On April 2nd, our dear Pope Francis gave a beautiful homily on Mary Magdalene standing at the tomb. As I read the Pope's words, it stirred something in me to begin praying with this scene. I have decided I would like to share with you all the fruits of my meditation on this scene, and hopefully you all will pray with this scene as well!
John 20:11-18
Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
Now the first thing that really struck me was Mary's reaction to the empty tomb versus the disciples that went with her. The disciples reaction is to turn and run and go tell the others that the tomb is empty. It seems to be a very frantic reaction, very unsettled. Mary, however, stays. She chooses to stand at the tomb, and she allows herself to weep. But let's look at why she is weeping. Mary has been called to a great conversion of heart, and she has given up everything to follow Jesus. In light of Jesus's death and now empty tomb, everything she thought was real, everything she believed Jesus would do, has been crushed. This tomb represents the crushed hopes of Mary Magdalene. She officially has no idea what is going on! Where is Jesus?
This scene is so beautiful because Mary allows herself to stand there, to be in the place where her hopes and dreams have been seemingly destroyed. She has no idea what God's plan is now, nor does she even know what to do with herself. And here, in that place, in her helplessness, is where Jesus comes to meet her. In John's gospel, Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene first. It is in the place of helplessness and grief, in the honesty of Mary's reaction (her tears), where Jesus takes a step towards her and reveals himself to her.
Mary could not have even imagined Jesus coming to her, resurrected, and giving her the message of going to his Father. She, as did many of the disciples, felt that Jesus had been defeated in death. But as is usual, His plans are so much greater than our own! But by calling her by name, He not only opens her
eyes and heart to see Him, but he reveals his plans to her. He tells her
exactly what to do, and he tells her exactly what to say.
This is exactly what Jesus wishes to do in our own prayer lives. As we allow Jesus to pursue a relationship with us, and as we allow ourselves to respond to this pursuit, Jesus wishes to reveal himself to us in just this same place. He asks us to stand at our empty tomb, to be honest in our disappointments, in our helplessness, in our grief, because that is where he desires to meet us. Father Hoesing always tells us that Jesus wants to be in the darkest places in our hearts, and this passage is real proof of that. Jesus wants to meet us in our smallness and humility, because that is where He takes the step towards us, reveals more of himself to us, and gives us the instruction we so need and desire in our lives.
Mary Magdalene struck me so greatly in that first reaction of simply staying, weeping, and being at the tomb. She shows us that as we take a step back, and wait on the Lord, He will take the extra step towards us in order to draw us nearer to Him. We have to strive for nothing when it comes to relationship with God because we are not capable of growing any closer to Him on our own. When we grasp at him, when we frantically try to leap forward (as the disciples did by running), we miss him altogether. It is by no power of our own that we are united to Christ's heart, but by the merciful love of the Father, he bends down and draws us in, and all we must do is wait on the Lord. His call to us asks for a response, which is what Mary Magdalene does at the end of this passage, by returning to the others and bringing them Jesus's message, instead of returning empty handed and frantic like the other disciples.
Mary teaches us to bring that message of hope to others. That when we've allowed Jesus to meet us in our own tombs, we are able to share the experience of hope that we have received in our encounter with God. We can share his love and his message with others, and this is really what evangelization is all about.
So what is your empty tomb? Have you allowed yourself to stay there, in that place, and asked Jesus to come meet you there? I invite you to meditate on this passage as much as you can, and see where the Lord is asking you to stay so that He can reveal more of Himself to you and draw you nearer to his own heart!
God Bless you dear loved ones
Monica
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Let it Be Done
Friends!
So it's been about a month since I last wrote and wow, SO much has happened! God is so good :) Our bible study numbers have doubled since last semester, and FOCUSGreek on our campus is BOOMING! God is really working in our students hearts, especially the girls that I am working with.
This semester, many of our students were given something called The WRAP to help guide their prayer life. WRAP stands for Write, Reflect, Apply, Pray. It's 30 scripture passages, and they are grouped under specific graces that you pray for on the days you read those specific scriptures. Students and staff have embarked on this journey together, and as we all dive even deeper into the Living Word of God, we have found the fruit of our prayer blooming in our daily lives and activities. There are entire bible studies who have asked to focus on this for the semester, and the students are keeping each other accountable to praying daily!
I'd like to share what the WRAP has done specifically in my prayer life to paint a picture of the beautiful fruit God is bringing to the UNO campus.
The first grace that the WRAP focuses on during the first 8 days and 8 scriptures is "That I may have a whole new lived experience of your infinite and personal love for me, Lord." This semester something that has come up for me is trusting in the Lord and his faithfulness. I've got a lot of big decisions this semester, as well as many difficulties that I've encountered in all aspects of my life. I knew I'd had trouble handing these things over to the Lord because I struggled (and still do struggle) with trusting in His promise. Interestingly enough, the WRAP starts out with the infancy narratives from the Gospel of Luke. Now I'm not a big fan of Luke's gospel, and if I had to pick my favorite, he's last. BUT, his gospel continued to come up in prayer for me so I figured maybe it was time to pay attention!
In the first few passages, one overarching theme jumped out at me, God's faithfulness, and believing in His promise. Mary's accepting God's will to be done in her life, Elizabeth affirming Mary's "yes" by praising her for "believing that what the Lord promised would be fulfilled", and the Shepherds being amazed and glorifying God for "all they had seen and heard; just as it had been told them." I was suddenly very drawn to Mary's trust, and her perseverance of holding God's promise in her heart. I began to reflect on my trust, and how much I had come to doubt God's will for goodness in my life. God was really bringing up all the areas that I was resisting giving to Him, because to be honest I think I'd become afraid of what His will might be.
As I reflected on the infancy narratives in Luke, I became stuck on one particular statement made by our Blessed Mother, "let if BE DONE to me, according to Thy Word." Mary did not respond telling God she would DO his will, she accepted that HE bring about His will in her life. Everything Mary every did was a response to God's will being done in her life.
