5cIO14fWyKtCuTa_oXzk9EEGRgIwdOtB33N_0iMPxiI/s3025/IMG_2978.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2279" data-original-width="3025" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDUjTMrcyYImiYsDbOx0EBypw-hU44gLOQlaDggktYNTdKIVJfQwSg4iK43G1IBzw1SBCa2Xi-0IEkXWhdusi2RzhTEMv8_Xt3pdcS7ElSOmCubiM9zn5tJgV4izuHhKYUlIslrl3RPNyvWJ1v5cIO14fWyKtCuTa_oXzk9EEGRgIwdOtB33N_0iMPxiI/w400-h301/IMG_2978.jpg" title="Fallen Tree" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Casualty from the storm</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span> </span><span>Two students screamed as our power blinked into darkness. Why would 13-year-olds scream in a completely safe, calm environment? <i>Just because.</i> And this became a daily perplexion for me. Why are you standing on a desk? Why are you breaking my pencil? Why are you log-rolling down the hallway? Why did you launch a jerry-rigged can of Axe body spray into that classroom like a canister of tear gas? </span><br /><br /><span> </span><span>Most of the problem, of course, is simply the evolutionary prank of a delayed prefrontal cortex. What preteen in human history hasn't stared wide-eyed into the baffled face of an assistant principal with only a shrug and "I dunno" as their strongest defense?</span><br /><br /><span> </span><span>Early last year, I experienced the teacher milestone of crying alone in my classroom after a rather disorienting parent call. The student's mom put me on speakerphone with her child in the background and angrily raised a 3-part defense: 1) Her child said it didn't even happen, 2) She believes her child over some teacher, and 3) Whatever the misbehavior, it was probably my fault anyway. </span><br /><br /><span> </span><span>That was the day I realized why so few teachers bother to report misbehavior at all: stay after hours, get yelled at by a parent, then stay even later to fill out two forms, documenting both the student misbehavior and parent contact. (Student misconduct can't be reported without parent contact.) While months of compiled documentation helps identify students needing higher intervention and support, creating the paper trail can feel like a demoralizing waste of time. </span><br /><br /><span> </span><span>The mass production of education raises legitimate questions. Some days feel like the miracle of loaves and fishes. Just as Jesus multiplied 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish to feed a crowd of 5,000 on a mountainside, it's truly impressive that every child in the United States receives free access to literacy, critical thinking, and knowledge. And yet, in the daily trenches of my 7th grade social studies hallway, I reckon with disheartening realities: I'm not actually a miracle worker, and sometimes, there's simply not enough sardines and breadcrumbs to go around. <i>And for the love of all that is good, stop rolling down the hillside and go sit at your desk. </i></span><i><br /></i><br /><span> </span><span>On the note of preaching from mountainsides, my classes learn outside at least once a month. I'm lucky to have a principal who grants the autonomy to do this since plenty of schools don't allow it (for reasonable safety and supervision concerns). Academic rigor drops precipitously with outdoor learning stations, but these kids severely need to "touch grass," as they say.</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_kNH5pGQERkKM2XsyNRJAwtQPmq3R7ZTNkP_4zgjHQe9VK8VxN_teEwIRCqvSVfFek94HIeHI2Kz4jstOrZCoMDOSfNkYCCpu0N28iwczKz3MHEMWBsR6jlfvVcvzHUjHK72tPIAViN_Pc5iFCCyZvAApfe13lqotclHqWgKLebKQ-r3tfuGbIetELNE/s4032/IMG_2274.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Outdoor Learning" border="0" data-original-height="1645" data-original-width="4032" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_kNH5pGQERkKM2XsyNRJAwtQPmq3R7ZTNkP_4zgjHQe9VK8VxN_teEwIRCqvSVfFek94HIeHI2Kz4jstOrZCoMDOSfNkYCCpu0N28iwczKz3MHEMWBsR6jlfvVcvzHUjHK72tPIAViN_Pc5iFCCyZvAApfe13lqotclHqWgKLebKQ-r3tfuGbIetELNE/w400-h164/IMG_2274.jpg" title="Outdoor Learning" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Outdoor Reading Stations</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh65bsziPC9rjEeQ2nCoDZocoHafSRMZ34mgHe4Orzic1RPJBJI4k4HpiiZyUWJ6zVpZao9CcM4bt6N4SNi7EnweH0OtPtKWViGR3pYH6mkr-uuR65APUUnACFIRAzr0h6AMTzFrpPNEg6CeiC4qUPVzIqQVOd-MtkESxOoqlciJBL-0F2sVxqMQAmYl8A/s2881/IMG_0479-EDIT.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2359" data-original-width="2881" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh65bsziPC9rjEeQ2nCoDZocoHafSRMZ34mgHe4Orzic1RPJBJI4k4HpiiZyUWJ6zVpZao9CcM4bt6N4SNi7EnweH0OtPtKWViGR3pYH6mkr-uuR65APUUnACFIRAzr0h6AMTzFrpPNEg6CeiC4qUPVzIqQVOd-MtkESxOoqlciJBL-0F2sVxqMQAmYl8A/w400-h328/IMG_0479-EDIT.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Some days, school feels like an understaffed daycare. Not enough subs? Just divide students into other classrooms! Not enough desks, copies, or chromebooks for extra kids? Different lesson plans? No lesson plans? No access to online assignment portals? No matter! Just supervise the kids! Flexibility must be an advanced educator skill, because as a fairly new teacher, "go with the flow" seems an antithesis to preparedness, and I've yet to master the integration.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span><br /><span> </span><span>The struggle between student care and academia feels constant. A student self-harmed during one of my classes. She requested to use the restroom and returned with a confused look and blood across her hands and face. I should have held her in my classroom. This poor decision often replays in my midnight sleeplessness. Why did I let her leave? </span><br /><br /><span> </span><span>She asked for a pass to visit the counselors' office, so I cleaned her up, best I could, with the inconceivably useless paper towels universal to schools, and then released her to the counselors. Another student quickly followed as escort, but she was already gone, detoured somewhere secret in the building, and I could only imagine the worst. </span><br /><br /><span> </span><span>When I called the counselor's office to report a missing, self-harming student, they said they were already overwhelmed with students and asked me to call the assistant principals' office instead. When I called the AP office, they were swamped as well and asked me to call the counselor's office. Meanwhile, 27 students stood by to learn history. </span><br /><br /><span> </span><span>So many children are in severe crises, and it's manifesting in our classrooms. (The counselors and AP's worked together to find and help the girl. Returning to my lesson, I reassured concerned students that everything was fine, completely uncertain that it was.) </span><br /><br /><span> </span><span>On those days, I leave campus with weighted thoughts, echoing Moses' prayer in the wilderness, <i>"I am not able to carry all this people alone, for they are too heavy for me."</i> I pray to God <span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">—</span> and email my state representatives <span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">—</span> asking more help for teachers, counselors, admin, and mostly, our students. Thankfully, our campus of 1300 students will receive a 4th counselor and a new behavioral coach in the next school year. </span><br /><br /><span> </span><span>My steepest learning curve in teaching, besides figuring out all of the educational acronyms, has been curriculum planning. I'd love to create one lesson for all 160 students who cycle through my classroom six periods a day; however, each class requires differentiation in rigor and support: special education, level (general education), or honors. And then, about half of my students have IEPs (individualized education plans), which qualify for individual accommodations, such as hard copies of notes, text-to-speech, speech-to-text, breaks, choice, seating preferences, paper alternative assignments, or computer-based assignments. Finally, I provide separate lessons for students outside my classroom but still on my grading roster, such as:</span><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span>SDC (special-day class, a self-contained classroom for students at the gen-ed level who need more behavioral support than a traditional classroom), </span></li><li><span>ISS (in-school suspension, a self-contained classroom where students work independently for 1-2 days following a serious behavior infraction),</span></li><li><span>Saturday School (assignment-based detention for 4 hours on a Saturday morning),</span></li><li><span>OSS (out-of-school suspension),</span></li><li><span>DAEP (disciplinary alternative education program where students work for 2-3 weeks following a serious behavior infraction).</span></li></ul><span> </span><span>Each school day includes a 45-minute conference period, which might be enough to lesson plan, but this is also the only time allocated for grading, parent calls and emails, department meetings, ARD meetings (Admission-Review-Dismissal), mandatory trainings, making copies, completing administrative paperwork, and using the restroom. </span><br /><br /> <span> </span><span>The majority of students are an absolute delight. One of the joys of teaching is a front-row preview of our future community leaders, and there is much to be hopeful for. This next generation is marked by brilliance, creativity, wit, spontaneity, kindness, and empathy. As a social studies teacher, I constantly cheer their political curiosity: <i>Your voice matters! Research well. Listen well. Argue well. Get involved!</i></span><br /><br /><span> </span><span>That said, I promise I'm not trying to brainwash any children. In my classroom, students will never learn how I vote, which candidates I support (or don't support), or any political party with which I might align on any given issue. My goal is to help form an electorate capable of critical thinking, perspective-taking, alliance-building, and high-quality discussion. This is completely possible </span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-15047f33-7fff-57a5-0c26-4b77f5007715"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">—</span></span><span><span> moreover, it is <i>only</i> possible </span></span><span id="docs-internal-guid-15047f33-7fff-57a5-0c26-4b77f5007715"><span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space-collapse: preserve;">—</span></span><span><span> without students knowing my personal politics.</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS6Kj-4xzG7zF94exPY4b6Zcn1Ps7RM9mD3Y7Vlss55pEGUcFldwGQnuOTR99przec-wI_KUkVTQD9SrTFTN_WHKvB4gM-s0vyCf4GFZGjxQjLRVEVaRX4tTsZ9qZV74K0bZlg-lIsqxOckgkzvh0AIeY2_sj5bnoi_JP-oixh6vwZAYKR9tZ5kdyDsTI/s3024/student%20art.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="3018" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS6Kj-4xzG7zF94exPY4b6Zcn1Ps7RM9mD3Y7Vlss55pEGUcFldwGQnuOTR99przec-wI_KUkVTQD9SrTFTN_WHKvB4gM-s0vyCf4GFZGjxQjLRVEVaRX4tTsZ9qZV74K0bZlg-lIsqxOckgkzvh0AIeY2_sj5bnoi_JP-oixh6vwZAYKR9tZ5kdyDsTI/w399-h400/student%20art.jpg" width="399" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cool student projects</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span><span> </span><span>Around January, the district hosted several professional development classes, which revolutionized my classroom management. New strategies lessened minor annoying disruptions, and more serious infractions began to receive targeted, collaborative intervention. </span><br /><br /><span> </span><span>When it comes to classroom management, the phrase I hear from many teachers is, "We're set up to fail." Most days, with constant vigilance, early intervention, and militant classroom structures, everything is fine. But when a kid gets off the bus, already triggered by issues at home, jostles through crowded pass periods, and arrives in my basement classroom full of peers who have pissed them off through every previous class, there's little hope for defusing that bomb.<i> And I'm really lucky if it's only one incendiary student.</i></span><br /><br /><span> </span><span>In district training, we worked through pages and pages of higher-tier strategies for difficult classroom management scenarios. At the end of our packet, after dozens of student-based interventions to address profoundly disruptive behaviors, only one intervention was listed for immediate teacher support. It wasn't taking a break, counseling, adding personnel, extending deadlines, reassigning the student, or alleviating paperwork. It was… breathing techniques. </span><br /><br /><span> </span><span>To be fair, I'm a devoted fan of box breathing, as it's backed me off plenty a mental ledge. However, the peak advice for teachers seeking the highest-tier interventions possible for extreme student misbehavior seemed to conclude, <i>"And if things in the classroom get REALLY bad, try taking some deep breaths."</i></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span><span><i><br /></i></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRZM7l8e3JDrs85_RdhiFbTBQwnXmalBJFE89sqQzsVpADP5jtn_gj9taqy2-0c6zX5oj2xYmzT_z00UdM7NT7IOE27z9eXjyQQgLOlLqlY-j1xMcJDX7nOO-8mTqp_s-vercBTHPUPWh16rBfU-h--0x1hdrgN-z35jhcsKnZfBVHmZbCazIrhoaarg/s1000/box%20breathing.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMRZM7l8e3JDrs85_RdhiFbTBQwnXmalBJFE89sqQzsVpADP5jtn_gj9taqy2-0c6zX5oj2xYmzT_z00UdM7NT7IOE27z9eXjyQQgLOlLqlY-j1xMcJDX7nOO-8mTqp_s-vercBTHPUPWh16rBfU-h--0x1hdrgN-z35jhcsKnZfBVHmZbCazIrhoaarg/w320-h320/box%20breathing.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span><span> </span><span>One evening in March, as I sat with my friend and neighbor in home hospice, she passed away unexpectedly. I thought we'd be laughing about the antics of my youngest son, like we usually do, but after a rough day, she was heavily sedated, breathing roughly to the rhythmic sputtering of her oxygen machine. </span><br /><br /><span> </span><span>Two other friends also came to visit, and the three of us tried to chat casually, sharing stories of her feats around the neighborhood. When we first met, seven years earlier, she'd singlehandedly bent my lawnmower blade back into place as I attempted to cut the grass with a newborn baby in a sling over one shoulder.</span><br /><br /><span> </span><span>And then she just passed away. The hospice nurse came, the funeral director, the pastor, and the night turned late.</span><br /><br /><span> </span><span>The next day, I came to school because I didn't know what else to do. It was a state testing day, and they said it was really important to be on campus. Blankly acting out the motions of testing, hall monitoring, and teaching, I wondered at our 1300 students, what they experience through their evenings, nights, and weekends before coming to school. </span><br /><br /><span> Most days, as </span><span>30 students cram into my windowless, cinder block room <span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;">— </span>identical to a prison cell excepting the crowdsource-funded maps and cumulous fluorescent light covers </span></span></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space-collapse: preserve;">—</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"> I'm reminded that this isn't how humans were made to learn or exist. I offer silent daily prayers that somehow a spring of learning will break through the rock walls that surround us. And the miracle is, on most days, it does. Engagement and connection happen. Healing and growth happen. For 50 minutes a day, seven times a day, in the most contrary of systems, somehow, we learn.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9H2UajPMeSGo93vE9MnR8loP9FvWIRAcu3mwCYnkh0XKObswIhjZNxIUwLB-Z8xHdagbn4aqbrZSWuPvNi5MJ8a04EBfuc0czG8Rv97clKnmBDT3D97s8y-BKtqrNaAE8YM_D-8jGgX_Yf9eGThKYgn5f5jk3eAvA_R3EqDQb-_MPxebkUr9i30wLvXc/s1025/jail%20cell.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="1025" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9H2UajPMeSGo93vE9MnR8loP9FvWIRAcu3mwCYnkh0XKObswIhjZNxIUwLB-Z8xHdagbn4aqbrZSWuPvNi5MJ8a04EBfuc0czG8Rv97clKnmBDT3D97s8y-BKtqrNaAE8YM_D-8jGgX_Yf9eGThKYgn5f5jk3eAvA_R3EqDQb-_MPxebkUr9i30wLvXc/s320/jail%20cell.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">A student note on my whiteboard at the end of the year</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">I'll close my second year of teaching with favorite feedback from student surveys:</span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="45" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Ph96-YS4baNn6vg_95O394PHw5cVgBudexDV4Xn15j-X51A749pHXG4pq25B5aOpc_cNer1P0XQ0rlw1G7mKDE5sybhepXMm8M6EDo0lcl5njt6tgkTybkxHGIwAjgW0REF-7KDb_ClnluCBCls0-hQ=w640-h45" width="640" /></div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="61" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/LoE73cZPx10y7d9G0YIzshWBZ0sThH0Nm5VnnflDgGtmvQpJCL34HAe0LVH1GX9QjFhBoNTLPDMucP45uhOptaUB3-H4VtuxhLsfi8N_-kMVG877-gav1b6xniUNCCVb4aedgo-OlJXAccUEqLyK3-k=w640-h61" width="640" /></div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="43" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/evvQiI8YCiIaS4VL4c7_kLH26dXouk9AghwyXL8j1bl9ASqHtLe_B3LH8MKWZC71hvaSOt2IkcXdPbUuNX5AeevNaDTdBqWDCXiVTom7byyXLlCZ3ccjF3e68d-FxhY56XjY6UaDRcSuo9Vf8tjT1tg=w640-h43" width="640" /></div></span></span></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="50" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/S2skzUirBMBQzE40pmcgiSJme5e2xbxld9lY5hyvbR2aUT5AqbKw0pearN_1H9fiyMJggmGbt7Qd5h8qWpe2UisFs1Mj_zo77kBQRlYofzu-BEqEKg-JPUNCk5hNgTVvuSs-jPMTJU_XyMXYHohk4cs=w640-h50" width="640" /></div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="30" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/PUnowIQS-OYbUj7GYjf7mzPxVb6JbSGTTmksrFAupjKXdhvt3nDRCWruR63MJLWZObRBoeDR73tixaSfBr61UoxyC4H_Bdj0EamXlQQXG-RFWH-5-p2V0w72lA2KR2aN4n-PQAD2yfOZh20XMCjDMko=w640-h30" width="640" /></div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="48" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/gbiNtz4bcE5FoQ2byH6HHIr7EztNViN7XXw5Ce1LwlE_ZWXLzuktwHD-tuUUN0YeEQTfIPiV4nyBAxZAHyU3XWzlpM8Y_Mp-jjLFRuZRT5_tbfg63KnuDh-Mr7780PNHT1TLwmlKsxyFmr9GOLgzQRI=w640-h48" width="640" /></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="35" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/tjI8RK0kr4X3-w7OLx-dirby5AJcyBX-iBeJ5Abd75UPw9U8eEX51MaPCi79VNF8QS07AS1ie760aAzxK1X2pUqzOd0qf5ETqgwBvyHhQwepjSxNYzVK9PL_l_Mas9VEM7bK6illlwSINSrqYZYXyqY=w640-h35" width="640" /></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="54" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8FYzdvEA4yiO-3UemIWdOB1zuPAMaam5tEUaLv1EyGaxbNmOGYPg7mdQ6-ihJhGoIMBhdjwh33LH_rqMyztROMCeUOLr4fC_4ezY68ZE1SzBk8EY9kFy0rMu5XlvBkuezaT8X4QdYhGFJt2-EEOa96g=w640-h54" width="640" /></div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="37" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/3DM1yH_dsm8NzhkMLHT7L8PngrJfF0IJK-Be1kpM-milzw62U6UoDEaS5Fxyu0PYP1es9bBmRkzlNIJbeeAxi36S40dP4qsyqwg6WPMQ5GKxASTi056AK9AdHCrjvmL7Xj6EunkEQ7q6SNUJ29r94z8=w640-h37" width="640" /></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="69" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/x9uaeVseLyLnioeDeyNs7MNrLQToKtS6HEG_8t6qXkwbtOkSuDINw1gGjQ_JrDtP_h2W8F5SG7num5sYt7XpvEyLRAoGctkgNzo6ziSxB3YFw6q2Dq_MvY5yfLfG9ktyQMtI_ZPFZP2g0MPLQQC3iOs=w640-h69" width="640" /></div></span><span><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="48" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/uFiBfmm7lKenW2iHCSmDWqelIbj8XdLcqtF2RYjF3t0_S-PYTU-zsf9sRdWINTHqAftbsEj5Ncbk5qBI-pfahwAZzikxjUnbgv8CeNS_GAwWyPz6TcY6i67rHLRcGb4Dk5McfPgsZtkp7Znzl_HvZpE=w640-h48" width="640" /></div></span></span></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="75" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/xlEU4vJ0tRRaYyN4pdQn3-qzbtCEE600DTAU_Y7yyudxaoFIZj2WrHIuf79Gfp0o29qzd808CgEuplMamywy-n2Xl_7gGxx5tvTYJVlOMene-jMcIfIkHxX13TvZYERfJRfLB0BQjGbUAkn-YOU5RH0=w640-h75" width="640" /></div><span><div style="text-align: center;"><img height="32" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/R72GyGWAdY0UhuqZsp7dJEiS4m9y9KRp4PN7GRE5vZmluYr9EQFKkYFwiUqdKpGNRdqMmpUPjAt55lFWhLUd5XQlZQs5OCCdgFsgXeRwYS5_DCvFIHLy5letKFxCbaIBBaaCb49GYT_4syEJsm7P1JY=w640-h32" width="640" /></div></span></span></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span><span><img height="74" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/eism8_nVRb7Ht_LwedC3CnBGjkZSEbWlABu0AdpAmaCRO5e_X64SwZCwlPzGB1CDWPu2LxKNc3EU_MWtyrwSyucnCUBUtUu7J5hu2zAeQ0X5SoY1VtpYDJ6MisFtK0sFzP1MluQRVRy2Qf-8Y6soU8A=w640-h74" width="640" /><img height="46" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/XJ-Jh1WPII06pVqiHKbem6rTuivQIo7PRECTYTDyajKJKYelP5v2KvdzxSBIZjxF16APC3VcLaQJ17TOzsXitDChCaH9PI2UkRDbfoMIwQJH8OPDkU-0DNhvve8bjT4Nqi6unvnUxPrDounIuWmodds=w640-h46" width="640" /></span></span></span></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span><span><img height="59" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/N7N1WuyrzIynEqNZtg6KRTlo5iUQ5JRSv1ULIglziZ2lN5_L7jYj0F5zgh9Ttw6JZGeqadr7r50N4MjBfhp7p4vnjso8zcsAHWZU1zlRgtW6Z675_H2IHwHEavnyzSXO53TbA5PLyeXBstNzjy6tAhE=w640-h59" width="640" /></span></span></span></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-65501974076175089302022-05-30T07:13:00.016-05:002022-05-30T07:50:15.035-05:00Reflections of a First-Year Teacher<span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Shortly after interviewing for a position at our local junior high, I raced the principal through a game of phone tag with references. His plodding calls bested my frantic texts, and he won a trophy of information not shared in our interview: how I used to mow the lawn with a baby on my back and intermittent visits from preschoolers at every row, the extent to which my newly-minted education degree was heavily supplemented by management coursework since the business department offered online classes, and my actual number of children. (I may have implied during the interview that only two of the five existed.)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Whether this patchwork of new information convinced him to hire a middle-aged woman aspiring to reinvent herself, or my miscellany of teaching certifications in secondary social studies, special education, and ESL made for a shallow candidate pool, I got the job.