The Life Within You Advent 2021

WELCOME!

The journey of the contemplative doesn’t end at Christmas! Nor does our need to recognize, love, and protect all human life from conception to natural death.  In many ways, this journey has just begun. Here are a variety of ways to get involved, continue your journey, and grow your community: 

·The Epiphany Nativity Event—  Weekend of January 7 & January 8, after all Masses. Come and tour parishioner’s nativity sets; purchase treats or buy a raffle ticket. Help us raise funds to provide a safe place for mothers and children through Ruth’s Harbor House and St Joseph Emergency Family Shelter.

· The OLIH Right to Life Committee will be hosting a showing of the movie ‘Roe v Wade’.  Watch the bulletin for date & time.

· CEW (Christian Experience Weekend) is a 3-day retreat experience of       Christian witness, prayer, and community.  Further details in the       bulletin and our parish website (www.olih.org)

Women’s weekend:  February 4-6

Men’s weekend:  February 25-27

Our Lady’s Saturdays—The Diocese of Des Moines and specifically our parish is under the special protection and care of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Throughout history Christians have honored Mary in many different ways, one of which is devoting Saturdays to Our Lady in a special way.  The 1st Saturday of every month we celebrate with Mass at 8:30am, followed by 1 hour of adoration. On all other Saturdays we host the rosary and adoration beginning at 8:30am.

Scripture Reflection with Fr. James Downey

Dear friends,

A couple I am close to have invited me to join them at the hospital on the occasion of the birth of each of their five children. They gave me the sacred privilege of holding that tiny, fragile, and beautiful life in my arms.  Other couples have given me a similar sacred opportunity, to hold a newborn child in my arms. 

After a child is baptized I have the opportunity to hold a young child in my arms and lift them heavenward. As I introduce the child to the Christian community, we are reminded of the sacredness of the human life that is before them. A life that requires attention while still in the mother’s womb and will continue to require care and guidance throughout the child’s entire life.

Daily, we are called to care for and attend to our relationship with God.  We need to remember that each one of us is a beautiful child of God. We grow in the image and likeness of God by our time spent in prayer with God's word, gathering weekly with the Christian community, and through acts of and service to the wider community. 

Throughout this Advent season, we have reflected upon the dignity and beauty of a child within her mother's womb. We understand that from the moment of conception, this is a life that needs to be nurtured, protected, and tended to.  This attention is not only when the child is in the mother's womb, but continues after the birth of the child.

Just as we tend to the needs of a young child, we also tend to the inner life of our relationship with God, knowing that it is a very beautiful and sacred relationship. Over the course of the years we grow in that relationship. We grow in love of God and love of our neighbor.  We grow in understanding of God who is faithful, merciful, and continues to call us to new life every day of our lives.

To hold a child in one’s arms is a sacred honor; to open our arms, hearts, and our minds to God and his commands is also sacred. 

In this New Year, may our respect deepen for human life and our relationship with God.  May we grow in our desire to know, and to follow the Prince of Peace.

“Growing Pains”

Our relationship with God in our inner life will change.  This is a real relationship and there are times as comfortable as we may become with God, where God will beckon us into new territory, new surroundings and new ways of deepening our relationship. 

We may feel a strong sense that we can longer anticipate “where” this is going.  We may not be able to “do” what we did before and leave us feeling unsure of what’s to come. This can be frightening as well as exciting.   

How might we live and even thrive in the awareness that the relationship we’ve come accustomed to is changing? 

This powerful scripture from Psalm 46:10 offered, “Be still and know that I am God.” 

Persistence in Prayer

Being still doesn’t mean that there isn’t movement.  When we need to reorient ourselves and await directions, we are actually doing a lot!  While we may be tempted to live and pray in ways that once seemed to work really well, our invitation may be to wait on God’s directions.

As we discussed last week, we should P.U.S.H and take comfort in the deep trust that has already been built between us and God.