Then it hit me. I (along with I'm sure many of you) have been trying to DO God's will in my life! It has become to easy to think that God's will starts with me, that I have to actively do something to fulfill or bring about God's will in my life. What I realized is that God is telling me HE is the one who turns the wheel, His very word begins all action in my life, and I am simply called to respond to Him. God asks us to accept His will, to allow it "be done" in our lives, and then as we notice and recognize His will in our lives through prayer, we can lovingly and willingly respond with a humble and serving heart to what He brings to us. Do you know how relieving that is?!?! We don't have to do or figure out ANYTHING! Jesus knows, He provides, and we are called to respond. The response may be difficult, and sometimes may stretch us to grow, but I take great comfort in remembering that it all begins and ends with Him, who is the Alpha and Omega of all things.
As I've come to notice this in my prayer life, God has helped me to see all the different ways I am totally dependent on Him for literally everything. And as I have come to see this, God has given me a growing desire to depend on Him more and more every day. As I get deeper into this prayer with the WRAP and it's scriptures and graces, I find myself encountering a real joy in depending on God, and in seeing His faithfulness throughout ALL of scripture. Every promise He ever made was brought to fulfillment in Christ, and that brings such great joy and humility to my prayer.
This is just my personal experience with this prayer, and I can tell you our students are experiencing similiar fruits of truth, goodness, and beauty in their lives. Praise God for His faithfulness and love for seeking hearts!
Please keep our students and staff in your prayers as we continue on in the busy semester! God Bless you!
Monica
So it's been about a month since I last wrote and wow, SO much has happened! God is so good :) Our bible study numbers have doubled since last semester, and FOCUSGreek on our campus is BOOMING! God is really working in our students hearts, especially the girls that I am working with.
This semester, many of our students were given something called The WRAP to help guide their prayer life. WRAP stands for Write, Reflect, Apply, Pray. It's 30 scripture passages, and they are grouped under specific graces that you pray for on the days you read those specific scriptures. Students and staff have embarked on this journey together, and as we all dive even deeper into the Living Word of God, we have found the fruit of our prayer blooming in our daily lives and activities. There are entire bible studies who have asked to focus on this for the semester, and the students are keeping each other accountable to praying daily!
I'd like to share what the WRAP has done specifically in my prayer life to paint a picture of the beautiful fruit God is bringing to the UNO campus.
The first grace that the WRAP focuses on during the first 8 days and 8 scriptures is "That I may have a whole new lived experience of your infinite and personal love for me, Lord." This semester something that has come up for me is trusting in the Lord and his faithfulness. I've got a lot of big decisions this semester, as well as many difficulties that I've encountered in all aspects of my life. I knew I'd had trouble handing these things over to the Lord because I struggled (and still do struggle) with trusting in His promise. Interestingly enough, the WRAP starts out with the infancy narratives from the Gospel of Luke. Now I'm not a big fan of Luke's gospel, and if I had to pick my favorite, he's last. BUT, his gospel continued to come up in prayer for me so I figured maybe it was time to pay attention!
In the first few passages, one overarching theme jumped out at me, God's faithfulness, and believing in His promise. Mary's accepting God's will to be done in her life, Elizabeth affirming Mary's "yes" by praising her for "believing that what the Lord promised would be fulfilled", and the Shepherds being amazed and glorifying God for "all they had seen and heard; just as it had been told them." I was suddenly very drawn to Mary's trust, and her perseverance of holding God's promise in her heart. I began to reflect on my trust, and how much I had come to doubt God's will for goodness in my life. God was really bringing up all the areas that I was resisting giving to Him, because to be honest I think I'd become afraid of what His will might be.
As I reflected on the infancy narratives in Luke, I became stuck on one particular statement made by our Blessed Mother, "let if BE DONE to me, according to Thy Word." Mary did not respond telling God she would DO his will, she accepted that HE bring about His will in her life. Everything Mary every did was a response to God's will being done in her life.
Then it hit me. I (along with I'm sure many of you) have been trying to DO God's will in my life! It has become to easy to think that God's will starts with me, that I have to actively do something to fulfill or bring about God's will in my life. What I realized is that God is telling me HE is the one who turns the wheel, His very word begins all action in my life, and I am simply called to respond to Him. God asks us to accept His will, to allow it "be done" in our lives, and then as we notice and recognize His will in our lives through prayer, we can lovingly and willingly respond with a humble and serving heart to what He brings to us. Do you know how relieving that is?!?! We don't have to do or figure out ANYTHING! Jesus knows, He provides, and we are called to respond. The response may be difficult, and sometimes may stretch us to grow, but I take great comfort in remembering that it all begins and ends with Him, who is the Alpha and Omega of all things.
As I've come to notice this in my prayer life, God has helped me to see all the different ways I am totally dependent on Him for literally everything. And as I have come to see this, God has given me a growing desire to depend on Him more and more every day. As I get deeper into this prayer with the WRAP and it's scriptures and graces, I find myself encountering a real joy in depending on God, and in seeing His faithfulness throughout ALL of scripture. Every promise He ever made was brought to fulfillment in Christ, and that brings such great joy and humility to my prayer.
This is just my personal experience with this prayer, and I can tell you our students are experiencing similiar fruits of truth, goodness, and beauty in their lives. Praise God for His faithfulness and love for seeking hearts!
Please keep our students and staff in your prayers as we continue on in the busy semester! God Bless you!
Monica
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Brothers and Sisters,
I am so happy to be writing to you again with some really beautiful updates! God has been so gloriously gracious to our campus and to those in FOCUS these last few weeks!
The first week of January, 6,200 students, 338 missionaries, 200 priests, and 150 seminarians gathered in Orlando, Florida for a 5 day Catholic conference! SEEK2013 proved to be a very blessed experience for so many students. There were many talks and impact sessions from speakers such as Dr. Ted Sri, Dr. Tim Gray, Matt Fradd, Jason Evert, Matthew Kelley, and many MANY more! Matt Maher even came out on Saturday night for a concert! Our Friday night was filled with Adoration, Confession, and opportunities for students to be prayed over.
Over 4,000 students went to confession just that night. What an AMAZING grace from God for so many to be touched by Him to reconcile. I am so blessed and humbled to have been able to witness this and to also be a part of such an organization! BLESSED BE GOD!