</span></span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWNBfejWBOtML9EY3cgj9yGQCdv_bY9PVxPvfw-YdcH1kIEZnmaOhMGAi--ygLsR1lOmc97GE3v1Pl2ZK7uDGIhVvJjhGomYTDqLBZBQp5NsDZ9XWrvtdG7R-fepuJySKcWZ1lsIXDZEoRcBSMmWHTKSBn8T2Y6timOC_cSwGnQ4orIZXq6gn55sU/s720/First%20Day.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><img alt="First Day" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="715" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivWNBfejWBOtML9EY3cgj9yGQCdv_bY9PVxPvfw-YdcH1kIEZnmaOhMGAi--ygLsR1lOmc97GE3v1Pl2ZK7uDGIhVvJjhGomYTDqLBZBQp5NsDZ9XWrvtdG7R-fepuJySKcWZ1lsIXDZEoRcBSMmWHTKSBn8T2Y6timOC_cSwGnQ4orIZXq6gn55sU/w318-h320/First%20Day.jpg" title="First Day" width="318" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">When calling with an offer, the principal said, “I heard from one of your references that you have a whole team of boys at home. One of the things we try to do at Peet Junior High is make sure kids feel loved and accepted every day. I can help anyone learn to teach, but I can’t make them like kids.” And then he asked me to join the faculty.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Two lessons were learned from this inductory hazing experience: 1) phone calls are a lost art, and 2) good employers view parenthood as an asset, not a burden.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The first preparations for my new job included shopping local thrift stores for a base of solid cardigans. It’s a strange priority, granted, but maybe, if my wardrobe could emulate the greatest teacher of our time, so could my classroom. I’ve yet to secure a G-scale model trolley, but I like to think Room 002 is still a sanctuary of sorts with calm routines, personal connections, teddy bears and throw pillows everywhere. I receive a lot of students visiting from around the school (though that could just be the large bucket of candy in the bottom drawer of my desk). After 8 months of teaching, my closet despairs its loss of minimalist freedom. Alongside a rainbow of cardigan sweaters hangs an assortment of once-a-year spirit gear, including an ugly Christmas sweater, Star Wars shirt, Disney shirt, long black cape and witch’s hat, Constitutional Convention garb, and the prairie dress and shawl of a 100-year-old woman.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwarmZs10N8F2vLDJd8WV4RqiowxyTQcgWHsV1SpTz-yVUC8Tp7s5G1akWP_Ms_-C5QXVBDMFuQ2bxvaZQ6OTAEcgjjF2SZ0G6Xbwn2-kz9frqMSrTe5VKXz-B5_y8lqem0I2mVLNmNIRW3K3GZ-h4zqvUsXohuhxaXahBXU139O1xAJKi1nFdskVS/s712/constitution.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="541" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwarmZs10N8F2vLDJd8WV4RqiowxyTQcgWHsV1SpTz-yVUC8Tp7s5G1akWP_Ms_-C5QXVBDMFuQ2bxvaZQ6OTAEcgjjF2SZ0G6Xbwn2-kz9frqMSrTe5VKXz-B5_y8lqem0I2mVLNmNIRW3K3GZ-h4zqvUsXohuhxaXahBXU139O1xAJKi1nFdskVS/w243-h320/constitution.jpg" width="243" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i>Standing beside my pile of pillows and teddy bears on Constitutional Convention Day</i></div></i></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">With a week between the job offer and my first day on campus, emails to future colleagues proved difficult. I kept checking synonyms for “great” and “thrilled.” How many times can I say “excited” in three paragraphs to my new department chair? Why am I writing <i>three paragraphs</i>? Undoubtedly, they would read between the lines and uncover reality: “I have rampant enthusiasm but zero experience.” </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">On my first day of school, the students helped brainstorm how we should decorate our room. It seemed to be a dumping ground for excess desks and tables, and most walls were bare white cinderblock. They wanted a couch, no, two couches, and large lantern lights hanging from the ceiling. It was a fun vision, but my budget was that of a new teacher whose own kids just recently lost qualification for free and reduced lunch. Over the next few weeks, I cleared the room of extra furniture and collected a pile of clearance cushions from Walmart, stuffed animals from the overflowing basket at home, and a rocking chair from my neighbor’s bulk trash pile. White walls retreated behind butcher paper timelines, flags, maps, and landscapes cut from dollar-store calendars. I thought the teddy bears would be popular among girls, but it was several big 14-year-old boys who regularly asked to hold stuffies (and as often, sent them flying across the room to a friend). </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgT2oxbrBZaqDSvKqc6YESQ7RE_LRbn63e46208c4v3gw25lsIuMolVTIlRv-pzRwZJp0sB5rLlFuS0XFWVuEx_tBELH_Xur5IGE2sQCIhibskK7FsWShlC6wMowo-0dUetLfe_doINaArxsjCRB0ChgzYv_DNUX9Oxj-RFuZt3ReRV3tUnXIOxCj7D" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="685" data-original-width="901" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgT2oxbrBZaqDSvKqc6YESQ7RE_LRbn63e46208c4v3gw25lsIuMolVTIlRv-pzRwZJp0sB5rLlFuS0XFWVuEx_tBELH_Xur5IGE2sQCIhibskK7FsWShlC6wMowo-0dUetLfe_doINaArxsjCRB0ChgzYv_DNUX9Oxj-RFuZt3ReRV3tUnXIOxCj7D=w320-h243" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">My second day at school, an autistic student shared that he lived in a homeless shelter with his mom and little brother. We’re not really supposed to hug students – legitimate concerns about grooming, lawsuits, awkward junior high stuff – but so many students need good human connection. Somedays, as with my own kids at home, I wish they were still small enough to gather into my lap for reassurance.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">On day three, the school posted a sign outside Room 002 with my name on it. I felt very official. Even so, eight months in, any time my ID badge fails to release the security door on its first pass, I assume I’ve been fired.</span></span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhHWR7DZySdiwA_VMzZcxpoTTYZvE3v_pMuRO6WviyBJzRduL5iBYUA_SBswquVAgDPhreuBcUPFQuy8tTs7YwOBFlpj5Y0e41LAuFIS_levIwFhtSj0Pow42dT5dSdMztqb5KAxtvf2s77msGOjI7R-pFV42d2bH6aCOg6zrCpi3ryr0j5KojrV9PJ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="903" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhHWR7DZySdiwA_VMzZcxpoTTYZvE3v_pMuRO6WviyBJzRduL5iBYUA_SBswquVAgDPhreuBcUPFQuy8tTs7YwOBFlpj5Y0e41LAuFIS_levIwFhtSj0Pow42dT5dSdMztqb5KAxtvf2s77msGOjI7R-pFV42d2bH6aCOg6zrCpi3ryr0j5KojrV9PJ=w320-h189" width="320" /></a></div><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On the morning of day four, I was locked out of my room. I’m supposed to have keys? Where do I get keys? I missed so much information starting a month into the school year. Who do I talk to about anything? Who are the assistant principals? Who are the counselors? What program do I use to take attendance? There’s a different app for everything – testing, student IEPs, discipline, teacher absences, professional development, coursework, shared curriculum – and not a single program has a name that implies its purpose. And most importantly, WHERE IS THE DOWNSTAIRS FACULTY BATHROOM?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">By day five, I realized students are easily motivated by candy. I cringe at this. But I also bought some Skittles. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Day seven was my first encounter with a junior high “mean girl.” Up to this point, I'd believed my student teaching experience intense enough to redress all purgatory due for my own disrespect while a student. Apparently, there’s still penance left to pay.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Having completed my first year of teaching, I don’t think I’ve recovered from day 10. I’m not sure I can. It’s even crossed my mind the only way to overcome this situation is to change school districts entirely. On day 10 of teaching, I emailed district IT, for the 7th time, at least, requesting access to my classes on Canvas… and I cc’d my principal. God Almighty, they responded fast. Fast and <i>angry</i>. Previous emails had disappeared into the abyss of teacher futility, but this one snapped everything into place like Mary Poppins herself was running district IT. Despite my best efforts for congenial emails that took longer to draft than any email should, I’m afraid I’ve irreparably offended the IT department. To this day, each glitch of my screen is a reminder that at any moment, powerful people could exact vengeance by deleting my entire Google Drive curriculum that’s taken hundreds of hours to create.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">At the end of week two, I sent myself an email reminder to buy air freshener for the classroom. Junior high boys smell like junior high boys, and it lingers long after they've left.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">One thing I wasn’t expecting, the acronyms. If someone were to review my search history from the past eight months, it would all begin with, “What is a…” We don’t have department meetings, we have PLCs. We don’t write student accolades, we write SAEs. We don’t receive teacher recognition, we receive TAEs. By the end of my second week, I’d completed my T-TESS training and learned how to check PLAAFPs, IEPs, CFAs, and ARD dates to write PRs, and I had 80 of them due by Monday.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">That weekend, I dreamt I was the lead in a musical. It had an expansive set with audience members seated onstage in a bizarre cylindrical space, obviously a performance marked for avant-garde success, except I didn’t know any of my lines. My sleep subsisted on these kinds of dreams for several more months.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">I’m still annoyed I spent $35 on a pair of overalls for “Dress Like A Decade” spirit day. Where were the ones I wore every other day in 9th grade? How are overalls back in style? My students didn’t believe their hole-y jeans and plaid flannel button-down shirts are exactly how I dressed 30 years ago.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEix11QkCabQMbhJf7PuNt0kvFuKANwqDILpRiK2F7BgfLviwkMBiSRyk35riCo1a63-c2s2tt5cb7b_wrVF2bQ7zMHgR75SkbJCOaiQkG5HnVlkVz1as6N8TfY547q7LvPn9fSYEc5rm6VdQLYXZn16BakKUyIwBKIOwkkDsHtpV4iPRdsrO0vXRNf5" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="691" data-original-width="279" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEix11QkCabQMbhJf7PuNt0kvFuKANwqDILpRiK2F7BgfLviwkMBiSRyk35riCo1a63-c2s2tt5cb7b_wrVF2bQ7zMHgR75SkbJCOaiQkG5HnVlkVz1as6N8TfY547q7LvPn9fSYEc5rm6VdQLYXZn16BakKUyIwBKIOwkkDsHtpV4iPRdsrO0vXRNf5=w130-h320" width="130" /></a></div></span></i><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Decades Day, 2021; Also, me, 1996</span></i></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Every night was a scramble to prepare for the next day’s classes. I was in an unusual position, teaching both Texas History and U.S. History, and the only way to keep my anxiety in check (without being overmedicated) was to over plan. Despite 12-hour days, I loved the work, the students, and the school. Junior high has a later schedule than elementary and intermediate, so I could easily get my own kids to their buses and make it to school in plenty of time. An added blessing, the elementary after-school program is so much fun that my kids are actually upset when I pick them up early.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Day 21 of teaching was my 40th birthday. I’m grateful to have come into teaching later in life. I think these extra decades of life kneading out insecurities, fears, and my fight to always be right have certainly helped the transition to teaching. I celebrated by getting to school early and fixing up the faculty women’s bathroom with inspirational décor, lotion, body spray, and a basket of pads. With all the chaos in a large junior high, teacher spaces should provide a moment of peace and free menstrual products. I’d love to do the same in student restrooms, but it’s all we can do to keep up with graffiti removal. Even so, these junior high bathrooms were designed by a genius. There are adjacent 90-degree turns to enter (no doors) and only two stalls, with sinks, mirrors, and paper towels in the hallway. It’s proven helpful with crowd control, peer-pressure hygiene (“Hey, wash your hands! You just came out of the bathroom!”), and finding kids who hide in restrooms to avoid going to class.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Sometime during my first few months of teaching, a storm blew out the power – and backup power – for several hours. Teachers held cell phones throughout the windowless lower floor to shuttle students into classrooms and facilitate bathroom breaks. Situations like this inspired the junk drawer in my desk. Just when I think I’m ready for anything – hammer, screwdriver, flashlight, zip ties, batteries, string, superglue, craft glue, metal scraper, spray bottle of Goo-Gone, first-aid kit, duct tape, masking tape, packaging tape – there’s always a new, weird thing that happens. The last day of school, I really could have used some sewing shears. </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiXnZsS2XCWUuVFDbDyFe6YlqDSY_nGK5TGEjH1DaFp_lguvpxZBQkx31aEkz5ZSfoAWBn89crGsPhGQqpkM43FO_lLpohpITqsdkaXCTjFbLhGJYO7zFeHOI8mYn-VcTFxB8lmMQczoqnv3AckfoutL958RBLWsKSACFxiN37NH2qqrFeAWCQa7KAv" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="723" data-original-width="619" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiXnZsS2XCWUuVFDbDyFe6YlqDSY_nGK5TGEjH1DaFp_lguvpxZBQkx31aEkz5ZSfoAWBn89crGsPhGQqpkM43FO_lLpohpITqsdkaXCTjFbLhGJYO7zFeHOI8mYn-VcTFxB8lmMQczoqnv3AckfoutL958RBLWsKSACFxiN37NH2qqrFeAWCQa7KAv=w274-h320" width="274" /></a></div></i><i style="font-size: small;">Creepy downstairs Peet, lit by teachers’ cell phones</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;">My first Halloween at Peet was quite a shock. I joined the fun with a black dress and long cape and discovered myself severely under-costumed. Other teachers sported wigs, props, extreme make-up, and missing limbs. Several students seemed offended by my lackluster effort. I’ll know better next year.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYB2id1n_WOf8K_stSUA0zR7rqaAUyzQDDlCfT87RDV8cYvMuU6KFcOVFrGF9bz7KGgohI_71aAuZqLOh7WvBp1Np1Fkggz6uyqXwlgvYekMNhQppyS2Gv7N0B0wtCv9rPYnRLQRvnQI8QYx5blYv3iz9LJRHCvRHR-kxXtCNRbX9u7SaRIY3eRNXQ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="751" data-original-width="468" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYB2id1n_WOf8K_stSUA0zR7rqaAUyzQDDlCfT87RDV8cYvMuU6KFcOVFrGF9bz7KGgohI_71aAuZqLOh7WvBp1Np1Fkggz6uyqXwlgvYekMNhQppyS2Gv7N0B0wtCv9rPYnRLQRvnQI8QYx5blYv3iz9LJRHCvRHR-kxXtCNRbX9u7SaRIY3eRNXQ=w200-h320" width="200" /></a></div></span></i><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">A very lame Halloween costume</span></i></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">COVID protocols were the arrhythmic heartbeat of this year, inconsistent yet constant. We’re wearing masks. We’re not wearing masks. We’re wearing masks again… I continued to mask long after it was mandatory. One of my own kids tested positive for COVID back when the protocol was 10 days of quarantine for the first kid followed by 14 additional days for any sibling who didn’t also test positive. Thankfully, my husband’s job offered COVID leave, and he was able to stay home with our children for 24 days straight shortly after I started teaching. Somehow, despite being a 7-person family in a 3-bedroom, 1300-square-foot house taking no precautions to prevent contagion, only 1 child actually caught COVID that month. I caught COVID with the rest of my kids three months later when the protocols were 5 days of quarantine for staff and 10 days of quarantine for students. And then it was April, and the district stopped testing, and no one seemed to care anymore. My husband has still not caught COVID. I’m curious how scientists and historians will analyze the COVID pandemic of 2020-2022.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiROfWm8ggOi9UQWE-hzc4rEwWwArrQuKbhldsTIJvvsFCriuPEe2TbdqKA7n4CNUlSIYf8olV29Vg9AdyTvm4Bg-onXog6aeBQB9s0anp136DLoVjC89xTd9hgzgNdMsW_tQMTXA23c4WJspFFMSyx0cxo8zKu6G6E3jfBer8la7_sK43uqwzpLdh4" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="885" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiROfWm8ggOi9UQWE-hzc4rEwWwArrQuKbhldsTIJvvsFCriuPEe2TbdqKA7n4CNUlSIYf8olV29Vg9AdyTvm4Bg-onXog6aeBQB9s0anp136DLoVjC89xTd9hgzgNdMsW_tQMTXA23c4WJspFFMSyx0cxo8zKu6G6E3jfBer8la7_sK43uqwzpLdh4=w320-h210" width="320" /></a></div></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: small;">During COVID spikes, when many teachers were out sick, district staff came in to fill vacancies. Our superintendent is a rockstar, and he delivered cupcakes. He also took a picture with me even though I probably shouldn’t have asked to take a selfie during a COVID spike.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;">I pray for my students, hold out my hands as I pass their empty desks each morning, asking God to help them find peace, somehow, in these classrooms and hallways. The things they see, know, and experience are heavy. I worry for their futures, how they’ll cope as adults when the world is cruel, how often, seemingly unknowingly, they add to the cruelty. And yet, even as I judge my most difficult students – and oh, I judge them – I recognize in myself the capacity for harshness. If only one image remains in my mind from this entire first year of teaching, it’s the moment a student raised his head to meet my eyes after I apologized for being wrong and treating him unfairly. He hates most teachers, but on the last day of school, he came and found me and told me to have a good summer.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">At some point in the year, someone left a cookie on a napkin on my desk. What a simple, untraceable way to poison a teacher. Of course, I ate it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">During my evaluation, the assistant principal said she was “pleasantly happy” about something I did while teaching. However, she paused just long enough after that initial word, it’s likely she detoured from saying “pleasantly surprised.” I wholeheartedly appreciate her sensitivity and kindness, but let me be the first to declare that I, too, was pleasantly surprised by the success of my evaluated lesson!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The copy machine is a regular source of drama. Someone jammed it, an important part is on backorder so it’s out of commission indefinitely, one department is printing 800 14-page packets so it won't be available for 2 hours… Our copy assistant is practically living folklore at Peet, an 84-year-old queen bee we all call “Mama” who has a kind word for everyone who passes through her workroom (unless you're the team lead of the teacher who jammed the copier). Mama is personal friends with at least 80 substitutes in the district, and she can text faster than any student to ask her subbing friends to come help out. She also percolates a giant pot of coffee every morning that turns her room into a social hive before school.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">I’ve tried so hard to play it cool this first year of teaching and not be visibly over-the-top excited about stuff like a sign outside my classroom with my name on it, or unlimited access to a laminator and rolls and rolls of butcher paper, or an email signature that reads “Teach Jh/Social Studies/Special Education” (admittedly, a weird district standardization for email signatures that nonetheless makes me proud every time I hit “send”). Thankfully, with the way our district tracks time, having started a month into this past school year, I’ll still be a first-year teacher for 2022-2023, and so, have every excuse to be over-the-top excited about everything all over again!</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhHzoJOMnMA1c0VEB0NVh0Cmwd1HIwhEcpD8PBDQfl2Zvord2J8Y_VUJmzLUxCWSkwRDIAR_HdAHyBfpTZsr3lPaNx2LfllD4obPmnEyFsIlBD-nyGP0DZzLZkXKQbQyc1hKi71x8wx4kbmj6K7cJ-NQQWUxvAFLQSFcuB2CpOAQjnS4CaVY2JkPLU" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="703" data-original-width="531" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhHzoJOMnMA1c0VEB0NVh0Cmwd1HIwhEcpD8PBDQfl2Zvord2J8Y_VUJmzLUxCWSkwRDIAR_HdAHyBfpTZsr3lPaNx2LfllD4obPmnEyFsIlBD-nyGP0DZzLZkXKQbQyc1hKi71x8wx4kbmj6K7cJ-NQQWUxvAFLQSFcuB2CpOAQjnS4CaVY2JkPLU=w241-h320" width="241" /></a></div></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Post-script: I recently read a summary of some pop-ed book about the four types of teachers, and I was nearly offended by how accurately I fulfill every stereotype of a first-year teacher. But also, I don’t care! I’m embracing it!