I signed up for the “Best Lent Ever” through Dynamic Catholic, and I have been receiving the daily videos from Matthew Kelly and other Dynamic Catholic employees. Each year has a theme, and this year’s theme is about prayer and “…not what you give up but what you become.”

In Matthew Kelly’s videos he’s been talking a lot about prayer and HOW to pray. He shares stories from his life about how he has learned to pray. It’s been quite a thought provoking journey. He’s asked us to really think about our attitude towards prayer, as well as our daily habits.

I’ve really started to take a serious look at my prayer life as a result. I’ve begun to realize sometimes I utilize my scripture studies and daily devotionals as “crutches” of sorts – as there are times I’m not sure how to talk to God. Sometimes I feel silly talking to God about my day – as He already knows what happened. But isn’t that how we speak to our closest friends? Don’t we share our experiences and funny stories? Isn’t that how we build and expand on those friendships?

What if you had a friend that you only called when you needed something?

What if you had a friend that you only went to when you wanted to talk about how badly your day had gone?

What if you had a friend that you never spoke positively to and only vented to?

Yet – isn’t this how we often talk to God?

Fortunately for us – not only does God love us unconditionally, he wants all of our bad days. However, we often forget that he wants our good ones, too. He wants us to come to him with our sorrows, but he also wants to share in our joys.

One of the quotes from my daily videos that has really stuck with me is the following:

”Prayer is more than a transaction.”

This is what I’m working on this Lent. I’m trying to make my daily time of prayer more of a conversation with God. This year I won’t be excited to finally get to have that piece of chocolate or glass of wine on Easter. I’m very excited to meet the person I’ve become.

Have a blessed week and see you back here next Sunday.

Every once and a while we go to church on Sunday and we get the exact message that we needed to hear. That happened to me this week.

This week’s gospel talked about the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert. In his gospel Mark writes about how “…..the angels ministered to Him.” Father pointed out that while in the desert Jesus was in a “God-less place,” and that his being there brought God to it. Ironically, that is what we are still being called to do all these years later – bring God to “God-less places.”

If we look around the world today, it’s hard not to feel that we are living in a “God-less place.” Watching the news and hearing about all the hatred and crime that fills our world, we can’t help but see what happens as we start to turn away from God. Father stated that we aren’t often overcome by the goodness in the world as often as we are burdened by the darkness of it. It’s hard at times to believe that there is any goodness or light left at all – but that’s where we come in. We’re called to be the light bearers of the world. We are called to spread the goodness so others CAN be overcome with it.

Today’s first reading told the story of the covenant that God made with Noah after the flood. God told Noah there would never be another flood. The sign of this covenant would be the bow in the sky that would appear whenever clouds come upon the earth. It made me think of the quote from Dolly Parton – “The way I see see it – if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

Feels like we’ve been in a rainstorm for a while now.

As I talked about last week, anxiety has always been an issue for me. When I get overwhelmed or stressed it gets worse, and last week was one of those times. Listening to Father’s message today about finding the goodness, overcoming the darkness, and finding our way out of the rain to find the rainbow was exactly what I needed to hear. Some days are harder than others to see that rainbow, but staying connected to the Lord helps. Even though we may not always feel overcome by the goodness of the world, we ARE surrounded by it everyday. It’s up to us to notice it.

This week’s opening hymn offers us a daily prayer to help with it all:

”Change our hearts this time
Your word says it can be.
Change our minds this time
Your life could make us free.
We are the people your call set apart
Lord, this time change our hearts.
This time change our hearts.
This time change our minds.
This time change our hearts.”

I hope this week you are overcome with the goodness of the world, that your mind is changed to not focus on the darkness, and if you experience some rain – that you keep your eyes set on the rainbow.

Have a blessed week, and see you back here next Sunday.

This Sunday Father began his homily by saying that he hoped we had really paid attention to the responsorial Psalm today. Even though I just sang it several times, I had to go back and reread it in my worship aid.

”I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.”

Father then went on to talk about our current state of affairs in the world, specifically with the COVID pandemic. He reminded us that whether or not we become ill with this virus, it is ultimately the Lord who calls us home according to His plan and His time.

I have struggled (at times heavily) with anxiety since I was a young child. Even though it is a running joke with several of my closest friends that I’m obsessed with planners, it all stems from my desire to have things planned out and scheduled. I don’t handle the unknown very well.

Ironically, isn’t that what ALL of life is – unknown?

We worry as children about school.
We worry about our futures.
We worry about schooling and whether or not it’s for us.
We worry about choosing the right career path.
We worry about finding a spouse.
We worry about marriage.
We worry about children and whether or not parenthood is right for us.
We worry about our family members and our parents as they begin to age.
We lay awake at night, imagining situations and outcomes that may never come to fruition.
We also lose sleep over tomorrows that aren’t even promised to us.

If you’ve never had any of those worries….well, first – I think you’re a liar, and second – I envy you. The truth of the matter is that we spend SO MUCH OF OUR LIVES worrying about things that will NEVER happen. Now, I’m not saying to throw caution to the wind, cash in your 401k, and take off to Bora Bora. What I am saying is that we spend more energy than we should worrying about things that the Lord already has in order.

This Sunday we began our Little Black Books for the Lenten Season. The first Sunday always talks about your Lenten journey and how you are feeling about the direction you’d like to take. I’d like my Lenten journey this year to be one where I come to rest in the Lord more fully. I want to shed the weight of anxiety that I have carried all these years. I want to spend my energy living the life the Lord has planned for me not worrying about how it will all come to together.