Our students from UNO, Wayne State, and some seminarians from the Archdiocese shared on the bus ride back some of their experiences. The Holy Spirit has lit a fire in their hearts in a way that has moved them to action! We have one student contemplating converting to Catholicism, many other students experienced a deep conversion of heart and are moved to action in changing their lives and pursuing a virtuous life! There were many Greek students who are coming back to their fraternities and sororities with a fire to bring Christ into their houses! We as a team are very excited for this semester and we are already busy busy busy trying to keep up with our students! God is planning some big things for campus this semester and I believe in the long run!
One thing that has become a long topic of conversation and one issue that we as missionaries are really pushing to our students is the idea of "feelings" and what role they really play in conversion, living virtuously and in their relationship with God. Experiences like conference or a great retreat have a way of stirring up many good, amazing, consoling feelings about the faith and Jesus. It's so easy to be on fire for Christ when 6,000 other people are just as excited as you! Unfortunately, those feelings aren't always going to be there.
Too many times I have witnessed students totally on fire for Christ and riding the wave of the "God high" because it just feels so darn good to be with Jesus! But, when the feelings go away (which they most certainly will), suddenly being a "Jesus Freak" isn't so fun. When it stops feeling good, suddenly things begin to fall apart. The reason for this is that many times, after a big conference, students will jump right into activities and taking Jesus to others and starting bible studies, but they fail to really establish a firm foundation of faith, devotion, obedience, and learning that will be the rock for their relationship with Christ when those warm fuzzies go away.
A popular saying within the FOCUS community is "We were not made for comfort, we were made for greatness". This is something very important for any Christian to remember. A life with Christ means joy, peace, and grace. But if anyone thinks that excludes sacrifice, pain, or suffering, they've got another thing coming! Our Lord and Savior himself, along with his blessed mother, didn't even escape the Sword of Suffering and ultimate gift of self through sacrifice, why should we expect any less for ourselves?!
God wills only our greatest good, but because sin is in the world, there is evil that we will encounter. We will face suffering, even have opportunities to choose suffering for the greater good of another. For this is true love, to will the greatest good for another, especially through our total gift of self.
This is what Christ did for us on the cross. This is what Mary, our blessed Mother, did for us by standing at the foot of the cross, enduring every bit of suffering that her Son was enduring. Her soul suffered what His body suffered. These two, the new Adam and the new Eve, knew perfect love and relationship with Our Father, they had joy, they lived a life of grace. Their great love and knowledge of who God is brought them to this place, the cross, the redemption of the world.
I can assure you, this scene in no way "felt" very good. I can't even begin to imagine the agony of the cross. Heck, I got the flu and was begging for death. But this is the life of a faithful Christian. We are founded on the knowledge of God's love and goodness, we stand on an obedient relationship with Him that leads to our own freedom. Freedom to choose to live virtuously, freedom to willingly give our life to God, freedom to willingly accept suffering and sacrifice for the sake of others, for Christ's sake. This is the only thing that is totally ours, our free will. That is why it means so much to give that to God, to humble ourselves to His will and to bear the Sword as graciously and lovingly as did Christ and his Mother.
Christ came not to bring peacetime, but the sword (Matt 10:34). This is something we've stressed to our students, and I want to stress to you. When the feelings fail, when things get tough, when life starts to hurt, or when you're asked by the Lord to endure something that doesn't feel so good, what are you standing on? What or who do you cling to? Are you standing on rock or sand? I know my answer, what is yours?
In order to help our students find this firm foundation and lead them to deeper spiritual conversion in their own hearts and lives, we've given them a tool. It's a 30 day/30 minutes a day prayer with scripture. We call it the WRAP (Write, Reflect, Apply, Pray). It's a way for our students to spend some time praying with scripture every day, and they are learning Lectio Divina (http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Catholic/2000/08/How-To-Practice-Lectio-Divina.aspx). The students are also receiving support from the staff and missionaries on campus! This is why we're here, this is the core of our mission. We're here to support and guide on a daily basis. We need your prayers, I thank you for your support, and I can't wait to witness more of what God has in store for these beautiful souls and this wonderful campus!
Deus Caritas Est
Monica
I am so happy to be writing to you again with some really beautiful updates! God has been so gloriously gracious to our campus and to those in FOCUS these last few weeks!
The first week of January, 6,200 students, 338 missionaries, 200 priests, and 150 seminarians gathered in Orlando, Florida for a 5 day Catholic conference! SEEK2013 proved to be a very blessed experience for so many students. There were many talks and impact sessions from speakers such as Dr. Ted Sri, Dr. Tim Gray, Matt Fradd, Jason Evert, Matthew Kelley, and many MANY more! Matt Maher even came out on Saturday night for a concert! Our Friday night was filled with Adoration, Confession, and opportunities for students to be prayed over.
Over 4,000 students went to confession just that night. What an AMAZING grace from God for so many to be touched by Him to reconcile. I am so blessed and humbled to have been able to witness this and to also be a part of such an organization! BLESSED BE GOD!
Our students from UNO, Wayne State, and some seminarians from the Archdiocese shared on the bus ride back some of their experiences. The Holy Spirit has lit a fire in their hearts in a way that has moved them to action! We have one student contemplating converting to Catholicism, many other students experienced a deep conversion of heart and are moved to action in changing their lives and pursuing a virtuous life! There were many Greek students who are coming back to their fraternities and sororities with a fire to bring Christ into their houses! We as a team are very excited for this semester and we are already busy busy busy trying to keep up with our students! God is planning some big things for campus this semester and I believe in the long run!
One thing that has become a long topic of conversation and one issue that we as missionaries are really pushing to our students is the idea of "feelings" and what role they really play in conversion, living virtuously and in their relationship with God. Experiences like conference or a great retreat have a way of stirring up many good, amazing, consoling feelings about the faith and Jesus. It's so easy to be on fire for Christ when 6,000 other people are just as excited as you! Unfortunately, those feelings aren't always going to be there.