</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfc-HRJE1lBji-yEDC8xkB83fJ4m3ng8HXR6BzJE0m1moC0M7mS3NVtO0UzMrEw1rshr731SXpXyut0yXbhTDltHKwT65w9i0DSmUxy2-wSlORnorvPJBx8ul2z2vq8zO1-YuxHa1T2ZIV7BSpHCfPwh8Md_UHWVkPUT5-ppie6Aoc1RLjWPfAK25e" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfc-HRJE1lBji-yEDC8xkB83fJ4m3ng8HXR6BzJE0m1moC0M7mS3NVtO0UzMrEw1rshr731SXpXyut0yXbhTDltHKwT65w9i0DSmUxy2-wSlORnorvPJBx8ul2z2vq8zO1-YuxHa1T2ZIV7BSpHCfPwh8Md_UHWVkPUT5-ppie6Aoc1RLjWPfAK25e" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGS2ftbKQrhtViERPkWcgpB24yzyeUrHOY1zJ6VxAYDygsw0zUbUhkC6Cpm1UbUQghqG0_edBLtx9YZoEQ24jkcolUiIrouTmzJFZFdeqBWtDs9g76GX-1RYei9q0J_wtGeK-ZYNWCYznHAS9ikTzAqe2GFNBIoqdCptEXMk8quKh07wi7HwFE0ujN" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0Wa4y_dnacUgy6NFyXmIG4zEOZRNEJbitfo8vOnM7YAGRTTNIwi5x5MgR6x-eJSoKZuvm39IxFv_mHbvQAQVNkoMlR6a3Oekr6y3DkOqaLdgLW-Y9QWoVOtAfvSEszzTOPfUIB3LcRtgZjgxyeLdr516UNj5rzDTQurXrOvb7pfh3hEtQlS0Pk-oN" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="807" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh0Wa4y_dnacUgy6NFyXmIG4zEOZRNEJbitfo8vOnM7YAGRTTNIwi5x5MgR6x-eJSoKZuvm39IxFv_mHbvQAQVNkoMlR6a3Oekr6y3DkOqaLdgLW-Y9QWoVOtAfvSEszzTOPfUIB3LcRtgZjgxyeLdr516UNj5rzDTQurXrOvb7pfh3hEtQlS0Pk-oN=w320-h243" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfc-HRJE1lBji-yEDC8xkB83fJ4m3ng8HXR6BzJE0m1moC0M7mS3NVtO0UzMrEw1rshr731SXpXyut0yXbhTDltHKwT65w9i0DSmUxy2-wSlORnorvPJBx8ul2z2vq8zO1-YuxHa1T2ZIV7BSpHCfPwh8Md_UHWVkPUT5-ppie6Aoc1RLjWPfAK25e" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; display: inline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfc-HRJE1lBji-yEDC8xkB83fJ4m3ng8HXR6BzJE0m1moC0M7mS3NVtO0UzMrEw1rshr731SXpXyut0yXbhTDltHKwT65w9i0DSmUxy2-wSlORnorvPJBx8ul2z2vq8zO1-YuxHa1T2ZIV7BSpHCfPwh8Md_UHWVkPUT5-ppie6Aoc1RLjWPfAK25e" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGS2ftbKQrhtViERPkWcgpB24yzyeUrHOY1zJ6VxAYDygsw0zUbUhkC6Cpm1UbUQghqG0_edBLtx9YZoEQ24jkcolUiIrouTmzJFZFdeqBWtDs9g76GX-1RYei9q0J_wtGeK-ZYNWCYznHAS9ikTzAqe2GFNBIoqdCptEXMk8quKh07wi7HwFE0ujN" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="826" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiGS2ftbKQrhtViERPkWcgpB24yzyeUrHOY1zJ6VxAYDygsw0zUbUhkC6Cpm1UbUQghqG0_edBLtx9YZoEQ24jkcolUiIrouTmzJFZFdeqBWtDs9g76GX-1RYei9q0J_wtGeK-ZYNWCYznHAS9ikTzAqe2GFNBIoqdCptEXMk8quKh07wi7HwFE0ujN=w320-h248" width="320" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; display: inline;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfc-HRJE1lBji-yEDC8xkB83fJ4m3ng8HXR6BzJE0m1moC0M7mS3NVtO0UzMrEw1rshr731SXpXyut0yXbhTDltHKwT65w9i0DSmUxy2-wSlORnorvPJBx8ul2z2vq8zO1-YuxHa1T2ZIV7BSpHCfPwh8Md_UHWVkPUT5-ppie6Aoc1RLjWPfAK25e" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="625" data-original-width="568" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfc-HRJE1lBji-yEDC8xkB83fJ4m3ng8HXR6BzJE0m1moC0M7mS3NVtO0UzMrEw1rshr731SXpXyut0yXbhTDltHKwT65w9i0DSmUxy2-wSlORnorvPJBx8ul2z2vq8zO1-YuxHa1T2ZIV7BSpHCfPwh8Md_UHWVkPUT5-ppie6Aoc1RLjWPfAK25e=w290-h320" width="290" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">My hallway art mostly gets eye-rolls and headshakes, but I love it so much. Cracks me up every time.</span></i></div></span></div></div></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-31939968125995233582022-01-30T09:00:00.005-06:002022-02-02T12:40:12.743-06:00Does God Call Kids? A Reflection on the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time<p><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wally and I were invited to share a reflection at <a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/2025-does-god-call-kids" target="_blank">From His Heart</a>, our parish blog, on the Mass readings for the </span><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020722.cfm" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">5th Sunday in Ordinary Time</a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This week, we invited the kids to join us.</span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Each Sunday evening, Wally and I gather our kids into the living room for family prayer. (Please don't imagine anything too virtuous; "family prayer time" means kids bouncing on couch cushions, tug-a-war blankets, scraping candle wax from the coffee table, and arguments over who had which prayer book last week so who leads today so whose turn is next week and next week and the next week.)</span></span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-f9ef3ab4-7fff-8a8d-5333-bd7ab49766d9"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Last Sunday, we asked the kids to reflect on the Scripture readings for Mass this week. </span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"It seems like God keeps calling people," they said: Isaiah in the Old Testament, kings in the Psalms, St. Paul and the Corinthians, and Simon Peter and the apostles in Luke's Gospel. </span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Does God still call people, or was that just in Bible times?</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"Sure," said our oldest. "Like priests and religious are called."</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Or like that saint from that book who was called to be a missionary!" (Our 10-year-old was referencing </span><a href="https://stpaulcenter.com/product/saints-around-the-world/" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saints Around the World</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, an extraordinary collection of diverse saint stories with kid-friendly language and brilliant pictures.)</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Another kid said Isaiah's vision in the Old Testament reminded him of God's dreams for St. Patrick that showed him how to escape slavery in Ireland and then called him back to Ireland as a missionary. (</span><a href="https://www.adventuresinodyssey.com/albums/31-days-to-remember/" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Adventures in Odyssey</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> has a captivating kids' radio drama on St. Patrick's life.)</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What about kids though? Does God call kids?</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was our youngest who spoke up: "Jesus called the children to come to him. He told the disciples to let them come."</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What a reckoning. The same God who calls priests and religious and missionaries and saints also calls </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">children</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And He doesn't gather them into hugs and blessings for the potential good they might someday promise — calls to religious life or family life or missionary life. Jesus loves each child just as He encounters them, pushed forward in the curious crowds, even as his own disciples try to hold them back.</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What does that mean, for little children to come to Jesus? </span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Praying and talking to God… going to Mass… receiving Communion… reading the Bible… loving others... listening to what He's saying… Each kid had a different idea of how God was calling them closer today. </span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wally shared some final thoughts, reflecting on Jesus' directions for Simon Peter to "put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch" (</span><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/5" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Luke 5:4</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). Simon basically answers, "We've done that already, and it didn't work." Have you ever felt like shouting that to God? </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lord, I am tired!</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sometimes, life seems like doing the same thing over and over again with no results. It gets old. Simon Peter had already cleaned his nets and was done. But just because Jesus asked, Simon rows back out on the lake and lowers the nets again. And this time, he catches so many fish the nets began to tear, and he needs help from a second boat to bring in the catch. (At this point, our family evening devolved into a raucous, child-led round of "I will make you fishers of men, fishers of men, fishers of men… …if you follow me.")</span></span></p><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">However God is calling each of us closer this week, adults or kids, may our hearts be open.</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1UEM3LHYllzc7IiVz_9MMhtYrxDmW44_VN7H3i6TRe9Ypw3grgs9wpeyYRZ9b1b09PkTa2V1wT2XRuB7K4jbSTov1XtQrDtFTolEO7R_tE5OsEQaNNW8uMpnQXJWUfC6VGJkKOTnf9i4_otK5d6cEwqiNuZ5HIgXa-XZ2XEXI8ZuglH4Shy71ZqPo=s1920" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj1UEM3LHYllzc7IiVz_9MMhtYrxDmW44_VN7H3i6TRe9Ypw3grgs9wpeyYRZ9b1b09PkTa2V1wT2XRuB7K4jbSTov1XtQrDtFTolEO7R_tE5OsEQaNNW8uMpnQXJWUfC6VGJkKOTnf9i4_otK5d6cEwqiNuZ5HIgXa-XZ2XEXI8ZuglH4Shy71ZqPo=w320-h213" width="320" /></a></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-451660fd-7fff-0d35-d850-0795f1935d17"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Photo by</span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@austin_pacheco?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Austin Pacheco</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on</span><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/FtL07GM9Q7Y" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Unsplash</span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><p></p></span>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-92174537168555574452021-09-27T06:12:00.000-05:002021-09-27T06:12:44.460-05:00The Gospel According To A 7-Year-Old: A Reflection on the 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time<span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This week, I find myself writing with Jonathan, my 7-year-old, instead of Wally, my husband. Jonathan and I are reflecting on the Sunday Mass readings from an urgent care waiting room following a mishap on the monkey bars.<br /><br />Between kids’ extracurricular activities, weird work schedules, Scout camping trips, and the surprises life is always throwing our way, it seems Wally and I haven’t had a moment alone together all week.<br /><br />It’s ironic because over and over again in this week’s scriptures, we hear about the necessary gift of partnership, especially marriage, and community.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>“It is not good for the man to be alone,” God declares in <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/2">Genesis 2</a>, so He gifts man and woman to each other in marriage, “and the two of them become one flesh.”</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>After reading the Old Testament passage together, I asked Jonathan what it made him think of. He reminded me what came next in their story:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>“Adam and Eve had to leave the garden because they ate the fruit from the tree, and God said not to. They lost the happy place in the garden.”</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>How easy it is to lose our peace and happy places when pulled into the many distractions of daily life! Jonathan’s words are a good reminder for Wally and me to create special time together each week in spite of our busyness.<br /><br />This week’s Responsorial Psalm lists some blessings that might come from a marriage centered on God: work that produces good things, a home full of children, a community that is peaceful and prosperous, and generations of loving relationships…<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>“Blessed are you who fear the Lord… For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork… your children like olive plants around your table… may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem… may you see your children’s children.” (<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/128">Psalm 128:1-6</a>)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>After reading the Psalm and thinking for a moment, Jonathan said:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>“I heard the word ‘live’ in it, and it said to spend time with your children.”</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>From the mouths of babes to the rest of us: we need to spend time with our children! God calls them blessings around our table, but how often do we gather around our table? I know our family has been on-the-go a lot lately…<br /><br />In this week’s New Testament reading, St. Paul writes that Jesus made himself “lower than the angels” to bring us all together:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>“He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated all have one origin. Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them ‘brothers.’” (<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/2">Hebrews 2:9-11</a>)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>After hearing this, and sitting quietly for several moments, Jonathan said:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>“There was a president who said it’s not fair when people with darker skin are treated unfairly. I think Jesus is a friend of us, and He wants us to be kind and friends with each other.”</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>What divisions do we have in our faith communities? I used to think prejudice was a thing of the past, especially within our parishes. But then, someone asked what my gut response is when I hear a Mass is going to be bilingual or trilingual… Do I rush to find a different Mass? Am I annoyed when cultures come together to share Communion, or do I rejoice at our brotherhood and our ability to unite in worship?<br /><br />Finally, in this week's Gospel reading, Jesus challenges the Pharisees' use of Mosaic Law to defend divorce. He reminds us this wasn’t God’s plan from the beginning of creation:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>“Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” (<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/10">Mark 10:2-12</a>)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>I was afraid this Gospel reading would be too obscure for a 7-year-old. But the Word of God is accessible to each of us in our own place, and this is the interpretation Jonathan offered after a few moments:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>“It’s kind of like, in that episode of the show Chicken Squad, when the squirrel and the rat were arguing about having a tea party or a pizza party, but then they figured it out by putting the two parties together and putting acorns on pizza. And the chickens said, ‘This tastes delicious!’”</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>I don’t mean to belittle the very real and difficult issues of marriage that many are navigating. Indeed, as the Church teaches, in some cases, God did not actually join two people together in marriage—a sacrament didn’t occur, even if a ceremony did. From this understanding, the Church grants annulments.<br /><br />But in so many ways, not just in marriage, we’ve lost the art of compromise and seeking common ground. It’s all or nothing, one side or the other, my way or the highway… and we all lose. In the words of my 7-year-old, we need to work more toward combining our tea parties and pizza parties!<br /><br />While it wasn't my intention to write with Jonathan this week—and next month, Wally and I will be back on the docket!—what a blessing it was to hear reflections on Scripture from a child. Surely it's not a coincidence that the next few verses after this Sunday's Gospel passage include Jesus blessing children and their kingdom insights:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>“Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/10">Mark 2:14</a>)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>(If you want to try this kind of reflection with a child, just read some Scripture together, enjoy a moment of silence, and then ask them what they think… Remember to listen more than talk.)</span><br /><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicrotVA1klEB_jKWD9Qa1j_vvAcZvmbt0Cbmh16xtm-kQ9GcQuAJ_wCMxArdi3hm2meGI3uBk7T4n5jtMJnc5XivjrW2pg0gXI0KVCxiCvbT_vvMJknGda-OntgSyLnh6_aLRW4FmRR7Q/s1920/Child+with+Bible.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1920" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicrotVA1klEB_jKWD9Qa1j_vvAcZvmbt0Cbmh16xtm-kQ9GcQuAJ_wCMxArdi3hm2meGI3uBk7T4n5jtMJnc5XivjrW2pg0gXI0KVCxiCvbT_vvMJknGda-OntgSyLnh6_aLRW4FmRR7Q/w320-h240/Child+with+Bible.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">Photo by<a href="https://unsplash.com/@aaronburden?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"> Aaron Burden</a> on<a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/6jYoil2GhVk"> Unsplash</a></div></span></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-38093937020833964212021-09-04T14:30:00.003-05:002021-09-04T14:30:11.051-05:00For Those Whose Hearts Are Frightened: A Reflection on the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time <span style="font-family: courier;">Wally and I were invited to share a reflection at <i>From His Heart</i>, <a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1805-h">our parish blog</a>, on the <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090521.cfm">Mass readings for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time</a>.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This Sunday, the prophet Isaiah shares a message for "those whose hearts are frightened." What fears dictate my life? Isaiah describes a healing God: <i>"Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing." (Isaiah 35:4-7)</i><br /><br /><b>Maybe my fears aren't from being physically blind or deaf or mute or lame, but I can't see the next step in my future, and it scares me. Or I can't hear God's voice, and I feel alone. Or I don't have the courage to take a necessary step forward. Or something needs to be said, but I'm too afraid to say it.</b><br /><br />In the Gospel reading, we see Jesus fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy: Jesus heals a deaf man with a speech impediment by taking the man <i>"off by himself away from the crowd"</i> (Matthew 7:31-37). Why move away from everyone? Was the deaf man experiencing a panic attack amid the pushing and shoving of so many people? Was the crowd only begging Jesus to heal this man as spiritual entertainment? <br /><br />Whatever the reason, in this interaction, we see Jesus' sensitivity to our unique needs for friendship and healing. Sometimes, Jesus heals in front of others, but not in this case. Jesus knows this man, deaf with a speech impediment, and knows he needs personal time away from the crowd to experience healing. And God does the same for each of us, meeting with us wherever we're most receptive—maybe in a quiet place in nature or a comfortable chair with a journal or a beautiful liturgy or, like St. Josemaria Escriva, <a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1722-parenting-lessons-from-st-josemaria">a crowded train during rush hour</a>, or like the man in this Sunday's Gospel, "off by [ourselves] away from the crowd." <br /><br /><b>How do I need Jesus to meet with me today?</b></span><div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSIeaUVrbpMM1707pxc1Bp8DTiZ-csip8-YJ1rNVb8nWUM1Ix1Sz45duBkI3KTf-j77SNatRdVgnU-S5feEpVXG1LZFDyVP5eM-K5INL23RAQtgGA3nOLqufBXngTP69z4knhs43R2Og/s1920/Fear.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSIeaUVrbpMM1707pxc1Bp8DTiZ-csip8-YJ1rNVb8nWUM1Ix1Sz45duBkI3KTf-j77SNatRdVgnU-S5feEpVXG1LZFDyVP5eM-K5INL23RAQtgGA3nOLqufBXngTP69z4knhs43R2Og/s320/Fear.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;">Photo by<a href="https://unsplash.com/@rajesh_ram?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"> Rajesh Ram</a> on<a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/G8Eb2RbLmIw"> Unsplash</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-1461873049562326942021-07-25T19:47:00.000-05:002021-07-26T05:58:46.913-05:00Ever Complaining: A Reflection on the 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time<div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Wally and I were invited to share a reflection on </span><a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1762-ever-complaining" style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">our parish blog</a><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"> on the </span><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080121.cfm" style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">Mass readings for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time</a><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;">.</span><br style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;" /></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div>I like to think of myself on the "good" side of Bible stories―as Moses, ever trusting God, or as Paul, sacrificing everything for the Gospel, or as one of Jesus' devoted disciples.<br /><br />But this Sunday's readings hold up a humbling mirror. <br /><br />When the Israelites want to go back to times that seemed sweeter, complaining that God's work in their lives or in their community isn't what they expected, I hear myself grumbling with them: <br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"Would that we had died at the Lord's hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread!" (Exodus 16:3)</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The Israelites are so busy complaining, they don't even recognize answered prayers when God provides manna from heaven. "What is this?" they ask.<br /><br />And Moses replies: "This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat." (Exodus 16:15)<br /><br />Then, in this week's Gospel, a crowd follows Jesus, looking for adventure, entertainment, and free food.<br /><br />"What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do?</span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our ancestors ate manna in the desert… Give us this bread always." (John 6:30-34)<br /><br />Jesus gently redirects them:<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." (John 6:35)</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But ultimately, most of the crowd leaves (John 6:66).<br /><br />I want to believe I wouldn't demand a sign or insist on some kind of Jesus circus, whether 2,000 years ago or today. But how easily do I take offense when the liturgy doesn't look how I think it should, meeting my personal aesthetics for music, volume, attire, demeanor, art, architecture, or language?<br /><br />The reality is, sometimes my heart resonates less with Moses and more with the frustrated Israelites; sometimes I'm less like Jesus and more like his fairweather followers. <br /><br />This Sunday's reading from the New Testament suggests a remedy for when we're tempted to look backward to a "former way of life" or feel jaded by our own "deceitful desires" (Ephesians 4:22): <br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth. (Ephesians 4:24)</b></span></i></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></div><div><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj781pvWT0QFAxChvQkD_wRk-1o4TqkwzVp_bthUUlEKoda6dcGfBp46kBbTq4pOYyM37ncH1lmwc3r8dj0WrQODRsZmAlM_HrzuyCjTdpS89I-n57ynE3jzwXeIH6tNp_IPy5x2jZ27yg/s1920/Bible.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1920" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj781pvWT0QFAxChvQkD_wRk-1o4TqkwzVp_bthUUlEKoda6dcGfBp46kBbTq4pOYyM37ncH1lmwc3r8dj0WrQODRsZmAlM_HrzuyCjTdpS89I-n57ynE3jzwXeIH6tNp_IPy5x2jZ27yg/w400-h300/Bible.