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
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