Too often our emotions get the in the way of the P.U.S.H. We become discouraged by God’s delayed answer or by the situation we are in. When this happens, we begin to doubt that anything will come from our prayers possibly causing us to stop praying over the situation. But we must stay strong and remember to push past our feelings and be persistent in our prayers.

What is a prayer routine that generally works for you?  What is a form or type or time of prayer you’ve been interested in but haven’t yet tried?  Consider this the nudge to give it a try!

Ignatian-Style Contemplation

• Read the Scripture below and become familiar with the story.

• Close your eyes and imagine the scene.

• What do you see?  What do you hear? Are there any smells? How do you feel? Who are you in the scene?

• Imagine the story unfolding and be aware of all of your senses.

• Let it play out.

• What is Jesus telling you through this time of prayer?

Luke 2:8-20   The Visit of the Shepherds

Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear.  The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying: 

“Glory to God in the highest  and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 

The Visit of the Shepherds. When the angels went away from them to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go, then, to Bethlehem to see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. 

When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child.  All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds.  And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.  Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. 

•  What word or phrase stuck out to you?

• How can this word or phrase help or guide you in these final days of Advent and into the season of Christmas?

Saint Story: Gianna Beretta Molla

Gianna was born in Italy in 1922, the tenth of thirteen children. She received her medical diploma and practiced pediatric medicine at the University of Milan. She married Pietro Molla in 1955.

In 1961, during her fourth and final pregnancy, Gianna developed a fibroma on her uterus.  Gianna opted for the removal of the fibroma since it was the only way to preserve the baby’s life. 

“If you must choose between me and the baby—save the baby!”   Her fourth child, also called Gianna, was born by C-section on Holy Saturday 1962.  Gianna continued to have severe pain and died a week later from complications.  

Gianna held a deep dedication to prayer – daily mediation, afternoon visits to the Blessed Sacrament, the rosary. While in high school, she went on a retreat of the Spiritual Exercises, making firm commitments in the spiritual life. “Jesus,” she journaled on the retreat, “I promise to submit to everything that you will allow to happen to me. Only help me to know your will.”

She grounded herself in service, particularly her “mission” – her medical work which she saw as a ministry to “Jesus in the bodies of the sick.” Never judging, always compassionate, she stressed the value of life, especially to those patients who considered abortion. Sometimes, she would leave money behind on the tables of her poorest patients. And always, she would do it with a smile.

St. Gianna’s Prayer

Jesus, I promise You to submit myself to all

that You permit to befall me, make me only know Your will.
My most sweet Jesus, infinitely merciful God, most  

tender Father of souls, and in a particular way of the most weak,

most miserable, most infirm which You carry with special tenderness

between Your divine arms, I come to You to ask You,

through the love and merits of Your Sacred Heart,

the grace to comprehend and to do always Your holy will,

the grace to confide in You, the grace to rest securely

through time and  eternity in Your loving divine arms.

Additional Resources:

The Inner Life

Growing in our interior life isn’t always a step-by-step growth from small and hidden to fully formed and active in the world.  Rather, we may find ourselves in various stages throughout our life – not linear, but all the same, deeper and more intimate.

God’s initiative and our cooperation with grace means that though we may feel at times that we’ve taken a step “backwards,” we may seek comfort in God’s presence and gentle affirmations to be with “what is real” in our experience of living faith. 

Feeling and noticing changes in the movements of our inner life is the key. As we grow in awareness of these movements, they can all (at any stage) be occasions for a deepening of the love and friendship that God desires to share with each of us.    

The Life Within You Letters

They kept taking you out of the room for tests, but I was always super aware of the lack of your presence, counting the moments until you returned. The nurses were amazing; they helped us to learn how to take care of you & answered our 101 questions about everything. Everyone celebrated you and us – nurses,     doctors, family and friends – there was an endless sense of community.  