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></i><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;">Photo by<a href="https://unsplash.com/@arunanoop?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"> </a><a href="https://unsplash.com/@aaronburden?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Aaron Burden</a> on<a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/TNlHf4m4gpI"> Unsplash</a></span></div></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-47892046520992662542021-06-28T11:58:00.003-05:002021-06-29T15:54:11.096-05:00Rejecting Prophets: A Reflection on the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time<span style="font-family: courier;">Wally and I were invited to share a reflection on <a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1726-rejecting-prophets">our parish blog</a> on the <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070421.cfm">Mass readings for the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time</a>.<br /></span><br /> <span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">This Sunday's readings tell of rejected prophets, first Ezekiel in the Old Testament, then Jesus in the Gospel. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">God warns Ezekiel his messages will be for "rebels… hard of face and obstinate of heart" (</span><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/ezekiel/2" style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Ezekiel 2:2-5</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">), so prideful they may not listen.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">In the Gospel, Jesus is rejected by the very people who should know him best when He visits his hometown. They dismiss anything special about him:</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">"Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" (</span><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/6" style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Mark 6:1-6</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">)</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">(The term "brother" doesn't negate Mary's perpetual virginity; check out </span><a href="https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/bad-aramaic-made-easy" style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Jimmy Akin on "Bad Aramaic"</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"> for more on that.)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">It's tempting to believe we would never reject Jesus. But in this Sunday's Gospel, who rejects Jesus? It's people who were closest to him from the beginning, who watched him grow up and had known him for decades. And yet, they failed to see Jesus as He truly was.</span><br /><br /><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">And don't we all fail to see Jesus as He truly is? Even after decades of closeness with intimate encounters at each Mass, we still inadvertently limit Jesus' presence in our lives and fail to recognize his good work in the world because it doesn't look how we expect it to look.</span><br /></b><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">"That can't be of God," I protest. "God would never…" God would never what? Speak through a non-Catholic? Do good work through a person I don't like? Use a song I find offensive to communicate to someone else? Bless someone I think is undeserving? Use the political party I didn't vote for to bring about good in my country? Call someone to a unique vocation that makes no sense to me?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">It's easy to become prideful, thinking I know Jesus best, thinking I know how and where and with whom God wants to work. But just like the people in Jesus' hometown, my pride limits my ability to see where God is present in the world, even in my own life. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">St. Paul gives us the solution to pride in this Sunday's reading from the New Testament: </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">"...a thorn in the flesh was given to me… to keep me from being too elated." (</span><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/12" style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">1 Corinthians 12:7-10</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">)</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">God allowed weakness in Paul's life, "a thorn in the flesh," to keep him from becoming too prideful. What was the thorn in his flesh? A physical ailment? A proclivity to sin? A demon? A mental illness? A difficult relationship? Recurring hardships? We only know that Paul recognized it as a blessing:</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">"I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me." (</span><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/12" style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">1 Corinthians 12:7-10</a><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">)</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Jesus was able to work fully through St. Paul because Paul's weakness kept him from the pride of limiting God. </span><br /><br /><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Forgive me, Lord, for the times I've missed what you're doing in the world because of my pride.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Humble me, Lord, so I stop setting artificial limits on how or where or with whom or in what ways You are at work in the world, in others' lives, and also, in me.</span><br /></i><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha73X7Z2o4aHK3wUWbbsGGetgH1H-l-i72L3iNEmgdYhoTuhpjezF9gCTXtd4gKbD2sJtSOsC1SUHV-38MJnoVJhEtosQohrqnSac86r-WmH0XyiF4vv7jqVOrITmdExTIlCi6-PFmEmo/s320/prophet.jpg" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;">Photo by<a href="https://unsplash.com/@arunanoop?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"> Arun Anoop</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/k1p8iaypMP4">Unsplash</a></span></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-85711825906456181742021-05-30T15:02:00.002-05:002021-06-21T14:20:22.081-05:00A Secret Mission Before The Last Supper: A Reflection on Corpus Christi Sunday<span style="font-family: courier;">Wally and I were invited to share a reflection on <a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1649-pruning-and-growing">our parish blog</a> on the <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060621.cfm">Mass readings for Corpus Christi Sunday.</a><br /></span><br /><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Jesus gives strange instructions to his disciples in this Sunday’s Gospel reading:<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">“Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him.” </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">(<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/14">Mark 14:13</a>)</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Why would a man be carrying a jar of water? Only women carried jars of water. Yet with Jerusalem crowded for Passover, a man with a water jar would be an easy target to find and follow without any personal interaction.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Wherever [the man] enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">(<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/14">Mark 14:14</a>)</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Why vaguely refer to The Teacher? Why not say Jesus wants a guest room for Passover? Jesus knows his time is short. There's a warrant out for his arrest, and anyone aware of his location has been ordered to report him to the chief priests and Pharisees (<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/11">John 11:57</a>). <br /><br /><b>Through these secret arrangements, Jesus ensures his safety just long enough to eat the Passover meal with his disciples before He is killed. He institutes a new Sacred Tradition, giving himself completely to his disciples through the simplicity of bread and wine:<br /><br /></b></span><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many." </span></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">(<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/14">Mark 14:22-24</a>)</span></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Though Jesus is arrested later that night and crucified the next day, He resurrects from the dead in a glorified body just three days later. And because two faithful disciples were successful in their mission to secretly arrange for Jesus to celebrate the Last Supper before his death, we receive Jesus’ resurrected, glorified body each time we receive Communion.<br /><br />Why would Jesus offer us such a humbling gift? In the words of St. Thomas Aquinas:<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"It is the law of friendship that friends should live together… Christ has not left us without his bodily presence in this our pilgrimage, but he joins us to himself in this sacrament in the reality of his body and blood" </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">(<a href="https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/order-of-mass/liturgy-of-the-eucharist/the-real-presence-faqs">Summa Theologiae, III q. 75, a. 1</a>).</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Do I believe Jesus longs for friendship with me? How can our friendship grow through Holy Communion?</b><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmjgRz-OIYsqKR-GJ-68AsvmiUMwmfRRahyr-mAi_R9HfoaxuBtEoQngkZrqhqxDWh3SWio-X81BHE1BuHqoRwkK2hvxplKnAx8j6wUe_btqCuU0D9npV2E3Hgtk-_NBax8W0IEJt9LR8/s1920/Communion.jpg"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmjgRz-OIYsqKR-GJ-68AsvmiUMwmfRRahyr-mAi_R9HfoaxuBtEoQngkZrqhqxDWh3SWio-X81BHE1BuHqoRwkK2hvxplKnAx8j6wUe_btqCuU0D9npV2E3Hgtk-_NBax8W0IEJt9LR8/w320-h213/Communion.jpg" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Photo by<a href="https://unsplash.com/@reskp?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"> Jametlene Reskp</a> on<a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/21xmyDjZPck"> Unsplash</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-8011b38b-7fff-a807-6f69-7f08dd1c2e5a" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"></span></span></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-8011b38b-7fff-a807-6f69-7f08dd1c2e5a" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"></span></span></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-8011b38b-7fff-a807-6f69-7f08dd1c2e5a"></span></div></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-5491984089166599102021-04-26T16:41:00.004-05:002021-04-26T16:50:25.795-05:00Pruning and Growing: A Reflection on the 5th Sunday of Easter<div><span style="font-family: courier;">Wally and I were invited to share a reflection on <a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1649-pruning-and-growing">our parish blog</a> on the <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050221.cfm">Mass readings for the 5th Sunday of Easter.</a><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>A</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">fter February's Arctic blast, which gifted southeast Texas with more snow and ice than we've seen in decades, spring brings a bittersweet reality. Our native plants just can't seem to recover. Orange, lemon, and lime trees sit starkly pruned. Even bushes with moderate cold tolerance need extra pruning this year. It feels like a death to lose what little green they've attempted after a difficult winter. But now, warming days with healing rains inspire leaves, stems, and blossoms on bare branches throughout our city. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Something in us likens to this bleak condition: we have fought the good fight and are ready for spring!</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">In this Sunday's Gospel, we hear how the Father "takes away every branch ...that does not bear fruit, and every one that does he prunes..." (<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/15">John 15:2</a>). Our Father removes dead branches, but also cuts back living branches. The loss through pruning might seem like a death, unnecessary suffering after an already difficult season. But, as we see in the plants of the tenderest gardeners, pruning brings life.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Where in my life are there branches—maybe even expansive or impressive branches—that produce nothing? What would happen if we allowed God to cut back the unproductive overgrowth? In our lives, as in the garden, we open space for healthy, new growth. Where do I need God's gentle pruning in my life, to cut away dead branches and cut back living branches, so my life "bears more fruit" (<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/15">John 15:2</a>)?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Father, help us to recognize and release what isn't producing fruit in our lives. As we hold onto Jesus, the true vine, help our branches produce life-giving fruit.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Jesus said to his disciples: "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. ...I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit." (<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/15">John 15:1,5</a>).</span></b></i></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5jn29C9eZZAQ_Eoly1YbH5gP6xRJcgfCvfed8KVpq4BTG2aEG4pjA4Z55AnNVB6uZLpcOeyDNMmpMIaJnMUecXdnxqTMdbIIRvC22qFiZIPZhtvcKSvOPcE_72zzueiPTZdM8izvMvs8/s2048/Orchard.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5jn29C9eZZAQ_Eoly1YbH5gP6xRJcgfCvfed8KVpq4BTG2aEG4pjA4Z55AnNVB6uZLpcOeyDNMmpMIaJnMUecXdnxqTMdbIIRvC22qFiZIPZhtvcKSvOPcE_72zzueiPTZdM8izvMvs8/w320-h213/Orchard.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/@skylarjaybird?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Skylar Jean</a> on<a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/VW4x7oFSFJU"> Unsplash</a></span></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-26348877734605779142021-04-03T11:36:00.001-05:002021-04-03T11:36:23.740-05:00Burial Cloths In An Empty Tomb: A Reflection on Easter Sunday<span style="font-family: courier;">Wally and I were invited to share a reflection on <a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1590-we-proclaim-christ-crucified">our parish blog</a> on the <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040421.cfm">Mass readings for Easter.</a><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">We laughed while reading the Easter Gospel passage. Right in the middle of the most important story John will ever tell—the Resurrection of Jesus—he mentions three times in three sentences that he arrived at the tomb first:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"They both ran, <b>but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first</b>; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived <b>after him</b>, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, <b>the one who arrived at the tomb first</b>, and he saw and believed." (John 20:4-8, emphasis added)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>As a parent, I want to tell John to stop bragging: "We get it. You got there first. Congratulations!"<br /><br />But John's words are more than just bravado at being a good sprinter. (One writer estimates <a href="https://outofthewilderness.me/2018/04/01/how-far-peter-ran-to-the-tomb-of-jesus">they ran about 0.75 miles</a> from the Upper Room to the Tomb.) John's details about the race provide supporting evidence for Jesus' Resurrection: John arrived first, but didn't go into the Tomb. Nothing was touched until Peter arrived. Once they were both at the Tomb, Peter went inside, followed by John, and they witnessed Jesus' burial cloths together. <br /><br />Roman leaders were pushing a counter-theory, suggesting Jesus' disciples stole his body to fake a resurrection. Sounds like an easy scam: sneak in, steal the body, make up a story about finding the tomb empty, and start a religious revolution! <br /><br />If you were going to steal a dead body from a mausoleum, how would you do it? Would you grab the body and run? Or would you take the time to unwrap cloths wrapped around the body and then sneak off with a stiff, naked corpse?<br /><br />John's strange description of used burial cloths in an empty Tomb offers evidence for early Christians to realize Jesus' body wasn't stolen; He truly resurrected. John understands people might doubt Jesus' ability to overcome death. He doubted it himself until discovering the burial cloths in the Tomb, and then "he saw and believed" (John 20:8). <br /><br />We have an opportunity to insert ourselves into the Gospel narrative this week. John often uses phrases like "the disciple," "the other disciple," or "the disciple whom Jesus loved" instead of his own name as he writes, which allows us to imagine ourselves in the story. (See <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/13">John 13:23</a>, <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/19">John 19:26</a>, <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/20">John 20:2</a>, <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/21">John 21:7</a>, <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/21">John 21:20</a>.) How would you react if you arrived first to Jesus' Tomb and encountered the burial cloths with Peter? <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>"They both ran, but ______ ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; ______ bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after ______, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then ______ also went in, the one who arrived at the tomb first, and ______ saw and believed." (John 20:4-8)</i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad! Happy Easter!</span><br /><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxypm-Xe82j5JAh3UVrTpDn7vmF-pIQgoVD0pGcVojeZstHFV1tKlJZ1tlAeU16RVLJtn33AcZqDrpQwIoF0zZ02iAlHC51napzpLgbbhrgXBeGC7alhArVrE4lpNF4PiADrPtAF1_26U/s1600/Tomb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1063" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxypm-Xe82j5JAh3UVrTpDn7vmF-pIQgoVD0pGcVojeZstHFV1tKlJZ1tlAeU16RVLJtn33AcZqDrpQwIoF0zZ02iAlHC51napzpLgbbhrgXBeGC7alhArVrE4lpNF4PiADrPtAF1_26U/s320/Tomb.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/@zhantasdameli?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Dameli Zhantas</a> on<a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/g-Nb356XSag"> Unsplash</a></span></div><div><br /></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-44349350769986280332021-03-05T14:21:00.000-06:002021-03-05T14:21:26.721-06:00We Proclaim Christ Crucified: A Reflection on the Third Sunday of Lent<div><span style="font-family: courier;">Wally and I were invited to share a reflection on <a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1590-we-proclaim-christ-crucified" target="_blank">our parish blog</a> on the <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030721-YearB.cfm" target="_blank">Mass readings for the 3rd Sunday of Lent</a>. </span></div><div style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">What good is religion? Why be Catholic? </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">In this week's Gospel reading, we hear about people attracted to Jesus because of "the signs he was doing." Others were drawn to the temple as an easy way to make money off religion—"those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money changers" (John 2:13-25).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our New Testament reading describes people seeking spirituality for the sake of signs or wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:22-25).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">For those motivated by money, Jesus flips their tables in the temple. For those seeking miracles, Jesus "would not trust himself to them" (John 2:25).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Are we coming to religion for the sake of entertainment? Wise words? Feel-good emotions? Money?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">St. Paul challenges us to check our motivation: "We proclaim Christ crucified," he writes to the Corinthians. "Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">And so, we pray in this week's Responsorial Psalm: </span><br /><b style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></b><div><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><i>Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.</i></b></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcaG0zs04isO1ZO2sY1of-hNJZiDKsD10ZVioIja8DUyX6Lkarc5XJhxHQQzmfbnr2LHbGzNYKK_Ljs7RZdopLclD8vH61OOkXdDJfur621B4w0B_iMscwp1u9y_xNqPn3w7MI_wrGFMo/s2048/Crucifix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcaG0zs04isO1ZO2sY1of-hNJZiDKsD10ZVioIja8DUyX6Lkarc5XJhxHQQzmfbnr2LHbGzNYKK_Ljs7RZdopLclD8vH61OOkXdDJfur621B4w0B_iMscwp1u9y_xNqPn3w7MI_wrGFMo/w213-h320/Crucifix.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Photo by<a href="https://unsplash.com/@grantwhitty?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"> Grant Whitty</a> on<a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/crucifix?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"> Unsplash</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-55102719952241997912021-02-04T11:16:00.002-06:002021-02-04T11:26:36.846-06:00He Heals the Brokenhearted: A Reflection on the Mass Readings for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time<span style="font-family: courier;">Wally and I were invited to share a reflection at <a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1520-house-blessings-for-the-new-year">our parish blog</a> on <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020721.cfm">the Mass readings for the 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time</a><br /></span><br /><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Job is a brokenhearted person. Can you relate to some of his feelings?