Too many times I have witnessed students totally on fire for Christ and riding the wave of the "God high" because it just feels so darn good to be with Jesus! But, when the feelings go away (which they most certainly will), suddenly being a "Jesus Freak" isn't so fun. When it stops feeling good, suddenly things begin to fall apart. The reason for this is that many times, after a big conference, students will jump right into activities and taking Jesus to others and starting bible studies, but they fail to really establish a firm foundation of faith, devotion, obedience, and learning that will be the rock for their relationship with Christ when those warm fuzzies go away.
A popular saying within the FOCUS community is "We were not made for comfort, we were made for greatness". This is something very important for any Christian to remember. A life with Christ means joy, peace, and grace. But if anyone thinks that excludes sacrifice, pain, or suffering, they've got another thing coming! Our Lord and Savior himself, along with his blessed mother, didn't even escape the Sword of Suffering and ultimate gift of self through sacrifice, why should we expect any less for ourselves?!
God wills only our greatest good, but because sin is in the world, there is evil that we will encounter. We will face suffering, even have opportunities to choose suffering for the greater good of another. For this is true love, to will the greatest good for another, especially through our total gift of self.
This is what Christ did for us on the cross. This is what Mary, our blessed Mother, did for us by standing at the foot of the cross, enduring every bit of suffering that her Son was enduring. Her soul suffered what His body suffered. These two, the new Adam and the new Eve, knew perfect love and relationship with Our Father, they had joy, they lived a life of grace. Their great love and knowledge of who God is brought them to this place, the cross, the redemption of the world.
I can assure you, this scene in no way "felt" very good. I can't even begin to imagine the agony of the cross. Heck, I got the flu and was begging for death. But this is the life of a faithful Christian. We are founded on the knowledge of God's love and goodness, we stand on an obedient relationship with Him that leads to our own freedom. Freedom to choose to live virtuously, freedom to willingly give our life to God, freedom to willingly accept suffering and sacrifice for the sake of others, for Christ's sake. This is the only thing that is totally ours, our free will. That is why it means so much to give that to God, to humble ourselves to His will and to bear the Sword as graciously and lovingly as did Christ and his Mother.
Christ came not to bring peacetime, but the sword (Matt 10:34). This is something we've stressed to our students, and I want to stress to you. When the feelings fail, when things get tough, when life starts to hurt, or when you're asked by the Lord to endure something that doesn't feel so good, what are you standing on? What or who do you cling to? Are you standing on rock or sand? I know my answer, what is yours?
In order to help our students find this firm foundation and lead them to deeper spiritual conversion in their own hearts and lives, we've given them a tool. It's a 30 day/30 minutes a day prayer with scripture. We call it the WRAP (Write, Reflect, Apply, Pray). It's a way for our students to spend some time praying with scripture every day, and they are learning Lectio Divina (http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Catholic/2000/08/How-To-Practice-Lectio-Divina.aspx). The students are also receiving support from the staff and missionaries on campus! This is why we're here, this is the core of our mission. We're here to support and guide on a daily basis. We need your prayers, I thank you for your support, and I can't wait to witness more of what God has in store for these beautiful souls and this wonderful campus!
Deus Caritas Est
Monica
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Hello my dear loved ones.
Today I write to you with a heavy heart. The events of this past Friday in a little school in Connecticut has deeply saddened me, as well as the rest of the country. In light of these events, I felt that God wanted me to say a little something. Every time one of these terrible things happen, a school shooting, a movie theatre massacre, or even a bombing like in Oklahoma City, our country stops and asks itself, why? What went wrong?
As per usual, on Friday the fingers started to point. It's our laws, it's not enough protection in the schools, it's the availability of guns in our society, etc. The list goes on and on as to who wants to point the finger where. The father of Rachel Joy Scott, a victim of the Columbine shooting of 1999 stood before a judicial congress about 2 years ago and finally pointed the finger at exactly the right place. The human heart.
Something inherently evil has entered our country. A relativistic, individualistic, and a "do whatever feels good" culture. We have kicked God and faith out of every area we could, and unfortunately we have begun to see the effects.
Now many people think God or one certain faith (mainly Christian/Catholic) shouldn't be forced on others who don't believe. But the problem with kicking God (or any sense of God) out of our country means that our respect for human life, the dignity of the human person, and a sense of absolute goodness goes right out the window with God. When we start to tell ourselves that we have all these rights to do whatever we want, whatever feels good, no one can tell us what to do, we invite into our lives and most importantly into our HEARTS a message that says "whatever I feel or decide to be good is right". But as we see by the horrible tragedies that have happened, that reasoning can go very, very wrong, and our own feelings and desires cannot always be held as the greatest moral compass to rule our country or our lives. Proverbs 21:2 speaks so clearly into this as it says "All your ways may be straight in your own eyes, but it is the Lord who weighs hearts."
So as we can see, it's all whittled down to the human heart. That is where evil resides. Evil doesn't reside in a gun. As Mr. Scott so eloquently said, "it wasn't the club that killed Abel, it was his brother Cain", out of the hatred and evil in his own heart.
Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians "not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ". Human goodness, love, respect, dignity, and purity is rooted in Christ, in the love of the Father, the Sacrifice of the Son, and the movement of love in the Holy Spirit. If this has been removed from our very hearts, if we have shunned any sort of responsibility or consequence so we can "do what feels good", we find evil seep into our hearts. This in turn seeps into our families, which leads to destruction of our schools, governments, and work places, which inevitably leads to the destruction of our society. We have thrown our very gift of self to the dogs and allowed ourselves to be swallowed by the evil that rages in our hearts without the faith given to us by God. If we have no concept of basic human goodness and dignity of life and person, any law made will make no difference because humans will not be so inclined to follow the law. Why? Well, it simply doesn't "feel good" to them.
Paul writes so beautifully to the Philippians again, inviting them to a fuller life full of love and self-gift. He says, "Do nothing out of selfishness or vainglory; rather humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also everyone for those of others." Now, I ask you, what seems so restrictive and authoritative about that? Doesn't this sound like such a beautiful, free way to live and love?