When we arrived home earlier today I was aware of how nothing will ever be the same again.  The support and assistance we received in the hospital is  missing at home.  We are your parents and it’s on your daddy and I to take care of you and raise you to be the person God created you to be. 

I will come to know in the months and years ahead that we are not alone in this; there are other moms and dads out there to walk with us, and us with them. We are not isolated or alone on our journey of raising our family. Another reality we will face in the future is the memory of the labor and birthing pain subsides and we are again open to new life; that is how our family continues to grow. 

• What is it like for you to share in other’s powerful experience of God?  How does that build community for you?

   

Additional Resources:

• The Experience of Life-Changing God Moments by Alex Rich

• Being a Catholic Witness in the Workplace by Michelle Karen DiSilva (Blessed is She)

• The Messy Necessity of Catholic Community by Marcel LeJeune

The Inner Life

Sometimes we all have to push.  This is literally true for a mother in labor, but as spiritual beings we also need to push.  The acronym P.U.S.H stands for: Pray  Until Something Happens. 

In our spiritual lives of prayer moments arrive where we know we are on the cusp of something.   Perhaps we have come to an important discernment or we ache for an answer to the “whys” or “hows” to move forward in our relationship with God.

Our inner life and the life of prayer that flows from within is often a labor of love.  This labor is often real work, difficult now and then, at times hard to even enter into.  If we PUSH during these moments, we honor that the fruit of prayer isn’t always immediate. 

While not instantaneous, there is a momentum and sense of peace that comes with our persistence in prayer.  We may pray for the grace to see  beyond the sacrifice and surrender towards the joy that comes with bringing something new into the world.

The Life Within You Letters

Labor was a whirlwind: My contractions began but they are not regular so I took a deep breath and did some final preparing …. water breaks … we still have time, Daddy don’t worry so much …  Oh Baby, those contractions are not something you can prepare for! … Epidural or not? … Time to push, breathe through it, push, breathe, yell, cry, push, breathe … I can’t push anymore and the nurse leans over to gently but sternly say “the only way to get through the pain is to push Baby out” … and I push again and I hear “there’s the head” … one last big push. I cried when I heard you cry! Baby, when they laid you on my chest my heart exploded and my pain was relieved. You are of the love of my life whom I just now get to see, and hold, for the first time. You are mine and I feel like I already know you, your needs and your desires. 

• What are some moments when you have truly felt the joy of Christ? Was there suffering or pain involved before you had to push/persist through?

    

Additional Resources:

• An Acceptance of Suffering by Bert Ghezzi

• Pray Until Something Happens: St. Genevieve by faith magazine

• Hope Through Suffering by Karlo Broussard

• Made for This: Catholic Mom’s Guide to Birth book review (book written by Mary Haseltine)

Scripture Reflection with Fr. James Downey

As any parent would tell you, obedience is a very good thing. The trick is that it must be learned and, thanks to Original Sin, it does not come easily. Being required to do the will of another might can seem like the worst thing that could ever happen to a human being (i.e. try telling a young child, who is currently having fun, that it is time to go or it’s time to go to bed). 

In the life of Faith, obedience is a non-negotiable necessity: can you truthfully say you believe in a God Who you refuse to obey? This too must be learned and is not easy. During this Advent, while we are following this theme of human development, it is good to remember that God calls us to that growth in obedience and growth in Faith and it too has stages in development.

First stage of obedience in Faith is usually Not Obeying: I like my way of doing things and am highly skeptical of any alternatives, especially less pleasant or convenient ones, like ones that make demands.

The Second Stage is Obeying out of Fear: like a child who behaves well only   because the belt, a time out, or a loss of privileges are the likely results if they behave otherwise, a person might only obey God out of fear of hell.

The Third Stage is Obeying for Personal Benefit: a mercenary only does the job because of the promised payoff, a child might only do chores in response to a bribe (candy, money, whatever currency is most valued), and a Christian might only do good things, like pray, because they like feeling warm and fuzzy and good about themselves.