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Bored</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"Is not man's life on earth a drudgery?" (Job 7:1)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Unappreciated</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"Are not his days those of hirelings?" (Job 7:1)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Overworked</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"He is a slave who longs for the shade." (Job 7:2)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Underpaid</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"...a hireling who waits for his wages." (Job 7:2)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Miserable</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"I have been assigned months of misery." (Job 7:3)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Hopeless</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"My days… end without hope." (Job 7: 6)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>In contrast to Job's dejection, St. Paul's exuberance in this Sunday's New Testament reading is almost annoying. Can you relate to some of his ambitions?<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Desires to Freely Give</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"What then is my recompense?... I offer the gospel free of charge." (1 Corinthians 9:18)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Desires to Serve Others</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"I have made myself a slave to all." (1 Corinthians 9:19)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Desires Weakness</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"I became weak to win over the weak." (1 Corinthians 9:22)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Desires Unity with Others</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"I have become all things to all." (1 Corinthians 9:22)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>What happens to make someone desire those things? Why would someone let go of money, prestige, strength, and tribalism? <br /><br />We see the answer in this Sunday's Gospel reading. The transformation from brokenness to freedom is represented physically as Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law. She is sick with fever, unable to even get up, but after a healing encounter with Jesus, she is revived and serves those around her. <br /><br />Where in my life am I experiencing brokenness? Jesus, please heal me. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." (Psalm 147:3)</i></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTBwP8hRHEiZeOuT0LxHaqzP3ptYct11IgCtfU-JwaqGPzSMBEtGjshnZ0wga8uxxKiPjGwJ-IWVwvN325ibmFruUI-zvmRfOeo2L_2xLLpi5MlV0T2Cc77e-Kzw1W1nNTnACqLgu4kHc/s2048/Brokenhearted+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTBwP8hRHEiZeOuT0LxHaqzP3ptYct11IgCtfU-JwaqGPzSMBEtGjshnZ0wga8uxxKiPjGwJ-IWVwvN325ibmFruUI-zvmRfOeo2L_2xLLpi5MlV0T2Cc77e-Kzw1W1nNTnACqLgu4kHc/w213-h320/Brokenhearted+%25282%2529.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;">Photo by<a href="https://unsplash.com/@kentro?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"> Trần Toàn</a> on<a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/sd3mQXHf_kM"> Unsplash</a></span></div></div><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-1dee1262-7fff-769c-a158-e7bc1de58ceb"><div><br /></div></span></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-71917917679053070712021-01-02T07:26:00.001-06:002021-02-04T11:26:59.138-06:00House Blessings for the New Year: A Reflection on the Mass Readings for Epiphany Sunday<div><span style="font-family: courier;">Wally and I were invited to share a reflection at <a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1520-house-blessings-for-the-new-year">our parish blog</a> on <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/010321.cfm">the Mass readings for Epiphany Sunday:</a><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On Epiphany, we celebrate the magi's visit to Jesus. This week's Gospel reading shares two very different responses to Jesus' birth:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">King Herod is "greatly troubled" (Matthew 2:3). He is so upset at the announcement of this newborn king that he conspires to kill Jesus. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The magi are "overjoyed" (Matthew 2:10). They travel a long distance, then prostrate in worship before the Child Jesus. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Others mentioned in the story—the chief priests, scribes, Mary—aren't described with explicit emotions. Perhaps they felt concern, hope, fear, uncertainty, or curiosity.</span><br /><br /><b style="font-size: large;">How are you feeling this Christmas season? Troubled? Joyful? Uncertain? <br /></b><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">In the spirit of Epiphany, let's open our hearts and homes to Jesus in this coming year. There's an ancient tradition of house blessings on Epiphany. Many Catholic websites offer </span><a href="http://www.carmelites.net/news/chalking-door-2018-epiphany-house-blessing/" style="font-size: large;">creative suggestions</a><span style="font-size: medium;">, such as chalking the year and C+M+B (Christus Mansionem Benedicat: "Christ, bless this house") on doorposts. The USCCB also offers </span><a href="https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/sacramentals-blessings/objects/blessing-of-the-home-and-household-on-epiphany" style="font-size: large;">a simple and brief liturgy</a><span style="font-size: medium;"> for Epiphany house blessings that concludes with this prayer:</span><br /><br /><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><i>Lord God of heaven and earth,</i></div><i style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i>you revealed your only-begotten Son to every nation</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>by the guidance of a star.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Bless this house</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>and all who inhabit it.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Fill us with the light of Christ,</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>that our concern for others may reflect your love.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>We ask this through Christ our Lord.</i></div></i><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiyH8VMsyGx3lkOw5f49Vv-ZpZf0A9zHLQLCYjQ3xu-Nsube6EKFTw9HsYxAvAk11POd9o49M5WsHFMXvaAhiFpbhSB5IYTRu2qoh4IfSnOSmI3b25CwkKTHazx7SsCU-bOWdILEs-_JM/s2048/Nativity.jpg"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiyH8VMsyGx3lkOw5f49Vv-ZpZf0A9zHLQLCYjQ3xu-Nsube6EKFTw9HsYxAvAk11POd9o49M5WsHFMXvaAhiFpbhSB5IYTRu2qoh4IfSnOSmI3b25CwkKTHazx7SsCU-bOWdILEs-_JM/w320-h213/Nativity.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by<a href="https://unsplash.com/@jhc?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"> James Coleman</a> on<a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/nNFGGKNzi0k"> Unsplash</a></span></div><br /><br /><br /></span><br /></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-8223195978254276812020-12-21T21:29:00.004-06:002021-03-02T12:32:14.412-06:00When Motherhood Changes Dreams<span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Advice on life and motherhood can be confusing:<br /><br />On the one hand, pregnant women are assured that nothing will change: <i>You can still do it all with a baby! A baby won't take away your dreams!</i><br /><br />On the other hand, they're told any personal ambitions outside of motherhood are ultimately insignificant: <i>Being a mom is better than anything else in the world!<br /></i><br />We need to be careful with our well-meaning platitudes. By diminishing the real sacrifice of motherhood—claiming it doesn't have the power to change or replace the hopes and dreams of a woman—we also, inadvertently, diminish the love of a mother. <b>A mother's love is the deepest understanding of love for many humans, not because it's uncomplicated, simple, easy, or painless, but precisely, because it is not.</b><br /><br />Ten years after my first surprise baby, I'm still furrowing through the immersive lessons of repeated humiliation that frame motherhood. I wasn't expecting the messiness, the pee, the vomit, the intense neediness that deeply defines our humanity. <i>How we need one another. <br /></i><br />Some families seem to effortlessly incorporate children into their ongoing lives. Their moms use maternity leave <a href="https://www.madeformums.com/pregnancy/thinking-of-starting-your-own-business-maternity-leaves-the-time-to-go-for-it/">to launch a business</a>! For other families, caring for new life is much more difficult—health concerns, financial needs, a lack of family, parish, or community support.<br /><br />As it happens, motherhood often means re-writing the life we thought we were living. So much of the cultural encouragement around motherhood has proven false. The reality is: <i>I can't do it all. I have to let go of personal dreams and desires to meet the needs of my family.</i><br /><br />And my proverbial box of every answer, so proudly toted around through high school and college, hasn't had all the answers since that first confounded pregnancy test. <b>Oh, to have the faith of Mary, confidently declaring her fiat, even as she realized God's plan might not align comfortably with the future she had imagined.</b><br /><br />Recently I see glimpses of new dreams on old themes, clearer and braver after pushing through endless sleepless nights of babies... toddlers... preschoolers... Even so, I'm unsure. What doors might providentially close because my family needs me? But then, what doors might providentially open because meeting the needs of my children puts me in the right place at the right time?<br /><br /><b>With motherhood I've realized, with gratitude, my one-size-fits-all ideal of God is just as wrong as it is useless. </b>Jesus is far more personal than an XXL tee that "fits all" but sorts easily to the Goodwill pile. <br /><br />Perhaps this was Mary's source of comfort as a mother. She already knew God as more than a calloused, lofty spirit or inconsistent wishing well. Mary weathered life with the Lord long before Jesus calmed the storm for the disciples. And even as the unexpected way of motherhood took Mary to the foot of the cross at the Crucifixion of her Son, it also led her through the Resurrection, to the Upper Room on Pentecost, and on to become an integral member of the early church community. Through this, Mary experienced the personal affinity of God—not just for her, but for each of us. What new work is God doing with you, for love of you?<br /><br />Dear fellow mothers, your sacrifice is real! Perhaps it feels particularly heavy this difficult year. Maybe your life has seemed to drift farther from the storyline you thought you were living. <i><b>May the Spirit of God find each of us wherever we are, comfort and inspire us with renewed hopes and new dreams. <br /></b><br /><b>Mother of the Word Incarnate, pray for all mothers.<br /></b></i><br /></span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX9DOE8n6n7dxwNIuLh7-PayQrqOmcs79tJpBGjkrjZTlZMMr64DAY54unQoSRWcTP8L1kNePjMBVSkO5t4wefhO0fyO2KOcPFsBjgoj3AEqU8hmvuMxWGir0a8iSMcLwTsF4bjcFHXWw/s2048/Mom.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1367" data-original-width="2048" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX9DOE8n6n7dxwNIuLh7-PayQrqOmcs79tJpBGjkrjZTlZMMr64DAY54unQoSRWcTP8L1kNePjMBVSkO5t4wefhO0fyO2KOcPFsBjgoj3AEqU8hmvuMxWGir0a8iSMcLwTsF4bjcFHXWw/w320-h214/Mom.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@seitamaaphotography?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Sandra Seitamaa</a> on<a href="https://unsplash.com/?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"> Unsplash</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>An edited version of this post was also published Dec 2020 at <a href="https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/when-motherhood-changes-our-dreams" target="_blank">CatholicMom</a> and Feb 2021 at <a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1584-when-motherhood-changes-dreams" target="_blank">Sacred Heart Blog</a>.</i></div><div><br /></div></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-2933766096254793772020-11-30T06:53:00.003-06:002020-11-30T06:53:53.140-06:00Wilderness Waiting: A Reflection on the Second Sunday of Advent<div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: x-small;">Wally and I were invited to share a reflection at <a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1485-wilderness-waiting" target="_blank">our parish blog</a> on <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120620.cfm" target="_blank">the Mass readings for the Second Sunday of Advent</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">We're waiting… for a stack of Amazon boxes on the porch… for a COVID vaccine… for answers... for Christmas… <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">"...with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day." </div><div style="text-align: center;">(2 Peter 3:8)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>For many of us, 2020 feels more like 365,000 years than 365 days. And yet, we hear comfort in this week's Mass readings: God has purpose for our waiting.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">"The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard 'delay,' but he is patient…" </div><div style="text-align: center;">(2 Peter 3:9)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Perhaps your waiting is similar to ours—bouts of complacency, anxiety, impatience, furrowed brows, lost tempers, worry, hope… Advent reminds us that seasons of waiting are also opportunities for self-reflection and repentance. <b>What am I doing? Where am I going? Why this long season of waiting?</b><br /><br />We might find answers in a passage that's repeated several times this week, first in the book of Isaiah, then in the Gospel acclamation, and again in the Gospel:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">"A voice of one crying out in the desert: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.'"</div><div style="text-align: center;">(Mark 1:3, quoting Isaiah 40:3)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Even though they lived 700 years apart, Isaiah prophesied about John the Baptist's future road construction in the desert. John didn't build literal roads while he lived in the wilderness; he smoothed others' paths to Jesus—leveling proverbial valleys and mountains—to make God more accessible. <b>And aren't there places within each of us that need to be encouraged, humbled, or calmed in order to see God's glory?<br /></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;">"Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God … Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low, the rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed…" </div><div style="text-align: center;">(Isaiah 40:4)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>This year feels a little like a wilderness. The unique challenges of COVID are helping us rethink what it looks like to minister. We might find that God's work is simpler and more varied than what we've practiced in past years. <b>What might Advent look like this year?<br /></b><br />For our family, we want to focus on making Jesus more accessible to our kids, finding more silence and stillness during prayer together so our children can learn to clearly discern God's voice in their hearts and minds.<br /><br />Perhaps another person will "prepare the way of the Lord" this Advent by:<br /><ul><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">emailing old friends to rekindle community </span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">encouraging coworkers with kind words</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">calling relatives who miss family gatherings</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">leaving notes for neighbors who feel disconnected</span></li><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">simply starting each day in calm, quiet gratitude</span></li></ul>In seasons of waiting, God works differently in each of us, raising valleys and lowering mountains to smooth our paths to him. <b>How can I help "prepare the way of the Lord" in myself and for others this Advent?</b><br /><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCL3gbheNZm_ohsTlT6UD6RLLHFvRrpcQPAWy8cqEv4Ae1Y5Tsh1Fe_5PSWOL9KZ6j1E-glrl0RPBn0XjFMFdT6ZNZkRe3cG1TCB69uWMGoAHnFHfLMzq-VKSBgiHApQxuvwfCUm7o4lM/s2048/Christmas+Door.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1357" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCL3gbheNZm_ohsTlT6UD6RLLHFvRrpcQPAWy8cqEv4Ae1Y5Tsh1Fe_5PSWOL9KZ6j1E-glrl0RPBn0XjFMFdT6ZNZkRe3cG1TCB69uWMGoAHnFHfLMzq-VKSBgiHApQxuvwfCUm7o4lM/w212-h320/Christmas+Door.jpg" width="212" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;">Photo by<a href="https://unsplash.com/@element5digital?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText"> Element5 Digital</a> on<a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/pZl_BpWsrHA"> Unsplash</a></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">*Also published December 2020 at <a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1485-wilderness-waiting" target="_blank">Sacred Heart Parish Blog</a>.</span></div><br />Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-4026980080207430652020-11-17T08:06:00.004-06:002021-08-28T20:41:21.090-05:00Are "Good Kids" The Goal Of Catholic Parenting? <span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Several years ago, the <i>Los Angeles Times</i> published</span></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">an Op-Ed on secular family values</a>, suggesting that children raised in non-religious hom</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;">es are just as likely as their religious peers to develop "positive traits and virtues." It made me question my motives as a Catholic parent. <i>Am I just raising my kids Catholic as an attempt to have "good" kids? But research says faith isn't necessary for that...</i></span><i><br /></i><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">And it's true. My non-religious friends internalize the Golden Rule and treat others with justice and mercy just as consistently as my weekly-church-going friends. Even without God, they're moral, generous, and kind participants in the community. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Of course, I shouldn't be surprised that Christians don't have a monopoly on moral conscience. The <i>Catechism</i> teaches that every person has access to an internal compass of virtue, quoting </span><a href="http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html" style="font-size: large;"><i>Gaudium et Spes</i></a><span style="font-size: medium;">: </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i>"Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment. . . . For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. . . . His conscience is man's most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths." (<a href="https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c1a6.htm">CCC 1776</a>)</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;">So why bother with our Sunday morning services, prayers before meals, family rosaries, parish socials, and Bible studies if the moral law is available to anyone and everyone, without any formal religious experience? </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">For one, whether our conscience is formed under secular or religious influences, it is not infallible. The still, small voice within us must be regularly examined, informed, and enlightened. While faith isn't necessary in this process, we receive help, as Catholics, through the Word of God, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the good counsel of others, and church teaching (</span><a href="https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c1a6.htm" style="font-size: large;">CCC 1785</a><span style="font-size: medium;">).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Mass is also an immersive opportunity for moral formation. The Penitential Rite helps us examine our conscience as we acknowledge our failures. The Liturgy of the Word helps us form our conscience as we listen to Scripture. And throughout the Mass, we receive a concrete example of how to live in good conscience as we contemplate Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The <i>LA Times</i> article warns that binding our moral framework to a single group can unintentionally backfire. What happens when a community that identifies as Christian doesn't bear the earmark of love? That answer can be found in the number of online support groups for "Exvangelicals" and "Deconstructing Catholics." All it takes is an awful experience with a clique-ish youth group, an angry church leader, an exclusive parish, or a dysfunctional religious family (<i>with the necessary caveat that every family is a little dysfunctional, right?</i>) for someone to question the entire moral structure of their associated Christian community.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">One non-religious parent shared her concern with the <i>LA Times</i>:</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">“If your morality is all tied in with God... ...what if you at some point start to question the existence of God? Does that mean your moral sense suddenly crumbles? The way we are teaching our children… no matter what they choose to believe later in life, even if they become religious or whatever, they are still going to have that system.”