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Stop Signs, Roadblocks, and Caution Tape

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When I look back at all the roadblocks and stop lights in my life, I tend to think those situations were not of God. As if anything preventing me from getting where I wanted to be was the opposite of God’s doing.  In our Christian culture, it is common to feel this way and automatically get the response that it’s the opposite of Him- it’s satan holding us back.

When we read today’s First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we hear how the disciples were prevented from spreading the Gospel message.  This is a time when most of us would react by saying, “That’s the devil preventing them!” or “That’s satan trying to work against them!”. God would never prevent His disciples from traveling to proclaim His Word, right?!

If we read the Scripture closely, we find that it specifically states that they had been “prevented by the Holy Spirit” It goes on to say, “The Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.”  

For some reason, I had to read that over and over again…  The Spirit of God prevented them… The Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.  How often has the Holy Spirit put huge caution tape, blocking, and ginormous stop signs in my own life? And how often did I think it was the opposite of His Spirit? Looking over my 4th graders Unit 3 Test, one question asked, “How can the Holy Spirit be your Helper and Guide?”

Looking back on those moments now, I can clearly see that it was the Spirit of Jesus, the Spirit of Love- my Helper and my Guide.  This Scripture has taught me how necessary it is to keep my heart and mind open to His Spirit- even in so-called “setbacks”. Those particular setbacks and roadblocks in the end were for my best interest, just as it was for the disciples.

What setbacks and roadblocks have you experienced in your own life? How could some of them have been for your own protection, safety, health? Where has the Spirit of God been leading you by preventing you in some way? And like I asked my dear students, how can the Holy Spirit be your Helper and Guide today? Let Him guide you, redirect you, and prevent you. He is ultimately leading us onto the path of Love- our journey and road to Heaven.

Briana is a Catholic Doctrine teacher at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel school in Cleveland, OH. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Catechetics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH and is excited to use these skills to bring her students closer to Christ and His Church. “My soul has been refined and I can raise my head like a flower after a storm.” -St. Therese 

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Love One Another

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Today we are told that we are friends of Jesus. Very comforting. However, as his friends, he also tells us that we must love one another…as he has loved us. Of all the commands of Jesus, is any harder to follow than this? Especially in today’s cultural climate. Love one another, friends and enemies. Yikes!

Remember the “greatest of Commandments? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”? (Mt 22:37) Then Jesus added, “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt 22:39). Jesus’ love for us is gifted love. No strings attached. He will be there for us; we need only believe that we are worthy, and he will bring us home to his love. Jesus’ love, however, cannot be received in a vacuum. It begs for action. Love of God and his love for us is intrinsically intertwined with the love of others. If you have not truly experienced that love, it may be hard to offer those blessings to another.

When you believe that you are worthy of God’s love, regardless of your lifestyle, the time will come when you become ready to change your life and to gift someone else. Loving yourself is a real and very necessary component of gifting love. But the method in which we love ourselves needs to be defined by the way God loves us. We cannot exist with an egotistical notion that “all is mine” and not also know that, at some point in our lives, the “love your neighbor” part is also necessary.

Who is your neighbor? Stand where you are at this very moment and look around. You are in no short supply of neighbors.  A humble openness to learning from the love we receive will help you to pay it forward to each person you meet. Even if, as Mother Teresa once said, it’s just a smile. You could change someone’s world.

Perhaps a great way of starting the process would be to reflect on the Jewish blessing of Shalom. Shalom is not simply a nice greeting, something sweet to say to someone. Shalom goes much deeper. It means, in part, that all the blessings that I ask of God for myself, I also ask of God for you. No partiality. Give someone the gift of a resting place, shelter, warmth, comfort and companionship, and trust that your love, in partnership with God’s love, will bring you, as well as your neighbor, home. Oh, and let’s not forget that the offering of Shalom must also be for your enemies! Like it or not, they are also your neighbors. God Bless.

Jeanne Penoyar, an Accounts Manager here at Diocesan, is currently a Lector at St. Anthony of Padua parish in Grand Rapids, MI. While at St. Thomas the Apostle, Grand Rapids, Jeanne was a Lector, Cantor, Coordinator of Special Liturgies, Coordinator of lectors and, at one time, chair of the Liturgy Commission. In a past life, secretary/bookkeeper at the Basilica of St. Adalbert where she ran the RCIA program for the Steepletown parishes. And she loves to write! When relaxing, she likes reading and word puzzles.