These previous two stages can be okay starting points and, just like they have a proper place in teaching children to do the right thing, they can have a proper place in a Christian maturing in the Faith. At the same time, true Christian maturity requires much more than “just following orders” and needs to go beyond only ever doing right out of fear of punishment or for sake of reward.

The Last Stage is the stage full maturity: to Obey out of Love. I do what God wills, because I love Him; my heart is completely open to Him. That is, after all, what God desires in the end:  not sacrifices or holocausts or sin offerings, but hearts that are open to Him, hearts that He can fill with His joy.

• What line stood out to you most from today’s Gospel (Luke 3:39-45)? Why?

• How can the readings and reflections offer you comfort or inspire you this day?

Saturday Saint Stories: Gerard Magella

Gerard, born in Italy in 1726, the youngest of five children. He served with the Redemptorists as a sacristan, tailor, gardener and porter and also counseled the local communities of religious women. He was known to experience        levitation and bilocation.

Toward the end of his life, as St. Gerard was leaving the home of his friends, the Pirofalo family, one of the daughters called after him because he had      forgotten his handkerchief. In a moment of prophetic insight Gerard said: “Keep it. It will be useful to you some day.” The handkerchief was treasured as a precious souvenir of Gerard.

Years later, after Gerard’s death, the young woman to whom he had given it was in danger of death during childbirth. She remembered the words of Gerard, and called for the handkerchief. Almost immediately the danger passed and she delivered a healthy child.

Gerard’s health had been poor his entire life.  He had been refused entry into the capuchins when he was younger and eventually died  at age 29 of tuberculosis.  His short life, however, was filled with many reports of miraculous occurrences:  restoring a boy's life after he fell from a high cliff; blessing a poor farmer's crops, ridding it of mice; blessing a poor family's supply of wheat, causing it to last until the next harvest; and he multiplied bread for the poor on several occasions.

Prayer for the intercession of Gerard

for Mothers & Children 

O good St. Gerard, powerful intercessor

before God & wonder worker of our day,

confidently I call upon you and seek your aid. 

You, like our savior, loved children.

Help all mothers, those in childbirth,

and those raising children for heaven

and for our Church family,

that by joining together we may best support mothers and children

so all know they are cherished and love. 

Additional Resources:

“Growing Pains”

How easy it is for all us to become distracted.  This is as true of our inner life of prayer as it is in our active life in the world.  When this happens, we can be so hard on ourselves and doubt our ability to be in the moment. 

In the midst of powerful “kicks” and movements of God within us, it is not uncommon to have other voices, thoughts, doubts, memories of failure enter our head and heart space. 

This can result in our taking our eyes off of Jesus.  When Jesus sent his disciples two-by-two he gave them encouragement when met with distraction or hostility:  Shake the sand from your sandals and move on!   

What might this look like for us?  When distraction comes in our inner life and when we feel we are failing we are invited to gently acknowledge this reality. Though it may be difficult we should recommit to our life of    prayer even praying a little longer than we feel we’re able to endure.   

When we do this, we grow in the ability to shake off the sand of distraction.  We are then freer to move forward with a renewed gaze fixed on Christ.   

Four Count Breathing Meditation Exercises

Breathing is something we often take for granted.  During our waking hours we breath in & out without thinking, an instinctual & involuntary action. Amazingly, we can actually slow or speed up our breathing through intentional & voluntary action. This kind of breathing work, often utilized in prayer requires our awareness of breathing as well as patience & practice. 

Imagine the image of a square in your mind.  Breathe in through your nose for 4 seconds.  Hold your breath for 4 seconds, then exhale through your mouth for a slow  release of 4 seconds. When the breathing begins you can imagine tracing around each side of the square.  Inhaling – tracing one side, holding on the next and the slow    release for the remaining two sides. 

It is very easy to incorporate prayer into this breathing technique.  Although the video below from Hallow doesn’t outright state a FOUR count, you’ll notice it the pauses are the beginning are exactly that long! Enjoy!