</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;">So is it worth the risk, as Catholic parents, to raise our kids in the faith, if a bad church experience could actually harm their internal moral compass? Or what if, after all these years of catechesis, our kids still choose a destructive path as adults? </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">The painful reality of negative religious experiences cannot be ignored, whether it's caused by the institutional church, a local community, a family, or even a well-meaning individual who speaks out of turn. (<i>Admittedly, this has been me in some interactions, and I'm deeply, deeply sorry.</i>) For those who have been hurt by religion, I believe Jesus leaves the 99 and pursues each one to the place they've found as refuge and sits with them in the wilderness for as long as they need. (<i>This has also been me, and maybe, it's been all of us, chased out to the wilderness at one time or another by those who claim to represent God. If you're there now, I know it's difficult. I'm sorry. I hope it can somehow be a place of rest and healing.</i>)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">As Catholic parents, our highest purpose is not to teach our kids every jot and tittle of the moral law, despite having access to a 2,000-year-old library of Sacred Tradition to help us out. Even if we could somehow teach them every rule, the highest purpose of Catholic parenting is still not to enforce it all. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Our greatest purpose, as Catholic parents, is to introduce our kids to the Author of the universal truth within us. The innate "sense of moral goodness" within each of us is a way of coming to know God (</span><a href="https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s1c1.htm" style="font-size: large;">CCC 33</a><span style="font-size: medium;">). Accordingly, our conscience is much more than just a storehouse of good values. St. Thomas Aquinas says that the work of our conscience, analyzing the gradation of goodness or truth or virtue in an act, is actually a search for ultimate good, "and this we call God" (</span><a href="https://www.newadvent.org/summa/1002.htm#article3" style="font-size: large;">ST, I. Q2. A3</a><span style="font-size: medium;">).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Catholic parenting means connecting our kids to God, teaching them how to listen, dialogue and wrestle with the Spirit of God. When we bring our kids to Mass, pray with them, discuss Scripture, jump through all the bureaucratic hoops for sacraments, and volunteer in the parish or community as a family, we're helping our kids encounter the Eternal.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">To be honest, one of my hopes in raising our kids in the Catholic Church <i>is</i> that they'll be "good" kids—kind, generous, just, and all the other virtues, even as I recognize that children from any background, religious or not, can develop similar well-formed consciences. However, my ultimate hope, as a Catholic parent, is that these childhood faith experiences will enkindle a curiosity in my kids' souls to help them connect deeply and genuinely with God.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Of course, there are many reasons to raise kids Catholic. What are some of yours?</span><br /><br /><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUkgFQ0ctyygX8vNETHv4KygIMJz5BHkcnBHwkfzN7WVx6K0s-4POZKWZZgLH4_DYA-bHuraQ4dJCKLJSBbG_n3ymliLdwTGbLrWKFEBF2qHNA2FBx6MOCfaTzDwjZw33HrR00K9M3DfU/w320-h213/kids.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by<a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"> Anna Samoylova</a> on<a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"> Unsplash</a></span></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>*Also published November 2020 at <a href="https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/are-good-kids-the-goal-of-catholic-parenting" target="_blank">CatholicMom</a> and August 2021 at <a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1802-are-good-kids-the-goal-of-catholic-parenting" target="_blank">Sacred Heart Blog</a>.</b></span></span>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-18890236099966116932020-10-28T07:29:00.004-05:002020-10-28T07:29:58.615-05:00When Patriotism Isn't A Virtue<span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Catholic Americans seem to revel in polarization. Our country's two-party political system, which siphons the electorate into severely limited options, certainly doesn't help. But there's an accompanying divisive insistence, particularly among Catholics, that one secular party or the other holds exclusive claim to virtue and love for our homeland.<br /><br />What we overlook in these claims of virtuous patriotism are integral components of piety and charity. <a href="https://www.newadvent.org/summa/3101.htm?fbclid=IwAR2fioELZRtpbfx2HnLyKv0tLk5wOmp-Wpcs0YPOc1WfFcFLcF2Zvhc9BGY" target="_blank">In the words of St. Thomas Aquinas</a>, "piety is a protestation of the charity we bear towards our parents and country."<br /><br /><b>Imagine if our children spoke to us with the same tone we exercise in online political comment feeds. Has your 8-year-old ever passive-aggressively expressed concern for your eternal damnation? How effective has that been in furthering parent-child dialogue? <br /></b><br />Comparing filial dialogues to patriotic ones is not far fetched: the Catechism addresses patriotism in <a href="http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s2c2a4.htm" target="_blank">its exegesis on the Fourth Commandment</a>—<i>"Honor your father and mother"</i>—as an expression of filial piety to our fatherland. This means, as in a family, our interactions are meant for charity and the common good of all members, leading to growth in reverence toward our parents and, by extension, our fellow citizens and homeland (and ultimately, God).<br /><br />Endless online pseudo-dialogue only compounds our poor practice of patriotism. Pope Francis addresses this failure of social networks to facilitate meaningful conversation in his most recent encyclical, <a href="http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html" target="_blank"><i>Fratelli Tutti</i></a>:</span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;">"Dialogue is often confused with something quite different: the feverish exchange of opinions on social networks, frequently based on media information that is not always reliable. These exchanges are merely parallel monologues. They may attract some attention by their sharp and aggressive tone. But monologues engage no one, and their content is frequently self-serving and contradictory."</div></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Why are Catholic comboxes some of the most vicious places on the Internet when it comes to politics? We miss countless opportunities to contemplatively turn issues under the light of church teaching when we compulsively pitch them left or right instead.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><i><b>Please read the rest over at <a href="https://wherepeteris.com/when-patriotism-isnt-a-virtue/" target="_blank">Where Peter Is</a>.</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjBimbjy5yksp-ntfePH0govVsKUkJpz6_AzS0oB__86aWhiSeysk4x_m28b7gyppf1GyrWbf8rYmmdMQhX8uYDbjhl_P7T84PBk5lXHFv-hqRzProsf5Zj32ZK_XZu1RQCDwwl0zptQ/s2048/flag.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWjBimbjy5yksp-ntfePH0govVsKUkJpz6_AzS0oB__86aWhiSeysk4x_m28b7gyppf1GyrWbf8rYmmdMQhX8uYDbjhl_P7T84PBk5lXHFv-hqRzProsf5Zj32ZK_XZu1RQCDwwl0zptQ/w320-h213/flag.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@eyefish73?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Jon Sailer</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/8JYxCF00X3Y">Unsplash</a></span></div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-17421640279356262852020-10-26T09:43:00.005-05:002020-10-27T11:19:58.421-05:00Always, In Every Place: A Reflection on the Solemnity of All Saints<p><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">Wally and I were invited to share a reflection on </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#" style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">the readings for Mass this Sunday, November 1, 2020</a><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">, at </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#" style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">From His Heart</a><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: small;">, our parish blog.</span></i></div><span style="font-family: courier; font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div style="text-align: center;">We celebrate a different saint nearly every day of the year. Some days, such as St. Patrick's on March 17, are more popular than others. (Anyone remember St. Isaac Jogues and St. Rene Goupil on October 19?)</div></span></div><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>With such a crowded liturgical calendar, is All Saints Day just a catch-all feast for leftover saints?</b></span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-5ea60cdb-7fff-4bf2-9194-3a6622cb0a2f"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">We might try to put a number to it: 800 or 1,700 or 10,000 "official" canonized saints. Or in this week's First Reading, St. John references 144,000 Israelites in heaven:</span></span></p></span><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand marked from every tribe of the children of Israel." </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">(Revelation 7:4)</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">But it's St. John's next revelatory insight that best captures the spirit of All Saints Day: </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"...I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue…" </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">(Revelation 7:5)</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On November 1, we celebrate every saint, known and unknown, from every time and place in history. And we're not just celebrating that </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">they've</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> made it to heaven, but that </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">all of us can</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This week's Responsorial Psalm describes saints in the making: </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face." </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Do I long to see God's face? Do I long to be in God's presence?</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Our Second Reading from 1 John helps us further understand what it means to be a saint. To become a saint, we are—</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Loved by God: "See what love the Father has bestowed on us…" (1 John 3:1)</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Walking by faith: "...what we shall be has not yet been revealed…" (1 John 3:2)</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Trying to imitate God: "...we shall be like him…" (1 John 3:2)</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Living in hope: "...has this hope based on him…" (1 John 3:3)</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Do I see myself as God's beloved? Do I try to imitate God's love for others, living in virtues of faith and hope?</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Finally, in this week's Gospel reading, Jesus gives us a new standard for sainthood. Maybe, as we listen to the Beatitudes, we're surprised to hear that eternity with God isn't based on someone's place in church hierarchy, name recognition, or number of theology degrees.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">(Matthew 5:3)</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The first condition for sainthood is to simply realize we're too spiritually poor to even reach heaven without God's mercy in the first place. The </span><a href="https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/order-of-mass/introductory-rites" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Penitential Rite</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, prayers we say at the beginning of each Mass, and </span><a href="https://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/penance/examinations-of-conscience" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">examinations of conscience</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are regular reminders of our spiritual poverty: </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"I confess to Almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and what I have failed to do…"</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life." </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Jesus lists seven more blessings for those who desire sainthood, an eternity with God in heaven:</span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">"Blessed are they who mourn… the meek… they who hunger and thirst for righteousness… the merciful… the clean of heart… the peacemakers… they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness… you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me…" </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">(Matthew 5:3-12) </span></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Who comes to mind when you hear the Beatitudes? A particular saint? A family member who's passed away? Perhaps a friend? How can I better live the Beatitudes?</span></span></p></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">"Always, in every place, one can become a saint, that is, one can open oneself up to this grace, which works inside us and leads us to holiness… Every state of life leads to holiness, always! In your home, on the street, at work, at church, in that moment and in your state of life, the path to sainthood has been opened." </div><div style="text-align: center;">- Pope Francis, <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">General Audience, November 19, 2014</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEideGitqXLwCuMx2-qxN1tLz2g14kbBRQWlOnrCuzjgviHwuv7_05-WWhDSPM7e8OJnyFtT816BtTYUy1hUE4x4GdBL6UbmzL8iFx6lFy5J6wxtrvAjN4Cd-y9yGRKE9YxmYQolZqvGKrk/s2048/Bible.jpg"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEideGitqXLwCuMx2-qxN1tLz2g14kbBRQWlOnrCuzjgviHwuv7_05-WWhDSPM7e8OJnyFtT816BtTYUy1hUE4x4GdBL6UbmzL8iFx6lFy5J6wxtrvAjN4Cd-y9yGRKE9YxmYQolZqvGKrk/w400-h266/Bible.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></p><p style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"></p><p></p><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration-color: initial; text-decoration-style: initial; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Photo by</span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@kellysikkema?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="font-family: trebuchet; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kelly Sikkema</span></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> via</span><a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/bible?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="font-family: trebuchet; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: trebuchet; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: trebuchet; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unsplash</span></a></span></div></span>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-76649094767389568142020-10-22T12:51:00.010-05:002022-05-29T23:41:39.538-05:00Sorrow, Comfort, & The Desire To Be Blessed (Mary's Seventh Sorrow)<span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Two people show up unexpectedly as Jesus dies on the cross. <br /></b><br />They're late in coming—but not too late. <br /><br />It's Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, two of Jesus' secret disciples. To this point, they've only met privately with Jesus for fear that his friendship could destroy their hard-earned reputations and high rank on the Council. However, in the final hours of Jesus' life, something changes.<br /><br />Not only do Nicodemus and Joseph publicly identify as Jesus' followers, they ask Pilate for his body and then provide everything needed for Jesus' anointing and burial. Their actions passionately declare: <i>I know this man. I love him. I bless him.<br /></i><br />This is the final post in a series on Mary's Seven Sorrows as reflected in our seven basic human desires. This week we consider Mary's Seventh Sorrow, Placing Our Lord in the Tomb, in light of our basic human desire <i>to be blessed.<br /></i><br />To be blessed is for someone to see us as special and beloved. Surely Mary always had this regard for Jesus. From the Annunciation, when the angel Gabriel first described Jesus to Mary—<i><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/1" target="_blank">"the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God"</a></i>—she believed in the unique goodness of her Son. How deep her sorrow as she buries the One who blessed her, who knew her and loved her better than any other. And now, as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea help with the entombment, they confirm a similar deep friendship with Jesus: <i>yes, this is someone special, and we love him.</i></span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Are you blessed by someone in your life, someone who sees you, knows you, and loves you just for who you are? </b></span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br />"Affirmations are about what we do, [and] blessings are about who we are," Mark and Debra Laaser write in Seven Desires, explaining how our desire to be affirmed differs from our desire to be blessed. "...This desire to be blessed may be our deepest, most primal need."<br /><br /><b>When we realize we are blessed—<i>known and loved exactly for who we are</i>—it's a nourishing comfort deep in our souls.<br /></b><br />At Jesus' Baptism in the Jordan River, He receives a blessing from God the Father. Jesus is blessed, not for any miracles He's performed or wisdom He's shared, but simply for who He is: <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."</div><div style="text-align: center;">(<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/3">Matthew 3:17</a>)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Our first experience of blessing should be from our parents. Do you remember your parents delighting in you?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">When we're unsure if we are blessed, unsure if we're loved for who we are, we might question if we're really worthy of love. It can lead to sadness, anger, and insecurity over whether we are enough.</span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /><span>Did you know God blesses you? God knows you and likes you. <i>God delights in you. </i><br /></span></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Did you know we can bless the Lord? God is blessed by our desire to know him, our love for him, and our delight in him.</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"Bless the Lord, my soul; all my being, bless his holy name!"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">(<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/103">Psalm 103:1</a>)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>When life is difficult—seasons of discouragement, loss, disappointment, isolation, sickness, even death—may we experience blessing, God's interminable love for us, as a deep, sustaining comfort.</span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">When life is joyful—like the party that Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and Mary must have hosted when their friend Jesus, whom they so lovingly buried three days earlier, came back to life on the first Easter Sunday—may our celebrations spring from the comfort of blessing deep in our souls, the assurance we are seen, known, and loved by God.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Do you believe you are blessed by God</span><span style="font-size: large;">—seen, known, and loved? As a parent, how can I comfort my children with the assurance they are blessed</span><span style="font-size: large;">—seen, known, and loved</span><span style="font-size: large;">—by both God and me?</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b><br /><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZJqoWlfaVsppHb24CeI-qBVHOsX3GyZJTR5_-VADBiRyh6KllQsPCBiTrhK_7Y_XvKxXbbFKx6hHHlkqz3pN9JG6zpeURAXSCXqI-LZujd3PAB0G8Jk-EGlct6yzw1jLnI6dJlh83HE/s1368/Entombment.jpg"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlZJqoWlfaVsppHb24CeI-qBVHOsX3GyZJTR5_-VADBiRyh6KllQsPCBiTrhK_7Y_XvKxXbbFKx6hHHlkqz3pN9JG6zpeURAXSCXqI-LZujd3PAB0G8Jk-EGlct6yzw1jLnI6dJlh83HE/w320-h196/Entombment.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b>Posts In This Series: <br /></b><br /><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/09/sorrow-prophecy-desire-to-be-affirmed.html" target="_blank"><i>Sorrow, Prophecy, & The Desire To Be Affirmed</i></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><br /><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/09/sorrow-escape-desire-to-be-safe.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Escape, & The Desire To Be Safe</a><br /><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/09/sorrow-absence-desire-to-be-chosen.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Absence, & The Desire To Be Chosen</a><br /><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-suffering-desire-to-be-touched.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Suffering, & The Desire To Be Touched</a><br /><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-loss-desire-to-be-included-marys.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Loss, & The Desire To Be Included</a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-presence-desire-to-be-heard-and.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Presence, & The Desire To Be Heard and Understood</a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><br /><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-comfort-desire-to-be-blessed.