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A Deeper Relationship

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As Catholics, we strive to live in a manner that will grant us entrance into God’s Kingdom of Eternal Glory, but how do we do that? It goes far beyond holding the door open for strangers and going to Mass every Sunday. It goes far beyond baptizing your children and praying before meals. Quite honestly, the idea of working towards heaven can be daunting, as it feels as though only perfection can truly guarantee entrance. Yet it is not perfection that God expects from us, but a deep relationship with him.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us two foundational sentences with which to guide our spiritual lives. First, Jesus says that he is “the way and the truth and the life,” giving us our first clue on how to get to heaven. We are humans, and as we see from the first chapter of Genesis, we are not perfect in nature. Second, he says that whatever we ask in his name, he will do (John 14:14). As I mentioned, God does not expect perfection. What he wants is for us to truly know and love him, and he will listen.  

How great is that? How great is our God that he chose not only choose to allow us free will, but to allow us to have a personal relationship with him? He allows us to have conversations with him where we can thank him, ask him for help, and just tell him about our days. Plus, we know our voices don’t just fall on deaf ears. Even when we don’t think he is listening, it may just be that we are the ones that must stop and listen. With this kind of relationship, one so eternally forgiving and loving, why would we not want to deepen our relationship?

Jesus is the way we should live, because he lived as a human like you and me, walking the tightrope between good and evil. His way is one of hardships and giving your life in order to receive everlasting life. Jesus is the truth because He is the Son of God who came to earth in order that we may have a deeper connection with our creator. It is through having a relationship with our Lord that we are able to know the truth, to know peace, and to know love.  Jesus is the life because it is only through Christ that we are able to come to the Father and, therefore, come to know everlasting life.

If Jesus is the way and the truth and the life, then why are we not following his example? Why have we allowed ourselves to stray from the path, to believe the lies, to stay stagnant in our spiritual growth? God is not asking us to be perfect, but we shouldn’t just stop trying. Brothers and sisters, this is my reminder to you that we are given the gift of communication with our Father as a means to grow closer to God and gain entrance to his ultimate home for us. So today, let’s begin that conversation with someone that is always willing to listen:

God of light and all that is good, You have given us the gift of prayer as a way to lift our voices to you, so that you may fully know the content of our hearts and minds. We ask that you shine your light on our path when we lose our way. We ask that you shine your light on the truth when we find the lies so convincing. We ask that you shine your light so that we may grow in our relationship with you. We ask all of this through God our Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Veronica Alvarado is a born and raised Texan currently living in Michigan. Since graduating from Texas A&M University, Veronica has published various articles in the Catholic Diocese of Austin’s official newspaper, the Catholic Spirit, and other local publications. She now works as the Content Specialist in Diocesan’s Web Department.

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Divine Pruning

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Does anyone else want to just cringe after hearing about all the pruning happening in today’s Gospel? “He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.”

It makes me think of taking out splinters or porcupine quills or cactus spines! Ouch!! I know I have vices and shortcomings but I am comfortable with them and I would rather not change. I mean I’m not THAT bad of a person, right?  

But Jesus doesn’t want us to be “good enough”, He wants to perfect us. So splinter by splinter, quill by quill and spine by spine, He wears down our excuses, our faults and our shortcomings with His love and guides us along the way to salvation.

The deeper we allow ourselves to delve into this passage, the more beautiful it becomes: “Remain in me as I remain in you… If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.” What a comfort, what a joy, what a relief to remain in God! To remain in His loving embrace, His gentle guidance, His hopeful promise!

When my husband was 17, he had a near-death experience on the operating table during an appendectomy. His heart stopped and his soul hovered over his body in the room for an instant before seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and the silhouette of our beloved Lord. He felt such an indescribable peace, love and joy that he wanted to stay there forever, yet an instant later, his heart was shocked and his soul returned to his body. He experienced, if only for a split second, what it meant to remain in God. And we have the opportunity to do the same with our decisions, our attitudes and our ministries each and every day.

Today we honor St. Athanasius, a man who understood what it meant to remain in God. He was sent to exile many times and endured much persecution because of His unwillingness to believe the Arian heresy. He defended the divinity of Jesus, remaining in His truth, no matter what human suffering it caused. What a great example for us!