God is not calling us to live a restrictive and horrible life. He invites us rather into a freedom of living, a freedom from sin and selfish desire which comes through a life of virtue and obedience to a loving Father. When we kick him out, when we take over our own hearts and teach our children that things like abortion are okay, because it benefits you, we destroy the dignity of human life and the human person in our society.
Why are you surprised, America? Why are you crying, Obama? We've done this to ourselves. Only prayerful faith and conversion of hearts will change this. No gun laws will change a human heart. If someone wants to kill, they will. Start with the heart, because that is where good and evil reside.
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary....
God help and save us all
Today I write to you with a heavy heart. The events of this past Friday in a little school in Connecticut has deeply saddened me, as well as the rest of the country. In light of these events, I felt that God wanted me to say a little something. Every time one of these terrible things happen, a school shooting, a movie theatre massacre, or even a bombing like in Oklahoma City, our country stops and asks itself, why? What went wrong?
As per usual, on Friday the fingers started to point. It's our laws, it's not enough protection in the schools, it's the availability of guns in our society, etc. The list goes on and on as to who wants to point the finger where. The father of Rachel Joy Scott, a victim of the Columbine shooting of 1999 stood before a judicial congress about 2 years ago and finally pointed the finger at exactly the right place. The human heart.
Something inherently evil has entered our country. A relativistic, individualistic, and a "do whatever feels good" culture. We have kicked God and faith out of every area we could, and unfortunately we have begun to see the effects.
Now many people think God or one certain faith (mainly Christian/Catholic) shouldn't be forced on others who don't believe. But the problem with kicking God (or any sense of God) out of our country means that our respect for human life, the dignity of the human person, and a sense of absolute goodness goes right out the window with God. When we start to tell ourselves that we have all these rights to do whatever we want, whatever feels good, no one can tell us what to do, we invite into our lives and most importantly into our HEARTS a message that says "whatever I feel or decide to be good is right". But as we see by the horrible tragedies that have happened, that reasoning can go very, very wrong, and our own feelings and desires cannot always be held as the greatest moral compass to rule our country or our lives. Proverbs 21:2 speaks so clearly into this as it says "All your ways may be straight in your own eyes, but it is the Lord who weighs hearts."
So as we can see, it's all whittled down to the human heart. That is where evil resides. Evil doesn't reside in a gun. As Mr. Scott so eloquently said, "it wasn't the club that killed Abel, it was his brother Cain", out of the hatred and evil in his own heart.
Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians "not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ". Human goodness, love, respect, dignity, and purity is rooted in Christ, in the love of the Father, the Sacrifice of the Son, and the movement of love in the Holy Spirit. If this has been removed from our very hearts, if we have shunned any sort of responsibility or consequence so we can "do what feels good", we find evil seep into our hearts. This in turn seeps into our families, which leads to destruction of our schools, governments, and work places, which inevitably leads to the destruction of our society. We have thrown our very gift of self to the dogs and allowed ourselves to be swallowed by the evil that rages in our hearts without the faith given to us by God. If we have no concept of basic human goodness and dignity of life and person, any law made will make no difference because humans will not be so inclined to follow the law. Why? Well, it simply doesn't "feel good" to them.
Paul writes so beautifully to the Philippians again, inviting them to a fuller life full of love and self-gift. He says, "Do nothing out of selfishness or vainglory; rather humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also everyone for those of others." Now, I ask you, what seems so restrictive and authoritative about that? Doesn't this sound like such a beautiful, free way to live and love?
God is not calling us to live a restrictive and horrible life. He invites us rather into a freedom of living, a freedom from sin and selfish desire which comes through a life of virtue and obedience to a loving Father. When we kick him out, when we take over our own hearts and teach our children that things like abortion are okay, because it benefits you, we destroy the dignity of human life and the human person in our society.
Why are you surprised, America? Why are you crying, Obama? We've done this to ourselves. Only prayerful faith and conversion of hearts will change this. No gun laws will change a human heart. If someone wants to kill, they will. Start with the heart, because that is where good and evil reside.
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary....
God help and save us all
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Hello again friends!
So here is a brief update on campus life! Bible studies have been going strong! God is working so beautifully in the hearts of every one of our students. Two of the women in my bible study have been asked and accepted into discipleship just this past week! That means now they are on their way to becoming student missionaries who can turn around and bring in women and lead a bible study and create more disciples! Praise God for their eager and humble "yes" to God's call in their hearts!
We've been talking more in my bible study about prayer and about having a relationship with Christ. The ladies have been so open to learning more HOW to pray and really relate with God about their lives and what's going on in their hearts. Recently, I took this topic to prayer, and God shared a really beautiful meditation with me that I'd like to share with you all...
To preface, earlier this summer as I was praying with fellow missionaries and religious at summer training, a woman told me she had an image of my standing at the foot of the cross, but that I could only look at Christ's feet, and never at His face. She told me that she thinks Christ wants me to look at His face.
Alrighty, so this leads me into the meditation. Get out your bibles and flip to John 5:1-18. This is the story of the Cure on the Sabbath (please read so you can follow along!). Something that really struck me was that Jesus came over to the man who is lying next to the pools and asks him "Do you want to be well?" and the answer the man gives struck me as odd. He tells him “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Instead of telling Jesus, the Son of God, this miracle worker, that YES he wants to be healed, he tells him the reasons he cannot be healed because he cannot do what he thinks he needs to do to be healed. (read the footnote on what the Jews believed about the pools being healing).
Alright, so what is happening here is that Jesus is staring this man in the face and the man doesn't even recognize Jesus as his healer.
So, application to our life. We do not know how, when, or where God is going to work. We cannot know who or why unless He reveals it to us (just as Jesus was doing for this man). Our job then is to be able to recognize the face and voice of Christ when he speaks into our life, our heart. Would you know Jesus if He came and stared you in the face? It's very easy to become preoccupied with following the footsteps of Christ. Learning about his movements, his ministry, etc. But if we don't know HIM, how can we know for sure that the footsteps are His? If our eyes are on the ground, on following the footsteps, we miss the face, we miss Him who we are following. We must know and recognize Jesus' face in order to be able to fully follow Him with an open and trusting heart. We cannot trust that whom we do not know.