Ignatian-Style Contemplation

• Read the Scripture below and become familiar with the story.

• Close your eyes and imagine the scene.

• What do you see?  What do you hear? Are there any smells? How do you feel? Who are you in the scene?

• Imagine the story unfolding and be aware of all of your senses.

• Let it play out.

• What is Jesus telling you through this time of prayer?

Matthew 1:18-25  The Birth of Jesus

Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the holy Spirit.  Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. 

Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.  

She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, 
    and they shall name him Emmanuel,” 

which means “God is with us.”  When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus. 

•  What word or phrase stuck out to you?

• How can this word or phrase help or guide you in the coming week?

The Inner Life

Are we “ready” to enter a new place in our inner life?  With God as a partner on this journey we may voluntarily express trust and faith that together we can do this. 

While the timing and specifics are often unknown there comes a decision to “step out” into the unknown together.  Surely the disciples faced a new reality as Jesus sent them into the world, “two by two“(Mark 6:7).  

Being human as we are, they surely experienced a mix of emotions.  Being sent two-by two into the world was not without challenge of concern for Jesus’ friends. 

We may imagine they felt nervous, unsure of the timing and what was to come.  This didn’t stop them!  Though we may experience uncertainly, we can meet this uncertainty with deep conviction that whatever is to be faced will be faced with Jesus as a close companion. 

We step out not alone, but two-by-two.

The Life Within You Letters

Mom: Baby are you ready? 

Baby: I’m getting there, just waiting for my lungs to be ready. 

Mom: I can’t wait to meet you! 

Baby: same here!  

Mom: Are you as nervous as I am?  

Baby: I am.  

Mom: We’ve got this! 

Baby: We do!  

Mom: I’m ready when you are. 

Baby: God will let us know when it’s time.   

• How do you practice & show you trust God’s plan & timing?

   

    

Additional Resources:

• God’s Timing: One of Our Greatest Gifts by Elaine Sinnot Elaine Sinnott reveals how God’s timing in the midst of her sufferings turned out to be perfect.

• The Timing of God posted on Catholic Daily Reflections

The Inner Life

In the Gospel of John Jesus said, “...my sheep hear my voice” (John 10:27).  As Jesus explains the parable of the Good Shepherd, He shares that there is such intimacy between God and us that we can come to know the difference between God’s voice and the many other voices competing for our attention.   

 As a baby in utero begins to recognize the voice of their mother as well as others close to the mother, a deep bonding take root.  Our inner life offers us an opportunity to grow in recognition and love of God’s voice within.  

Sometimes we listen and receive while other times we speak and offer God our praises, petitions and experience consolation in knowing that such a conversational relationship is one of mutual satisfaction and trust.   

The Life Within You Letters

Mom, I love to move! I hear you and dad talking to me and I want to kick and dance around. My space is a bit more cramped lately, not as much space to move around in. I keep getting bigger. 

My brain has been active lately! I’m already learning – I know the sound of your voice so when I come out and meet you I will know your voice, and daddy’s. 

My brain keeps developing so that my body will know how to naturally respond once I’m out of your body and in your arms, like how to breathe on my own when you no longer supply my oxygen.  

-Your constantly growing little one! 

• Have you ever felt you were outgrowing your current prayer routine or feeling ready to go deeper with your spirituality?  How did you adjust?  

Additional Resources:

• My Sheep Hear My Voice (by Tracy Earl Welliver) The power of your stewardship is great, for by utilizing your gifts, you determine if you will draw closer to God or wander away from God.

• The Three Stages of Awakening by Fr. Antonius Wall, posted on Catholic Education Resource Center. The clearest illustration of the nature of the spiritual journey to God is found in the development of relations between Jesus and his followers.