So I would like to invite each of you today to allow Jesus to prune and perfect you, no matter how painful it may be, and to remain always in His everlasting love.

Tami Urcia is wife and mother to her small army of boys. She works full time at Diocesan, a Catholic communication company, and is a freelance translator and blogger (BlessedIsshe.net and Catholicmom.com) She loves tackling home projects, keeping tabs on the family finances, and finding unique ways to love. Tami spent young adulthood as a missionary in Mexico, then worked and traveled extensively before finishing her Bachelor’s Degree. Her favorite things to do are spending time outside with the kiddos, quiet conversation with the hubby, and an occasional break from real life by getting a pedicure or a haircut. You can find out more about her here.

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Universal Communion

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One of the greatest privileges of working on a team is the knowledge and gifts of every person and the unending opportunity to learn new things and improve in my own gifts. One of the things I love most about my job is traveling to various parishes across the country and learning how much effort is put into communication and evangelization. There is a certain strength in numbers, a certainty that my weaknesses may be another person’s strengths and that they can take the torch on a certain task.

Realizing one’s own strengths and weaknesses is important. For me, it is sometimes hard to admit these weaknesses, even though I know they exist. I know that when I do admit them and ask for help I not only realize my reliance on God, but I also realize the tremendous gift of those God has put in my life.

Thoughts of the importance of coming together united in a common goal were running through my mind when I read today’s readings. Here we see the early Church starting to form. Put yourself in these readings for just a second. Imagine you were in the time of the early Christians. Jesus has just risen and there is an excitement in the air to proclaim that good news. But there is also fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of death, fear of division.

It’s no secret that there is a lot of division in our world today. Even amongst Catholics, we seem to be splitting between liberal and conservative, traditional and non-traditional, American and universal. Shouts of “I only like this certain Pope” or “This certain group in the Church is just plain weird” tend to take over the landscape of Catholic discussion.

Sometimes I think we forget that the word “Catholic” literally means universal. It means that no matter what, we are all one family. We are all a part of the body of Christ and at the end of the day we all have the same mission, to love God completely, to get to heaven, and bring as many people with us as possible. This is what we know of as the Communion of Saints. Eventually in heaven we will experience this perfect communion with God and each other, where there is no more division.

This scene from Guardians of the Galaxy is one of my favorite examples of the communion of saints. For those who haven’t seen the film, the character Groot can only say a few words throughout the entire movie. He says, I am Groot, over and over again. In the final scene of the film, Groot sacrifices himself for the ones he loves and they all unite in a special way. Finally, the last words we hear from Groot are, “We are Groot.” The perfect example of communion and sacrifice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=217&v=1vSm6HN16aw

The communion of saints is not necessarily an experience that is exclusive to heaven. Today’s readings are a calling to all of us to come together here and now as the universal Church and support and love each other, especially through difficulty and fear. When we admit our own weaknesses, allow others to use their strengths, support and love each other, and put aside our various differences, we will start to live what it truly means to be Catholic. May God help us all to see the gift of others and how that gift can bring us closer to God.

Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com.

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Inspiration Daily

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You are receiving this blog/email because you either signed up for Inspiration Daily or were on our list for Living the Good News. Here at Diocesan, we strive to help every person live Catholic Life Every Day.

This is an important mission to us and it is the reason that we will be starting daily reflections on the readings of the day. These reflections are free and will be starting on May 1st. They will be sent every morning at 5:00 am (eastern). This will take the place of ‘Living The Good News’ both on our website and in myParish App.

To share this with friends and family so they can subscribe as well, visit: https://dev.diocesan.com/inspiration-daily/.

We hope this program helps you in your daily walk with the Lord. From all of us here at Diocesan, God Bless!

 

If you have any questions about the program please email tshultz@diocesan.com.

Tommy Shultz is a Solutions Evangelist for Diocesan. In that role, he is committed to coaching parishes and dioceses on authentic and effective Catholic communication. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. Contact him at tshultz@diocesan.com. 
ordinary time
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7 Ways To Make Ordinary Time Less “Ordinary”

We are in the midst of Ordinary Time. If you check the thesaurus, “ordinary” is equated with “humdrum,” “routine,” “run-of-the-mill.” Is this what the Church has in mind for this particular part of our liturgical calendar?