Don't be like the paralytic who looks right past Jesus, answering his invitation by telling how YOU think things should be! Look at Christ's face, come to recognize his voice, and relate to Him what you need. He knows how to best help and heal you. Allow yourself to know Him and trust Him :D
Just a little something to meditate on. I thank God for the blessing of having all of you in my life. You're all in my prayers!
P.S. I forgot to include that we are all gearing up for the FOCUS National conference SEEK2013! We're currently in fundraising efforts to get all of our students there! Please let me know if you're interested in contributing!!!
God Bless,
Monica :)
So here is a brief update on campus life! Bible studies have been going strong! God is working so beautifully in the hearts of every one of our students. Two of the women in my bible study have been asked and accepted into discipleship just this past week! That means now they are on their way to becoming student missionaries who can turn around and bring in women and lead a bible study and create more disciples! Praise God for their eager and humble "yes" to God's call in their hearts!
We've been talking more in my bible study about prayer and about having a relationship with Christ. The ladies have been so open to learning more HOW to pray and really relate with God about their lives and what's going on in their hearts. Recently, I took this topic to prayer, and God shared a really beautiful meditation with me that I'd like to share with you all...
To preface, earlier this summer as I was praying with fellow missionaries and religious at summer training, a woman told me she had an image of my standing at the foot of the cross, but that I could only look at Christ's feet, and never at His face. She told me that she thinks Christ wants me to look at His face.
Alrighty, so this leads me into the meditation. Get out your bibles and flip to John 5:1-18. This is the story of the Cure on the Sabbath (please read so you can follow along!). Something that really struck me was that Jesus came over to the man who is lying next to the pools and asks him "Do you want to be well?" and the answer the man gives struck me as odd. He tells him “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Instead of telling Jesus, the Son of God, this miracle worker, that YES he wants to be healed, he tells him the reasons he cannot be healed because he cannot do what he thinks he needs to do to be healed. (read the footnote on what the Jews believed about the pools being healing).
Alright, so what is happening here is that Jesus is staring this man in the face and the man doesn't even recognize Jesus as his healer.
So, application to our life. We do not know how, when, or where God is going to work. We cannot know who or why unless He reveals it to us (just as Jesus was doing for this man). Our job then is to be able to recognize the face and voice of Christ when he speaks into our life, our heart. Would you know Jesus if He came and stared you in the face? It's very easy to become preoccupied with following the footsteps of Christ. Learning about his movements, his ministry, etc. But if we don't know HIM, how can we know for sure that the footsteps are His? If our eyes are on the ground, on following the footsteps, we miss the face, we miss Him who we are following. We must know and recognize Jesus' face in order to be able to fully follow Him with an open and trusting heart. We cannot trust that whom we do not know.
Don't be like the paralytic who looks right past Jesus, answering his invitation by telling how YOU think things should be! Look at Christ's face, come to recognize his voice, and relate to Him what you need. He knows how to best help and heal you. Allow yourself to know Him and trust Him :D
Just a little something to meditate on. I thank God for the blessing of having all of you in my life. You're all in my prayers!
P.S. I forgot to include that we are all gearing up for the FOCUS National conference SEEK2013! We're currently in fundraising efforts to get all of our students there! Please let me know if you're interested in contributing!!!
God Bless,
Monica :)
Monday, October 22, 2012
Dear Friends in Christ,
I am so dearly sorry that I have not posted in so long! Things have been pretty busy here at campus so this post is going to be a BIG update on what's been happening!
First of all, Bible studies are all up and running and going beautifully! God has been working so hard in the lives of each of our students!
My bible study consists of 4 girls, 3 freshman and one sophomore, and this week we are adding a 5th girl to the study! The ladies have been going through a bible study called The Crux which is a very foundational study to get the girls more acquainted with Scripture and the Gospel message of Jesus. We have been learning how to pray more with Scripture, particularly through Ignatian prayer and vocal prayer. Jesus has been moving in their hearts and they learn to become more and more open and vulnerable with Jesus and with each other. They've become and wonderful support for each other, and I'm happy to say that they are all going to our National FOCUS conference SEEK2013! Also, two weeks ago I proposed to the girls to begin a 54 Day Rosary Novena for the intention of gaining a deeper relationship with Christ for all of the girls in the bible study. To my delight, they all enthusiastically agreed! We are currently on day 13! If you want to join us on this novena, please visit the website for how to begin!
http://www.prayerflowers.com/54DayNovena.htm
Our older women's bible study is actually doing a discussion over Christopher West's Theology of the Body for Beginners. The girls love it and have had some really amazing discussions and insights into these writings. There are about 11 girls in the study, some who are student missionaries on campus and some are young adult women who have graduated but are still looking for a community of women to be a part of. God is blessing the hearts of these women and giving all of them many answers and information that they've been seeking in their lives.
Praise God for all of the work He's been doing!
Also, one of the missionaries over at the College of St. Mary's here in Omaha, Marilyn Steinberger got married this past weekend! She is now happily Marilyn Klein, married to a wonderful man named Mitch Klein.
Two weeks ago, St. Margaret Mary's (our school parish) hosted a Eucharistic Procession for the students and community. So many showed up to walk with Jesus around the campus, singing hymns and praying a rosary for all of the students, faculty, and staff of UNO! I was happy that my parents were able to make it and experience some of what we are blessed to do with our students! Thank you Jesus
Over Fall Break, some of the team and a few students had the opportunity to go to a Matt Maher/Brandon Heath concert, and we were blessed to be able to go out to dinner and drinks afterwards with the two artists! These men were so wonderful, down to earth, faithful men and we all had an amazing time getting to speak with them about different issues in the Church and the music world!
Lastly, I'd like to take a minute to bring up our National Conference SEEK 2013. Take a minute to go to the website www.seek2013.com and find out more about what conference is and what it has done for students in the past. We're currently in fundraising efforts to get the missionaries and students of UNO to Orlando, Fl this January! FOCUS conference has touched the lives and hearts of so many young adults in the past, and we are already praying for each and every student who is journeying to conference this year. We ask for your prayers and if you're interested in contributing or sponsoring a student to go, please contact me! :) We all appreciate all your help!