• Rachel’s Vineyard Rachel's Vineyard is a safe place to renew, rebuild and redeem hearts broken by abortion. Weekend retreats offer you a supportive, confidential and non-judgmental environment where women and men can express, release and reconcile painful post-abortive emotions to begin the process of restoration, renewal and healing.

The Inner Life

We are all familiar with activities that invite us to participate in “call and response.”  Whether at a sporting event, music concert or Mass, we are led in these moments to wait for something to happen and then respond to it.   

In the 2nd Trimester of pregnancy there comes a moment when the mother may invite another to feel the baby kicking.  The kicking that was before only perceivable to the mother is now able to be shared with others. 

Others may be affected by this - they may even “feel it,” just as we might share in a mother’s joy as she experiences the kicking of their growing baby. 

And in the inner life, a person may be led by God to share what’s going on with others in the world.  Every time someone met Jesus in the gospels, they felt called and moved to respond and so it is with us.  We are graced with moments to meet Jesus anew and to respond all throughout our lives. 

The Life Within You Letters

Hey Baby, I stepped on the scale and see that we are growing a lot this month! I feel you moving around a lot. You seem to be more aware of times when Daddy or I am talking to you. Daddy was so excited the other night when he was able to feel you moving in my belly. Now he runs over every time I say you are moving around. LOL 

I still worry, but don’t confuse my worry with not  being happy, I feel complete joy at being your mommy, and I understand that worry will live just under the surface now that I’m a mom. 

We love you little one! We can’t wait to meet you! 

• If you’ve shared a powerful “God moment” with another did they share in your joy or did they have another reaction/response that you didn’t expect? What was this like for you?    

Additional Resources:

• The Interior Life, The True Self, & God by Lumen Christi Institute

• Fetal Development: The 2nd Trimester posted by Mayo Clinic

• This is What Babies Kicking in the Womb are really Doing posted by AmazeLabs

Scripture Reflection with Deacon Richard Fetterman

In the Gospel reading for this 3rd Sunday of Advent we are told “the people were filled with expectation” (Luke 3:15). On this Gaudate Sunday our spiritual life is filled with spiritual rejoicing and expectation at the coming of the Christ child. 

As we continue our Advent journey and as the spiritual life within us continues to grow and develop we begin to see and feel the changes that are taking place within us. We began as a barely imperceptible feeling is now becoming tangible.  We can see it and we are filled with rejoicing and expectation.

But now is not the time to rest. This time of rejoicing and expectation should be motivation to redouble our efforts in preparation for the arrival of Christ. We need to put the finishing touches on the spiritual room we are making for ourselves.

We need to reenergize our spiritual life by taking “spiritual vitamins” and feeding ourselves with good and whole ingredients, which will include continued daily prayer, daily mediation on our spiritual development (like the Examen), and making a concerted effort to attend Mass whenever possible so that Christ can continue to feed and nourish you in the Eucharist.

So, today, reflect and rejoice at the spiritual developments you have been able to achieve thus far. Continue to work on nourishing and developing the spiritual life within you. Make the preparations necessary to welcome Christ  fully into your hearts with a spiritual rebirth in the Christmas season. Today, we are filled with expectation on how that rebirth will look and feel.

• What line stood out to you most from today’s Gospel (Luke 3:10-18)? Why?

• How can the readings and reflections offer you comfort or inspire you this day?

Saturday Saint Stories: St. Ignatius of Loyola

Born in Spain in 1491, he was the youngest of 13.  As a youth he was obsessed with the military and the idea of being famous for his knightly deeds. He loved reading stories of knights and chivalry and being at court, particularly the    attention of the ladies of the court. 

 He joined the army with visions of grandeur, but was severely injured by a cannon ball during the Battle of Pamplona. During his year of recuperation the only book available was “Lives of the Saints”. He noticed, when left to his own devices, he felt restless and unsatisfied, but when he read the Lives of the Saints or the Bible he felt calm and peaceful. Recognizing this interior change had occurred, when he was fully convalesced he decided to commit himself to a life for Christ.