No. The highlights of the liturgical calendar are Easter and Christmas. Ordinary time is about the points in between, focusing on the life of Christ. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops:

Ordinary Time is a time for growth and maturation, a time in which the mystery of Christ is called to penetrate ever more deeply into history until all things are finally caught up in Christ. The goal, toward which all of history is directed, is represented by the final Sunday in Ordinary Time, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

For those of us who live in the northern hemisphere, we are enjoying longer and warmer days. People head off on summer vacations, make plans to be on the water for a quiet evening of fishing or a day of water-skiing adventures. We slow down. We sit by the bonfire and talk and sing. Our neighborhood walks are dotted with a few stops to catch up with the neighbors. Ordinary time is not “humdrum” or boring; it’s just a different rhythm.

How can we make Ordinary Time a more spiritual time? How can we, as the U.S. bishops say, grow and mature in our faith? Here are 7 ideas:

  1. Take your Bible to the bonfire. There is something about a fire on a quiet summer night that is perfect for meditation. Choose one of the Gospels at random and spend a bit of time praying. Or look over the upcoming Sunday’s Gospel reading. Let the Holy Spirit, who first came to us in fire, lead you in prayer.
  2. Vacation to a different parish. Even if you’re not traveling, ordinary time is a great time to go visit a parish near you that maybe you’ve never been to, or haven’t seen in a long time. You could visit your diocese’s cathedral, or a little country church. Either way, it’s a great reminder that we are the Universal Church and every Catholic church in the world is our home. If you’d like, pack a picnic lunch and make a day of it!
  3. Get into a rhythm of prayer. Priests and religious are bound to pray the Divine Office every day, but it’s a fine prayer for the lay faithful as well. It can be a little tricky learning how to do this, but practice makes perfect, and that goes double for prayer. There are websites that offer assistance in this. Another fine option is Magnificat monthly magazine, which is a truncated version of the Office (and, they have a children’s version!)
  4. Have your home blessed. The blessing of a home is a long-standing Catholic tradition. Why bless our house? Because we who live there are a domestic church; it is the nursery of faith and the place where our faith is lived out. Ask your pastor to bless your home, and ask if he’ll stay for dinner. What a wonderful way to spend a summer evening!
  5. Ditch the electronics for a day. Yup, this is hard. We will want to check our phones, catch a baseball game, beat our latest score on a video game. But just for a day, ditch the electronics. Head outside. Play tag. Decorate the sidewalks with encouraging messages. Have the neighbors over for ice cream after dinner. Give the dog a bath. Wander. Read. Take a nap. Enjoy the quiet, because this is where God speaks to us.
  6. Make the outside of your home look Catholic. Plant a Marian garden. Find a statue you really like (Mary, St. Francis of Assisi perhaps) and give it a fitting place of prominence. Plan a day for the kids to make garden stepping stones that reflect their faith.
  7. Make Catholic attractions part of your summer vacation. If you are on the road this summer, find a Catholic attraction or two to visit. Maybe it’s a shrine that features a huge cross, or a grotto dedicated to Mary, lovingly made by hand. This doesn’t mean you have to forgo a trip to the water park or skip mini-golf; just plan on one more stop that reminds us that the Catholic faith is big and bold and beautiful, and expressed in many loving ways.

Ordinary time is not meant to be boring or mundane. Enjoy this time of year, and find ways to move closer to Christ, because in Him we live and move and have our being.

(Don’t forget to enter our “Ordinary Time, Extraordinary Giveaway.” Three folks will get a great summer bundle of fun!)

Ordinary Time, Extraordinary Giveaway
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Ordinary Time, Extraordinary Giveaway!

The Church calendar says “Ordinary Time,” but Diocesan Publications would like to do something out of the ordinary.

Starting today, through July 31, 2016 all NEW subscribers to our Living the Good News blog will be entered into our

Extraordinary Giveaway

3 Subscribers will winFree Visa Gift Card

$25 Visa Gift Card
1 – Catholicism #NotJustForSunday t-shirt
1 – I’m Not Texting. I’m Praying t-shirt
1 – Limited edition Pope Francis t-shirt
Assorted Selection of Prayer Cards
Assorted Selection of Bookmarks

To enter, simply scroll to the bottom of this post (or any of our blog posts) and enter your email in the subscription box.

You’ll not only be enrolled in our contest, but you’ll receive fantastic Catholic writing every day!