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Comfort, & The Desire To Be Blessed<br /></a><br /></i>For more information on the seven basic human desires, check out: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><i>Seven Desires: Looking Past What Separates Us to Learn What Connects Us</i></a> by Mark & Debra Laaser.<br /><br /><b>*Also published October 2020 at <a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1435-sorrow-comfort-the-desire-to-be-blessed" target="_blank">Sacred Heart Parish</a> and May 2021 at CatholicMom.</b></span><br /></div></div></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-35653547191422902162020-10-16T13:20:00.007-05:002022-05-29T23:42:11.632-05:00Sorrow, Presence, & The Desire To Be Heard And Understood (Mary's Sixth Sorrow)<span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Centuries of tradition and artistic representation contemplate the sorrow of Mary receiving her Son's body from the cross.<br /><br />I wonder if John and Mary Magdalene considered pulling Jesus' mother away until after his body was wrapped for burial. Such a tortured body would surely rupture her heart. Often, if a victim is badly hurt, a medical examiner will only allow discrete opportunities for family members to view or touch part of their loved one's body.<br /><br /><b>And yet, Mary holds her precious son's body, grieving at the brutality of his death, while also aware his story isn't over. After 33 years of presence, listening with her heart, pondering one strange occurrence after another in the life of her son, Mary understands, even in sorrow, something bigger is happening here.<br /></b><br />This is the sixth post in a series on our seven basic human desires reflected in Mary's Seven Sorrows. Consider the Sixth Sorrow, Mary Receives Christ's Body from the Cross, in light of our basic human desire <i>to be heard and understood</i>.<br /><br />At Jesus' death, his followers were confused and despondent. Many had fled. Perhaps they were thinking, "What was it all for? What a waste." <br /><br />But Mary recalled Jesus' warnings about what was to come. She remembered <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/2">Simeon's prophecy</a> that her heart would be pierced. She knew Jesus had allowed himself to be scourged, mocked, crucified, killed. And from Mary's song of Magnificat in <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/1">Luke 1</a>, she recognized this was all somehow connected to God's promise to Abraham nearly 2,000 years earlier.<br /><br /><b>Even as chaos and sadness descend, Mary's intentional presence throughout Jesus' life helped her hear and understand her Son. <br /></b><br />Was there someone in your childhood who really listened and understood? So often, when one of my kids begins to talk, I hold up a finger of pause: <i>"Not now… I'm busy… I'm on the phone… I'm tired… I just talked with you five minutes ago… Can you just give me a moment?"</i> What about as an adult? Can you recall a time when someone really listened intently as you shared?<br /><br />When we're repeatedly ignored or misheard, we might begin to think our concerns and ideas don't matter. We might stop trying to communicate altogether—why bother if no one's listening? We might start shouting our thoughts in an attempt to make ourselves heard. We might talk quickly without stopping, afraid to lose control of an opportunity to speak. When children feel unheard, they often resort to tantrums, yelling, flailing, and acting out. <br /><br /><b>How do I respond when I feel unheard? Talk louder? Talk more? Talk angrily? Do I stop trying to talk altogether? <br /><br />How can I be present with intentional attention to hear and understand others? As a parent, how can I help my child feel heard and understood?</b></span><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjFoZ949vvDTGReu7-xZVFsqiBuVgCLOF5B5z5_n_uV5Ppixv-KbJ6bQmrU6mWFd_AC8eBQO7FnirfMRFbYi5N99ddNn4PSsZe3ejgqkjOg9gtF7HvPYW_8yNl16FLNi-vVkxlprqumC0/s320/Pieta.jpg" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Pieta</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Michelangelo / CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br />Posts In This Series: <br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Sorrow, Prophecy, & The Desire To Be Affirmed</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Sorrow, Escape, & The Desire To Be Safe</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Sorrow, Absence, & The Desire To Be Chosen</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Sorrow, Suffering, & The Desire To Be Touched</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Sorrow, Loss, & The Desire To Be Included</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Sorrow, Presence, & The Desire To Be Heard and Understood</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Sorrow, Comfort, & The Desire To Be Blessed<br /></a><br />For more information on the seven basic human desires, check out: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Seven Desires: Looking Past What Separates Us to Learn What Connects Us</a> by Mark & Debra Laaser.<br /><br />*Also published October 2020 at <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Sacred Heart Blog</a> and April 2021 at <a href="https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/sorrow-presence-and-the-desire-to-be-heard-and-understood" target="_blank">CatholicMom</a>.</span></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-71918967558950167432020-10-09T12:27:00.007-05:002021-05-11T13:35:25.040-05:00Sorrow, Loss, & The Desire To Be Included (Mary's Fifth Sorrow)<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Jesus' dying words were a gift of community to those He loved most:</span></span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-a2268e27-7fff-6d54-46b0-3258727ceaec" style="font-family: trebuchet;"><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span>"When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span>'Woman, behold, your son.'</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span>Then he said to the disciple, </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span>'Behold, your mother.'" </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(</span><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/19" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John 19:26-27</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">)</span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As Mary's physical motherhood ends with Jesus' death, He asks her to begin a spiritual motherhood, not just for John, but for any, for all, who might desire to slip their name into Scripture as </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"the disciple whom [Jesus] loved."</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (John wrote several opportunities in his Gospel account for readers to substitute their names as "the beloved disciple" of Jesus. See </span><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/13" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John 13:23</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/19" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John 19:26</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/20" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John 20:2</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/21" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John 21:7</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, </span><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/21" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">John 21:20</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.) </span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is the fifth post in a series on how Mary's Seven Sorrows reflect our seven basic human desires. Consider the desire </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to be included</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in light of Mary's Fifth Sorrow, Jesus Dies on the Cross. </span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Each of us longs to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. </span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Our first experience of community is within our family. As a child, did you feel included in your family? </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">What about your church</span><span id="docs-internal-guid-0d464286-7fff-1ebe-1136-93dfa37ff876"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">—</span></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">did parish life help you feel known, welcomed, and included? Sometimes a bad encounter at church makes us think God is exclusive, definitely not interested in someone like me.</span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><div><span style="font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But Jesus loves community. </span><span style="font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">As He died, Jesus created a community, a spiritual family, for his disciples that continues even today: <i>"Woman, behold your son... Son, behold your mother."</i> Mary, recognizing her unique relationship with Jesus wasn't meant to be exclusive, expands her motherhood, including anyone in need of a spiritual mother.</span></div></span><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span>Mary responded to Jesus' desire for community by opening her heart to all. How will I respond? Are there ways I can open my heart to include others, to create communities where people feel invited and welcomed?</span></span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span>As a parent, how can I meet my child's need to be included?</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span><br /></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga5n8Ex5boJJse7PjfpLdk9Eh8iChqBnGlufMk5zINyetqMBoFagu9FSaMVMA6KYkH6_b_U01q-gIArYeeolzn74ZDctz_aVK_wOHcwBb5a74oHwPKOnEHPXUFWCgVcmP2IkAsgmdZ0fU/s2048/Included.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga5n8Ex5boJJse7PjfpLdk9Eh8iChqBnGlufMk5zINyetqMBoFagu9FSaMVMA6KYkH6_b_U01q-gIArYeeolzn74ZDctz_aVK_wOHcwBb5a74oHwPKOnEHPXUFWCgVcmP2IkAsgmdZ0fU/w400-h266/Included.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-c633c855-7fff-5223-8932-fbd193fcf251" style="font-weight: normal;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">Photo by</span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@dimhou?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> Dimitri Houtteman</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"> on</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/2P6Q7_uiDr0" style="text-decoration-line: none;"> Unsplash</a></span></span></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div></span></span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b>Posts In This Series: <br /></b><br /><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/09/sorrow-prophecy-desire-to-be-affirmed.html" target="_blank"><i>Sorrow, Prophecy, & The Desire To Be Affirmed</i></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><br /><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/09/sorrow-escape-desire-to-be-safe.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Escape, & The Desire To Be Safe</a><br /><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/09/sorrow-absence-desire-to-be-chosen.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Absence, & The Desire To Be Chosen</a><br /><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-suffering-desire-to-be-touched.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Suffering, & The Desire To Be Touched</a><br /><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-loss-desire-to-be-included-marys.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Loss, & The Desire To Be Included</a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-presence-desire-to-be-heard-and.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Presence, & The Desire To Be Heard and Understood</a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><br /><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-comfort-desire-to-be-blessed.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Comfort, & The Desire To Be Blessed<br /></a><br /></i>For more information on the seven basic human desires, check out: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><i>Seven Desires: Looking Past What Separates Us to Learn What Connects Us</i></a> by Mark & Debra Laaser.<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: transparent; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>*Also published October 2020 at <a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1425-sorrow-loss-the-desire-to-be-included" target="_blank">Sacred Heart Blog</a> and March 2021 at <a href="https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/sorrow-loss-and-the-desire-to-be-included" target="_blank">CatholicMom</a>.</b></span></span></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-6456214255470348552020-10-02T12:14:00.015-05:002021-03-02T12:29:02.853-06:00Sorrow, Suffering, & The Desire To Be Touched (Mary's Fourth Sorrow)<span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">What a moment of solace for Jesus to encounter a caring face among an angry crowd. <br /><br />Scripture doesn't record Mary meeting Jesus <i>on his way</i> to be executed. However, <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/19">John 19</a> confirms Mary's presence during his final suffering, and tradition has long held she met Jesus as He carried his cross.</span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg77sFUnM8mET8EZaIKcg2pBARivcDPPw8IPtHZj42ReqpMCkUbitwXNUn_9-ZVSN4atJ3znAhVnkG2xCtcXR0gQbuEpUbn1S1It7uIQPGZMp6KVHyb8kzDi8-9vNbxUOV48WSTUJK88iQ/w276-h320/Mary+Meets+Jesus.jpg" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;">Jesus Meets His Mother, Mary</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;">GualdimG / CC BY-SA (<a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0</a>)</span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br />It's said the soldiers jeered at Mary, labeling her a failure as a mother. Why else would her son be executed by the state?<br /><br />Could Mary and Jesus hear each other amidst the crucifixion noise—accusations, torture, heckling? Even without speaking, a moment of touch between them could communicate a lifetime of truth more loudly than any words: <i>You are a good mother. You are a good son. I believe in you. I love you. I support you.</i><br /><br />Positive physical touch is powerful: it lowers blood pressure, heart rate, and stress; it calms crying babies; it expresses deep sentiment when words fall short; it brings solidarity in suffering. <br /><br />This is the fourth post in a series on our seven basic human desires (to be affirmed, safe, chosen, touched, included, blessed, heard and understood) in light of Mary's Seven Sorrows. <b>Consider the basic human desire to be touched, as we reflect on the Fourth Sorrow, Mary Meets Jesus on the Way to Calvary.<br /></b><br />Every person desires honest, positive touch. Touch is the manifestation of mutual love and affection in a relationship. Do you remember positive touch as a child? Hugs, high fives, snuggling, kisses, holding hands, gentle guidance through daily tasks… <br /><br />In the Gospel scriptures, Jesus constantly reaches out with affirming, gentle touch:<br /></span><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Peter's sick mother-in-law</b>: "He went to her, took her by the hand, and helped her up" (<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/1">Mark 1:31</a>),</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Jairus' dead child</b>: He "took her by the hand, and the little girl arose" (<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/9">Matthew 9:25</a>),</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Two blind men</b>: He "touched their eyes… and their eyes were opened" (<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/9">Matthew 9:29-30</a>),</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>The disciples</b>: "he poured some water into a washbasin and began to wash [their] feet" (<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/13">John 13:5</a>),</span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Children</b>: "he took [them] in his arms, placed his hands on each of them, and blessed them" (<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/10">Mark 10:16</a>). </span></li></ul><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">In the sacraments, we still experience this physical interaction modeled by Jesus -- a gentle touch, sometimes with water or oil -- that reveals and communicates a spiritual reality. <br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9lxbMmn2cva8Np3nB2vYu_Guuh0HASkydJNXDdCd22QXBTbZeA6hrr1QM4Zu8Zf28KRo2CrlhVPuT2JYabnF63dYNsi_QN2iYIDl5KV8a5OwxVtTHTwVNjkxl0sBgewvNCysLcyU0XFs/w320-h213/Baptism.jpg" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;">Photo by<a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"> Josh Applegate</a> on<a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"> Unsplash</a></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br />Touch is a healthy, normal part of our humanity that expresses love, affirmation, and even healing. However, touch can also be used in negative, harmful, or dissonant ways: for example, when Judas kissed Jesus, not as a reflection of their strong friendship, but as a signal of betrayal to the Roman soldiers (Mark 14:44). When we experience the harm of negative touch, healing is needed to restore our trust, to heal our hearts and minds. Professional counselors or therapists are an invaluable resource for help in this restorative healing.<br /><br />As we reflect on Mary's Fourth Sorrow, a brief encounter with her tortured Son shortly before his death, may the Lord help us reflect on our own desire to be touched in positive, affirming ways. <b>As a parent, we might ask, how can I help my child experience love with positive physical affirmation?</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0UZILWWUKG4y2siaf8NmAHQL6IBCfxpYruSue9dsdsIkVejPxtoewgcJfjZIYuaQ9MTM-jRrgLIbGvdKqh-5tqxbBub9D8wzYWyrLrpMI1AX_nRWHgW2KpUNuY9bhO4axy4jh6P6b4yM/s2048/Mom+and+Child.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1367" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0UZILWWUKG4y2siaf8NmAHQL6IBCfxpYruSue9dsdsIkVejPxtoewgcJfjZIYuaQ9MTM-jRrgLIbGvdKqh-5tqxbBub9D8wzYWyrLrpMI1AX_nRWHgW2KpUNuY9bhO4axy4jh6P6b4yM/w215-h320/Mom+and+Child.jpg" width="215" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-indent: 48px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Photo by</span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@jwwhitt?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small; text-decoration-line: none; text-indent: 48px;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Jordan Whitt</span></a><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-indent: 48px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on</span><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/KQCXf_zvdaU" style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: small; text-decoration-line: none; text-indent: 48px;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unsplash</span></a></div><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><div style="font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b>Posts In This Series: <br /></b><br /><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/09/sorrow-prophecy-desire-to-be-affirmed.html" target="_blank"><i>Sorrow, Prophecy, & The Desire To Be Affirmed</i></a></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><br /><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/09/sorrow-escape-desire-to-be-safe.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Escape, & The Desire To Be Safe</a><br /><br /></i></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/09/sorrow-absence-desire-to-be-chosen.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Absence, & The Desire To Be Chosen</a><br /><br /></i></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-suffering-desire-to-be-touched.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Suffering, & The Desire To Be Touched</a><br /><br /></i></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-loss-desire-to-be-included-marys.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Loss, & The Desire To Be Included</a></i></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-presence-desire-to-be-heard-and.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Presence, & The Desire To Be Heard and Understood</a></i></span></div></span></span><div><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-comfort-desire-to-be-blessed.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Comfort, & The Desire To Be Blessed<br /></a><br /></i><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">For more information on the seven basic human desires, check out: </span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/#" style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>Seven Desires: Looking Past What Separates Us to Learn What Connects Us</i></a><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> by Mark & Debra Laaser.</span><br /></span></span></span><br /><b>*Also published October 2020 at <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Sacred Heart Blog</a> and February 2021 at <a href="https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/sorrow-suffering-and-the-desire-to-be-touched" target="_blank">CatholicMom</a>.</b></div></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-70364142200085595742020-09-30T09:33:00.001-05:002020-10-22T15:12:12.287-05:00Lives of Good Fruit: A Reflection on the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: courier; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; white-space: normal;">Wally and I were invited to share a reflection on </span><a href="http://cms.usccb.org/bible/readings/100420.cfm" style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #7d181e; font-family: courier; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; text-decoration-line: none; white-space: normal;" target="_blank">the readings for Mass this Sunday, October 4, 2020</a><span style="background-color: #fefdfa; color: #333333; font-family: courier; font-size: 13px; font-weight: 400; white-space: normal;">, at <i><a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1414-lives-of-good-fruit" target="_blank">From His Heart</a></i>, our parish blog.