I'd also like to say I've been keeping you all, my dear friends, family, mission partners, in my prayers every day! If you have any special prayer intentions please let me know and I will gladly add them to my holy hour!
God Bless, Peace, and Agape
Monica :)
I am so dearly sorry that I have not posted in so long! Things have been pretty busy here at campus so this post is going to be a BIG update on what's been happening!
First of all, Bible studies are all up and running and going beautifully! God has been working so hard in the lives of each of our students!
My bible study consists of 4 girls, 3 freshman and one sophomore, and this week we are adding a 5th girl to the study! The ladies have been going through a bible study called The Crux which is a very foundational study to get the girls more acquainted with Scripture and the Gospel message of Jesus. We have been learning how to pray more with Scripture, particularly through Ignatian prayer and vocal prayer. Jesus has been moving in their hearts and they learn to become more and more open and vulnerable with Jesus and with each other. They've become and wonderful support for each other, and I'm happy to say that they are all going to our National FOCUS conference SEEK2013! Also, two weeks ago I proposed to the girls to begin a 54 Day Rosary Novena for the intention of gaining a deeper relationship with Christ for all of the girls in the bible study. To my delight, they all enthusiastically agreed! We are currently on day 13! If you want to join us on this novena, please visit the website for how to begin!
http://www.prayerflowers.com/54DayNovena.htm
Our older women's bible study is actually doing a discussion over Christopher West's Theology of the Body for Beginners. The girls love it and have had some really amazing discussions and insights into these writings. There are about 11 girls in the study, some who are student missionaries on campus and some are young adult women who have graduated but are still looking for a community of women to be a part of. God is blessing the hearts of these women and giving all of them many answers and information that they've been seeking in their lives.
Praise God for all of the work He's been doing!
Also, one of the missionaries over at the College of St. Mary's here in Omaha, Marilyn Steinberger got married this past weekend! She is now happily Marilyn Klein, married to a wonderful man named Mitch Klein.
Two weeks ago, St. Margaret Mary's (our school parish) hosted a Eucharistic Procession for the students and community. So many showed up to walk with Jesus around the campus, singing hymns and praying a rosary for all of the students, faculty, and staff of UNO! I was happy that my parents were able to make it and experience some of what we are blessed to do with our students! Thank you Jesus
Over Fall Break, some of the team and a few students had the opportunity to go to a Matt Maher/Brandon Heath concert, and we were blessed to be able to go out to dinner and drinks afterwards with the two artists! These men were so wonderful, down to earth, faithful men and we all had an amazing time getting to speak with them about different issues in the Church and the music world!
Lastly, I'd like to take a minute to bring up our National Conference SEEK 2013. Take a minute to go to the website www.seek2013.com and find out more about what conference is and what it has done for students in the past. We're currently in fundraising efforts to get the missionaries and students of UNO to Orlando, Fl this January! FOCUS conference has touched the lives and hearts of so many young adults in the past, and we are already praying for each and every student who is journeying to conference this year. We ask for your prayers and if you're interested in contributing or sponsoring a student to go, please contact me! :) We all appreciate all your help!
I'd also like to say I've been keeping you all, my dear friends, family, mission partners, in my prayers every day! If you have any special prayer intentions please let me know and I will gladly add them to my holy hour!
God Bless, Peace, and Agape
Monica :)
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Hey there! Peace be with you!
I have some very exciting updates this week! Last Friday, the College of St. Mary's missionaries hosted a Barn Dance out in Wahoo, Nebraska. We combined schools, and even got students and missionaries from Benedictine College and UNL. There were about 100 people there and it was a wonderful night of swing dancing, line dancing, and just good old fashion fun.
My heart was personally touched that night by one particular student who came with us. She met us during freshman move-in and still had no idea we were all Catholic missionaries! She finally had the chance to come and spend some time with us, so she carpooled out with myself, another missionary and another student. As we're driving and talking, she comes to find out that we are Catholic missionaries and that this is a FOCUS event (probably because all of my stories start with "so the other day at daily mass"). We had no idea what her faith background was, but she was so open to chatting with us about what we do, and about different things in life. It was so beautiful to see a young person be so open to such a radically different way of life and belief from the rest of society!
We as the missionaries came to find out that she doesn't even listen to country music OR know how to dance, but she said yes anyway! How beautiful that God put a small whisper in her heart to just say yes to put herself in a situation she would NEVER have imagined she would be in! This young woman had an AMAZING time with us that night, and she even opened up and shared more about herself throughout the night. I praise God for this blessed opportunity to get to know a student that He just placed in our laps to minister to in a rare and beautiful way! She is so excited about knowing us and has expressed interest in spending more time together. Praise the LORD!
Also, this week bible studies are all kicking off! I personally had my first one on Tuesday and it was a great success. God really blessed our time together and the Holy Spirit was moving! The girls took a night to really get to know each other and began to open up in friendship. I can't wait to see the fruits God brings in these girls lives!
Finally, I would like to share a beautiful meditation I heard the other day from Fr. Mike Schmitz on his online podcasts. He was talking about the saints, and how the biggest virtue the saints had across the board was unfailing trust in God. So much of the time, we want to know the entire plan for our lives RIGHT NOW!! I mean, how much easier would it be to plan, make decisions, act in one way or another, if only we KNEW what was going to happen!!! Right?? Why won't God just TELL us!
Well! Who are YOU that you're so special that God should tell you His whole plan?? :) Okay just kidding, that was harsh. But seriously. Let's go to His Word to look at how God reveals his plan to some of the Big Bosses in the bible!