Those who carry God in their hearts bear heaven with them wherever they go.

Ignatius began writing about the emotions that took hold of him-feelings of gratitude and anguish, consolation and sadness--while encountering scripture. It was here where he started work on what would become the Spiritual Exercises.

Ignatian spirituality challenges us to encounter God in all things, witnessing to the joy of the Gospel. We go forth into the world as contemplatives in action, discerning God’s desire for our lives here, now, and acting on God’s invitation. We are women and men for and with others, hearing both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor—and responding. And we do all for the greater glory of God.

The Suscipe (Surrender)

Take, Lord, and receive,

all my liberty, my memory,

my understanding, and my entire will. 

All I have and call my own.

You have given all to me.

To you, Lord, I return it.

Everything is yours.

Do with it what you will. 

Give me only your love and your grace.

That is enough for me.

Additional Resources:

“Growing Pains”

In the joyous realization that our inner life is really growing and beginning to take shape, worry, concern and even anxieties can arrive.  We may feel hesitant to take the next step, whatever that may look like.  

We may even be tempted to believe that moments of deep connection with God were only “in our heads,” and not real.  

We may feel a need to safe-guard, or protect all that we have come to trust because it is familiar and comfortable.   However, such resistance may limit the growth before us.   

What are we to do or not do during this time? 

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola

The Spiritual Exercises grew out of St. Ignatius’s personal experience as a man seeking to grow in union with God and to discern God’s will. Ignatius organized the Exercises into four “weeks.” These are not seven-day weeks, but stages on a journey to spiritual freedom and wholehearted  commitment to the service of God.

In the Spiritual Exercises we’re offered a suggestion:  that we engage in remembering.  The word remember, in this sense, means “to put back together,” or “make present here and now”, a recent time when we experienced evidence   or signs of God’s deep and abiding love.  

Aids to this kind of remembering could be: 

• The action of opening your prayer journal,

• returning to a song or prayer

• “God sighting,” that once provided assurance and confidence of God’s love.  

Doing so can help us re-invoke the “heart beat” or “picture” of new life that once provided encouragement and consolation. 

Week one: to “reform the deformed”—the focus of the first week is to recognize God’s unconditional love and to come to terms with our failure and the failure of all of humanity to respond generously to that love.

Week two: to “conform the reformed”—the focus of the second week is to reflect on the person and life of Christ so that we may freely choose to love him and follow him more closely and faithfully.

Week three: to “confirm the conformed”—the focus of the third week is on the Passion and death of Jesus so as to share in and identify more closely with his suffering and to deepen our commitment to him.

Week four: to “transform the confirmed”—the focus of the fourth week is to grow in desire for Jesus to reveal the joy of his Resurrection and to embrace this joy as the foundation of our call to share in Christ’s mission.

Further information on the Spiritual Exercises:

• Finding God: St. Ignatius & Spiritual Exercises (for children) posted by Loyola Press

• The Spiritual Exercises: Introduction and Links to much more information from Ignatian Spirituality.

Ignatian-Style Contemplation

• Read the Scripture below and become familiar with the story.

• Close your eyes and imagine the scene.

• What do you see?  What do you hear? Are there any smells? How do you feel? Who are you in the scene?

• Imagine the story unfolding and be aware of all of your senses.

• Let it play out.

• What is Jesus telling you through this time of prayer?

Luke 1:39-56  The Visitation & Canticle of Mary

 During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 

And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. 

Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” 

 And Mary said:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my savior.

For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness;

behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.

The Mighty One has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

His mercy is from age to age

to those who fear him.

He has shown might with his arm,

dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.

He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones

but lifted up the lowly.

The hungry he has filled with good things;

the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped Israel his servant,

remembering his mercy,

according to his promise to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

•  What word or phrase stuck out to you?

• How can this word or phrase help or guide you in the coming week?