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do the everyday moments of my life create good fruit? And what does the Bible even mean comparing </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">people</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">produce</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">? </span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-63ac9bc0-7fff-1dee-9f0a-a470c9036c68"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Good fruit is described as "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" in </span><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/galatians/5" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Galatians 5</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. How can I produce that kind of fruit in my life? </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We see that God works first, preparing the land, planting good vines, anticipating a good crop, in this Sunday's Old Testament reading:</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"...he spaded it, cleared it of stones, and planted the choicest vines; within it he built a watchtower, and hewed out a wine press." (</span><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/5" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Isaiah 5</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And so, every life is an opportunity to produce something good. </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In the Responsorial Psalm, we picture ourselves as a vine, recognize our frailty, and ask the Lord's protection and restoration: </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"O LORD of hosts, look down from heaven, and see, take care of this vine, and protect what your right hand has planted… give us new life… restore us." (</span><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/80" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Psalms 80</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jesus tells the parable of abusive caretakers in this Sunday's Gospel. They lease a vineyard while the owner is away on a journey, but rather than receive their due harvest and offer the rest to the One who prepared and planted the vineyard in the first place, the temporary tenants become proud, presumptuous, and greedy. They kill anyone who threatens their power ‒ even the vineyard owner's son. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When I think of my own life's vineyard, the people and responsibilities entrusted to me, am I humble enough to realize that I'm caring for what is not my own? That someday, I will need to make an accounting to God for how I treat others and for the fruit I produce?</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thankfully, we read in this Sunday's New Testament scriptures a guaranteed way to produce good fruit: </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"...whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you." (</span><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/philippians/4" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Philippians 4</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">St. Paul doesn't just promise us good fruit and peace of heart when we meditate on whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious, excellent, or praise-worthy. St. Paul promises us </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the God of peace</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, God's very presence with us in our daily work to produce good fruit.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In my current circumstances, where do I need God's peace?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lord, help me to see the opportunities you give me to produce good fruit today. God of peace, be with me.</span></p><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*For this Sunday's Mass readings, the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, click </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100420.cfm" style="text-decoration-line: none;">here.</a></span></span><div><span><br /></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNFIv9wulU-TbUhPoNUdVBu4UK3-VqyWCFkR2Wxy6IMEcm7bdorYVcohCTVz6iiGkOe7HH9nnlykbYjnC6mX22CEu-KXNH03wyvjQQPa1S4WgxZZH4ju5hXDwhuBNSlYfMc_mGUdOuU8/s2048/Grapes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1361" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzNFIv9wulU-TbUhPoNUdVBu4UK3-VqyWCFkR2Wxy6IMEcm7bdorYVcohCTVz6iiGkOe7HH9nnlykbYjnC6mX22CEu-KXNH03wyvjQQPa1S4WgxZZH4ju5hXDwhuBNSlYfMc_mGUdOuU8/w400-h266/Grapes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-dee4cd04-7fff-658b-388f-da60a0ac29df"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Photo by</span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@davidkhlr?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">David Köhler</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on</span><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/gBdG886bLDY" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unsplash</span></a></span></div></span><span><br /></span></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-9295912464155342002020-09-25T13:43:00.009-05:002021-05-11T13:43:50.560-05:00Sorrow, Absence, & The Desire To Be Chosen (Mary's Third Sorrow)<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">It's a game easily ignored on any busier morning, but Providence and a rainy day made me unusually amenable to getting tugged from picture to picture around the house. My chirpy 4-year-old beamed as we searched for his small image in our crowded family photos.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">One of our basic human desires is to be chosen: for someone to see us, know us, like us, and desire a special relationship with us.</span></b></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Do you remember feeling chosen as a child?</span></b></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Maybe your parents told you they were happy you were born. Maybe someone took time to listen to your joke or story. Maybe they took you on a special trip or planned a day just for the two of you, wrote you a letter or called just to chat.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">When we experience the joy of being chosen, it affirms great truth: I am unique, I have great worth, my life has purpose. When our desire to be chosen goes unmet, it can cause us to believe lies about ourselves: I'm not special, lovable, smart enough, attractive enough, nice enough, rich enough, professional enough, perfect enough …</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This is the third post in a series on the seven basic human desires (to be affirmed, safe, chosen, touched, included, blessed, heard and understood) in light of Mary's Seven Sorrows. Today, let's consider our basic human desire to be chosen as we reflect on Mary's Third Sorrow, The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">In <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/2">Luke 2</a>, we read Mary and Joseph took Jesus to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover when he was 12 years old. On the return trip home, Mary and Joseph search for Jesus in their crowded caravan of friends and family for a full day only to realize they've left him behind in Jerusalem. It takes them another two days to find Jesus in the temple, conversing with an astonished and captivated group of religious leaders.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">In Mary and Joseph's search for Jesus, we see the passion of a mother and father desperate to find a beloved child. They can't give up. They can't just bring home a different kid. They can't just have a baby and forget about pre-teen Jesus. This loss of their child isn't a void that can be filled by any other child. (Let's rest for a moment in the affirmation that God feels this same way about each of us. Each person is deeply special and unrepeatable to God.)</span></b></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">How affirming for Jesus to see the love of his parents when he was lost to them, to realize how unique and irreplaceably special He is to them. Upon finding Jesus with teachers in the temple, Mary exclaims, “Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” (<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/2">Luke 2:48</a>)</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">And then, a beautiful reciprocation happens: Jesus also chooses Mary and Joseph.</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Despite his longing to be in the temple — a place Jesus feels close to God, his Father, a place He's welcomed and applauded and admired by the teachers, a place they'd surely invite him to stay longer — Jesus chooses instead to go home with Mary and Joseph:</span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 20px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><i>"He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart." (<a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/2" target="_blank">Luke 2:51</a>)</i></span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">It must have been an overwhelmingly joyful experience for Mary and Joseph to be chosen by Jesus. Mary pondered this experience among all of the other holy mysteries she collected in her heart during Jesus' life.</span><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Since the world often chooses those who are particularly spectacular — the most talented, charming, beautiful, well-spoken, useful, accomplished, decorated — we might think we need to be a particular kind of person for God to choose us. But in addition to Mary and Joseph, look at the people Jesus "chose" to be in a special relationship with: social pariahs, tax collectors, prostitutes, sinners, people angry with the government, people who worked for the government, people dissatisfied with the mainstream religious beliefs of their day … </span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Do you believe God chooses you also? <i>God desires a unique, affirming, loving relationship with you.</i><br /><br /></span></div><div><b><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">How is the basic human desire to be chosen fulfilled in your life? As a parent, how can you help your child feel chosen, sincerely known and irreplaceably loved by you just for who they are?</span></b></div><div><b><br /></b><span><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKRxNrlSr2hCF3hpgEIppPYTN0nnUZTdqf5rRNSCd8rxiDCJgBITiTQwJkiVaIiEOhAp-_dczVquP4cz0QgImzywCuY_R7Pf0vcgot4D_JIK8_6LhaHOe7XS8oLVrq0rIL86iPsnoXrAA/s2048/Chosen.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1365" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKRxNrlSr2hCF3hpgEIppPYTN0nnUZTdqf5rRNSCd8rxiDCJgBITiTQwJkiVaIiEOhAp-_dczVquP4cz0QgImzywCuY_R7Pf0vcgot4D_JIK8_6LhaHOe7XS8oLVrq0rIL86iPsnoXrAA/w426-h640/Chosen.jpg" width="426" /></span></a></div><span id="docs-internal-guid-51422860-7fff-23fb-602a-2ab3063f6d77"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Photo by</span><a href="https://unsplash.com/@kristynlapp?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kristyn Lapp</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on</span><a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/ijr1PcDkbiw" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unsplash</span></a></span></p></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b>Posts In This Series: <br /></b><br /><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/09/sorrow-prophecy-desire-to-be-affirmed.html" target="_blank"><i>Sorrow, Prophecy, & The Desire To Be Affirmed</i></a></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><br /><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/09/sorrow-escape-desire-to-be-safe.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Escape, & The Desire To Be Safe</a><br /><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/09/sorrow-absence-desire-to-be-chosen.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Absence, & The Desire To Be Chosen</a><br /><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-suffering-desire-to-be-touched.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Suffering, & The Desire To Be Touched</a><br /><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-loss-desire-to-be-included-marys.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Loss, & The Desire To Be Included</a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-presence-desire-to-be-heard-and.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Presence, & The Desire To Be Heard and Understood</a></i></span></div></span><div><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><br /><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-comfort-desire-to-be-blessed.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Comfort, & The Desire To Be Blessed<br /></a><br /></i>For more information on the seven basic human desires, check out: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><i>Seven Desires: Looking Past What Separates Us to Learn What Connects Us</i></a> by Mark & Debra Laaser.</span></span><br /><br /><b>Also published September 2020 at <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#">Sacred Heart Blog</a> and January 2021 at <a href="https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/sorrow-absence-and-the-desire-to-be-chosen" target="_blank">CatholicMom</a>.</b><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></span></div></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1311574905823830824.post-84344494805384915382020-09-19T12:36:00.011-05:002021-05-11T13:44:59.333-05:00Sorrow, Escape, & The Desire To Be Safe (Mary's Second Sorrow)<p style="text-align: left;"></p><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>When you were a child, do you remember feeling safe?</b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Were you worried whether your house was secure from crime or storms or disrepair? Or whether you would be fed when you were hungry? If your family had enough money? If something might happen to your parents?</span></span></div><p style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left;"></p><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large; white-space: pre-wrap;">What about emotional safety? Were friends and family loving in their words and actions? </span></div><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-cc699997-7fff-bc27-b41a-f5bdb92c2a6f" style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And how did you experience spiritual safety as a child? Did you believe God desired </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">good</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for every person, including yourself? Are your early faith memories positive or negative? </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is the second in a series of posts reflecting on our seven basic human desires in light of Mary's Seven Sorrows. This week, we consider Mary's Second Sorrow, The Flight to Egypt, and the basic human desire to be safe. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/2" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: black; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Matthew 2</span></a><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> tells the classic Christmas story of wisemen following a star in search of the new royal baby whose birth the star announced. In their excitement, the magi unwittingly alarm King Herod to Jesus' presence, and Herod reacts like any power-hungry monarch: he makes plans to kill the child. (In defense of the magi, who would have guessed a newborn king wouldn't be the son of the current king?)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Note how spiritual safety becomes integral to their story: "Having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country another way" (Matthew 2:12). After finding and worshipping Jesus, </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">the magi felt spiritually safe enough to trust a message from God in a dream over a powerful, angry monarch with whom they had made an agreement to report the child's location. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Joseph had a similar experience: "the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, 'Rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt...'" (Matthew 2:13). Because Joseph's experience of God to this point assured him of God's goodness and love, Joseph could act from a place of spiritual safety, trusting the message of an angel in his dream and fleeing with Mary and Jesus to Egypt.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do you feel spiritually safe enough to hear and trust God's voice in your life? </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emotional safety is also paramount to this story: Because there's a history of loving action from Joseph in their relationship, Mary can trust Joseph when he shares that he received a godly message in a dream, and she can support his conviction that they must escape to Egypt. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do you feel emotionally safe in your relationships, that those closest to you are aware of and desire your good? </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Surely concerned thoughts prodded Mary and Joseph as they traveled with their infant son… Is the road safe? Are there provisions along the way? Will a strange land welcome them? </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When we feel unsafe -- physically, emotionally, spiritually -- or if we experienced these unresolved fears as children, it can surface in unexpected ways: the inability to live confidently, pressure to control the smallest details of everything around us, relational anxiety… </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As parents, there's a new level of fear that affects us even more than our own safety: is my child safe? We see this theme repeated in countless stories of refugees and immigrants throughout history. Good parents will go to any length to provide safety for their children. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we reflect on Mary's Second Sorrow, The Flight to Egypt, let's ask ourselves: In what ways is the basic human desire </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">to be safe</span><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> fulfilled in my life? For parents, how can I help my child feel safe -- physically, emotionally, and spiritually? </span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="font-size: large; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMi3Xs7pg5htBYyRFiOjfv2kPXA5qz6cWMA7hU8ChWlc8imNJ91OiDYDecAfEOTx4WxAxAPpGAPEBqCrR_TOKjJoub1yANf_sIvJ5jKjVxGEP16ELZFkMvAIgik0Xip5hvj-j9Kbm9tgs/s1024/Flight+to+Egypt+%25281%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="1024" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMi3Xs7pg5htBYyRFiOjfv2kPXA5qz6cWMA7hU8ChWlc8imNJ91OiDYDecAfEOTx4WxAxAPpGAPEBqCrR_TOKjJoub1yANf_sIvJ5jKjVxGEP16ELZFkMvAIgik0Xip5hvj-j9Kbm9tgs/w320-h251/Flight+to+Egypt+%25281%2529.jpg" title="Flight to Egypt" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Flight of the Holy Family Into Egypt c. 1647</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Jacob Jordaens / Public Domain</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: large; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b>Posts In This Series: <br /></b><br /><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/09/sorrow-prophecy-desire-to-be-affirmed.html" target="_blank"><i>Sorrow, Prophecy, & The Desire To Be Affirmed</i></a></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><br /><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/09/sorrow-escape-desire-to-be-safe.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Escape, & The Desire To Be Safe</a><br /><br /></i></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/09/sorrow-absence-desire-to-be-chosen.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Absence, & The Desire To Be Chosen</a><br /><br /></i></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-suffering-desire-to-be-touched.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Suffering, & The Desire To Be Touched</a><br /><br /></i></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-loss-desire-to-be-included-marys.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Loss, & The Desire To Be Included</a></i></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-presence-desire-to-be-heard-and.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Presence, & The Desire To Be Heard and Understood</a></i></span></div><div style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><i><br /><a href="http://www.sunrisebreaking.com/2020/10/sorrow-comfort-desire-to-be-blessed.html" target="_blank">Sorrow, Comfort, & The Desire To Be Blessed<br /></a><br /></i>For more information on the seven basic human desires, check out: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/#"><i>Seven Desires: Looking Past What Separates Us to Learn What Connects Us</i></a> by Mark & Debra Laaser.<br /><br /></span></div></span><div><span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-style: italic;">*Also published September 2020 at <a href="https://www.shconroe.org/blog/1399-sorrow-escape-the-desire-to-be-safe" target="_blank">Sacred Heart Blog</a> and October 2020 at <a href="https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/sorrow-escape-and-the-desire-to-be-safe" target="_blank">CatholicMom</a>.</b></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b style="font-style: italic;"><br /></b></span></span></div>Charlene Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14937938324211856192noreply@blogger.com0