First, Mary. What a beautiful story when the angel comes to Mary, he presents the amazing mission God has for her, and once Gabriel has received Mary's YES and has presented to her the next step in her mission, guess what. HE LEAVES! WHAT?! He just disappears!!! That's it. Mary is left to just trust in the Lord and the rest of His plan! She doesn't get a whole plan from Gabriel that says "OK, Joseph is going to freak out, but don't worry God's got it, OH! and Herod is going to try to kill your baby, but don't worry, God's got your back, oh, and you'll lose Jesus when he's a little older, but you can find him in the temple teaching the older dudes." NO! Mary received her mission, she received her next step (carrying Christ in her womb), and then BOOM, the guy's gone. This is the MOTHER OF GOD we're talking about here, and she got next to NOTHING in what the entire, detailed plan was! She, in her great humility and love for God, trusted the plan and mission she had been given and didn't push God to give her anymore. She lived day to day, encounter to encounter, but it says she "pondered these things in her heart" which means she held this promise from God in her heart. Even when I'm sure Mary experienced stress or desolation, she REMEMBERED what the angel had told her, and then she just held on to that gift she'd been given!
Let's move briefly on to Paul! He went through the exact same thing. He was knocked off his horse, given a reprimanding, a MISSION, and then the next step! Paul was told to go to Damascus and find someone, and that's IT! He was even blinded and God never said "Don't worry, I will heal that." Nope, Paul just had to trust, and follow the mission and the next step. He accepted it in his heart, and then went out to fulfill it.
So many times, when things are tough and we feel like we're swimming in the darkness, we tend to forget that which we were convinced of in the light. We forget God's love, his promise, and our own conviction that we believed these things to be true! We start to doubt, and it becomes harder to stick to what we had once resolved to do or change because we don't hold in our hearts those times that God has pulled us close to his heart and allowed us to radically feel his love and mercy. What would happen if we constantly, on a daily basis, kept that in our hearts! Oh how our lives would be transformed and our world would be transformed if only we could trust God, and ALWAYS believe in the darkness that which we were convinced of in the light!
God Bless and Agape friends,
Monica! :)
I have some very exciting updates this week! Last Friday, the College of St. Mary's missionaries hosted a Barn Dance out in Wahoo, Nebraska. We combined schools, and even got students and missionaries from Benedictine College and UNL. There were about 100 people there and it was a wonderful night of swing dancing, line dancing, and just good old fashion fun.
My heart was personally touched that night by one particular student who came with us. She met us during freshman move-in and still had no idea we were all Catholic missionaries! She finally had the chance to come and spend some time with us, so she carpooled out with myself, another missionary and another student. As we're driving and talking, she comes to find out that we are Catholic missionaries and that this is a FOCUS event (probably because all of my stories start with "so the other day at daily mass"). We had no idea what her faith background was, but she was so open to chatting with us about what we do, and about different things in life. It was so beautiful to see a young person be so open to such a radically different way of life and belief from the rest of society!
We as the missionaries came to find out that she doesn't even listen to country music OR know how to dance, but she said yes anyway! How beautiful that God put a small whisper in her heart to just say yes to put herself in a situation she would NEVER have imagined she would be in! This young woman had an AMAZING time with us that night, and she even opened up and shared more about herself throughout the night. I praise God for this blessed opportunity to get to know a student that He just placed in our laps to minister to in a rare and beautiful way! She is so excited about knowing us and has expressed interest in spending more time together. Praise the LORD!
Also, this week bible studies are all kicking off! I personally had my first one on Tuesday and it was a great success. God really blessed our time together and the Holy Spirit was moving! The girls took a night to really get to know each other and began to open up in friendship. I can't wait to see the fruits God brings in these girls lives!
Finally, I would like to share a beautiful meditation I heard the other day from Fr. Mike Schmitz on his online podcasts. He was talking about the saints, and how the biggest virtue the saints had across the board was unfailing trust in God. So much of the time, we want to know the entire plan for our lives RIGHT NOW!! I mean, how much easier would it be to plan, make decisions, act in one way or another, if only we KNEW what was going to happen!!! Right?? Why won't God just TELL us!
Well! Who are YOU that you're so special that God should tell you His whole plan?? :) Okay just kidding, that was harsh. But seriously. Let's go to His Word to look at how God reveals his plan to some of the Big Bosses in the bible!
First, Mary. What a beautiful story when the angel comes to Mary, he presents the amazing mission God has for her, and once Gabriel has received Mary's YES and has presented to her the next step in her mission, guess what. HE LEAVES! WHAT?! He just disappears!!! That's it. Mary is left to just trust in the Lord and the rest of His plan! She doesn't get a whole plan from Gabriel that says "OK, Joseph is going to freak out, but don't worry God's got it, OH! and Herod is going to try to kill your baby, but don't worry, God's got your back, oh, and you'll lose Jesus when he's a little older, but you can find him in the temple teaching the older dudes." NO! Mary received her mission, she received her next step (carrying Christ in her womb), and then BOOM, the guy's gone. This is the MOTHER OF GOD we're talking about here, and she got next to NOTHING in what the entire, detailed plan was! She, in her great humility and love for God, trusted the plan and mission she had been given and didn't push God to give her anymore. She lived day to day, encounter to encounter, but it says she "pondered these things in her heart" which means she held this promise from God in her heart. Even when I'm sure Mary experienced stress or desolation, she REMEMBERED what the angel had told her, and then she just held on to that gift she'd been given!
Let's move briefly on to Paul! He went through the exact same thing. He was knocked off his horse, given a reprimanding, a MISSION, and then the next step! Paul was told to go to Damascus and find someone, and that's IT! He was even blinded and God never said "Don't worry, I will heal that." Nope, Paul just had to trust, and follow the mission and the next step. He accepted it in his heart, and then went out to fulfill it.
So many times, when things are tough and we feel like we're swimming in the darkness, we tend to forget that which we were convinced of in the light. We forget God's love, his promise, and our own conviction that we believed these things to be true! We start to doubt, and it becomes harder to stick to what we had once resolved to do or change because we don't hold in our hearts those times that God has pulled us close to his heart and allowed us to radically feel his love and mercy. What would happen if we constantly, on a daily basis, kept that in our hearts! Oh how our lives would be transformed and our world would be transformed if only we could trust God, and ALWAYS believe in the darkness that which we were convinced of in the light!
God Bless and Agape friends,
Monica! :)
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