The Inner Life

Take a moment and look at your hands and notice your fingerprints.  This is just one of many ways we are each a unique masterpiece made by God.  Though it is true that God has no needs, it is clear in scripture that God wants, desires to grow “old” with each of us.  

We were crafted and made with such individual attention as if we’re the only person who would ever be born.  In our inner life we continue to “become” the people God already see us as: A unique child of God loved into being to share and leave our own “mark” on the world in a way that serves the Kingdom of God.  

Take another moment to close your eyes. After a five seconds, open them.  We can choose to see with the eyes of faith, to open ourselves up to love.  It is also true, however, that we can choose to close our eyes to the truth of who we are. 

God has always been the person reaching out to us and by our own initiative of reaching back towards God through honest and authentic prayer, we may ask God to open our eyes to things that we ourselves lack the will or ability to see.  Likewise, we can ask to rest in God, to close our eyes in a restful surrender to God.  With courage and trust we can even pray for the grace to see ourselves and the world the way God does. 

The Life Within You Letters

Hey mom there’s not much new happening with me – just some little things, like I have this cool pattern on my fingers and toes and I can open and close my eyes. I just keep growing bigger and stronger. I like moving and I notice things I haven’t noticed before - like I hear you talking and I feel your hand on your belly. Do you notice me mom? I think you do – when I get those weird hiccups I feel you trying to soothe me by running your hands over me. Your little eggplant. 

• How have you typically experienced God “moving within” you?

    

Additional Resources:

• Why do we celebrate the Immaculate Conception? by the National Shrine of the Imm. Conception

• Like Fingerprints by Jennifer Brinker on St. Louis Review

• 6 Simple Ways to Recognize God’s fingerprint in our lives by Marie Paul-Curley

The Inner Life

If we’ve become accustomed to enjoying the presence of God within, we may experience periods of silence or the perception of God’s inactivity in us with worry.  As our spiritual life becomes more substantial, as we ourselves grow in the recognition of God being with us, we may also come to a         realization that we have little control, perhaps no control over what lies ahead.

How amazing that this reality can be simultaneously relieving as well as troubling.   Our own hunger for all that will serve this relationship grows as well as our fatigue found in the act of pouring our life out as a gift for God and others.  

Sometimes we get “a glimpse” of what is to come and we can see that what lies ahead is “beautiful, amazing, and...perfect,” precisely    because God is the one at work in us.  

The Life Within You Letters

Finally, we have reached 20 weeks and your daddy and I were able to see you again in the ultrasound.  You have grown so much in the last few weeks! You are beautiful, you are amazing, and you are perfect! I see why my body is tired and why I am so hungry – look at you, your mouth and your nose, your arms and legs, your tiny fingers and toes! Months ago I felt a flutter, but today I feel YOU moving inside of me as you continue to grow bigger and stronger. I still get a little worried when you aren’t moving much. Keep growing little one, we can't wait to meet you! 

• How do you believe God sees you and how does that affect the way you see   yourself?   

Feast of the Immaculate Conception! Tomorrow (Wednesday) is a Holy Day of Obligation as we observe & celebrate the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Mother - that Mary was conceived without sin to be a perfect mother for Jesus the Christ.

MASS will be celebrated at 8:30am & 6:30pm. There is NO Faith Formation classes for Grades 6-8. (Grades 1-5 WILL still meet)

Additional Resources:

• Psalm 139: All Life is Precious (by Lilia Olsick, Clarifying Catholicism) A deep look at the Psalm quote in today’s blog, a vibrant and comprehensive at this Psalm.

• The Gabriel Project. The Gabriel Project® offers hope and assistance to any woman experiencing a crisis pregnancy. We respect all life and see the birth of each child as a fresh expression of the unfailing love of God. Our concern is not only for the unborn child, but also for each and every mother in need.

• Slideshow of Fetal Development in the Womb (WebMD) Photos & descriptions of the incredible progress made every few days & weeks during a pregnancy.