I think about the leper in this week’s Gospel. I think about the worries and anxieties he must have had. All of a sudden one day……along comes Jesus……and the leper was made whole. How often does that happen in our everyday life? We worry and stress over so many things day to day, and then the Lord comes along and delivers us.

This Lent I want to spend more time walking with the Lord an less time worrying about the walk.

Have a blessed week, and we’ll see you back here next Sunday.

My weekend looked a little different this week. I was staying with my nieces for a few days, and unfortunately they were in quarantine until Monday. They are healthy, but they were quarantining to be safe. Since I was staying with them, I didn’t attend services this weekend. I read the weekly readings as I always do, but I stayed with the girls.

I had a Sunday filled with activities, and I was worried about when I would fit in my hour of prayer. Ironically enough one of the readings this week talked about being anxious with things of the world instead of being concerned with the ways of the Lord.

At the end of the day, I had crossed off almost all of the items on my to-do list with the exception of one….my hour of prayer. I was feeling very defeated. It was then that I remembered what I HAD accomplished during the day…..

When trying to run some errands on Sunday morning, I took the girls to ride along in the car with me and had a coffee date with them. (Their drinks were vanilla based , of course.)

When asked to snuggle on the couch with the girls and their guinea pig (Oliver IS a member of the family), I did and enjoyed a nap.

When my presence was requested in the living room, I stopped what I was doing and played two games of Life.

And when it was bedtime, I enjoyed a movie night while we all bundled and snuggled together.

It was then I realized I got in my hour of prayer and then some. I no longer felt defeated. I felt extremely blessed.

Enjoy the rest of your week, and see you back here on (Super Bowl) Sunday. #12❤️🖤🏈

This week at mass something caught my attention that normally doesn’t – the second reading. I don’t always place too much importance on that piece of scripture, as I’m usually anticipating the Gospel and homily. Today’s second reading from 1 Corinthians really sparked my interest, though.

”I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out.
From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
those weeping as not weeping,
those rejoicing as not rejoicing,
those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully.
For the world in its present form is passing away.”

The words in and of themselves confused me. Normally when a scripture talks about the world ending, it’s not also telling husbands to act as if they’re not married – so you can understand my confusion. I decided to dig a little deeper into this scripture to see what Paul was really trying to say.

1.) “….let those having wives act as not having them….” – Paul isn’t telling the Corinthians to cheat on their spouses. He is trying to tell us to not only be concerned with your spouse. We need to put our concerns for the things of the Lord above those of anyone else.

2.) “….those weeping as not weeping….” – So often we get caught up in the ‘earthliness’ of life. How often? Every damn day for most of us. Sometimes we can become so obsessed with the self pity that it’s hard for us to focus on much anything else. That’s not the life that Jesus wants us to live. He wants us to live a life close to Him and a life full of joy.

3.) “….those rejoicing as not rejoicing….” – Just as we can become obsessed with grief, we can also become obsessed with searching for and finding joy. While the Lord wants us to live a joyful life, He does not want us to make it our sole focus in life.

4.) “…..those buying as not owning…..” – While there will always be things that we need to buy throughout the course of our lives, the Lord never wants us to become addicted to buying things – nor does He want our happiness to come from owning them.

Some have translated the next line as “Let your every contact with the world be as light as possible.” I like that translation. While we need to remain invested in the world in order to change it for the better, we do not need to make it the main focus of our lives – nor should we. By keeping our hearts and souls pointed towards the eternal fellowship we have with Christ Jesus, all of the other aspects of our lives should follow behind and fall into place.

Have a great week, and see you back here next Sunday.

The theme of today’s readings was being called by the Lord. Samuel is being called by God in the first reading – although he doesn’t realize it at the time, and today’s Gospel reading tells the story of Jesus calling Simon Peter to become a disciple.

Father talked about the different ways that the Lord calls us. In the current crazy and busy world that we live in today, it can be very hard to hear the Lord’s call. It can be very difficult to quiet our minds and hearts enough to hear God’s voice.

A passage from the reflection in today’s bulletin really made me think: “Maybe we need someone to open our eyes to God’s presence in the ordinariness of life. Frequently God speaks to us through the lives of other people. When we see goodness in the we too want to be good, to do good. This might prompt us to share what we have, to comfort those who suffer, to forgive those who have offended us.”

I know I’ve talked about this before, but this year I really want to make an effort to allow the Lord to use me in this way. Sometimes God isn’t asking us to save a life or make a huge monetary donation, but He may just be asking us to hold a door, call a friend, or say hello to a stranger.

Father told the story today of how his parents met. His mother was moving out of her apartment, and his father was moving into the same building. The landlord mentioned to his father that a very nice lady would be stopping by to make her last rent payment……if he wanted to stick around to meet her.

He did.

They were married a year and a half later.

What you think to be a small gesture,the Lord could be using to change someone’s life in a very big way. Even during these crazy times we can always find a way to exhibit kindness everyday to others.

Let’s all take some time this week to quiet our minds and our hearts enough to that we can hear the Lord calling us to do ordinary things that He can use in an extraordinary way.

Have a great week, and see you back here next Sunday.

This weekend brought with it a little change in pace for me. I wasn’t able to make 8:30 mass this morning at my parish, so I attended 4pm mass at my former parish. Due to the fact that the Father Nate had just tested positive for COVID, Bishop Gruss said mass in his absence.

It was a bit nostalgic being back in the parish I called home for almost 8 years. Good Shepherd Parish will always have a special place in my heart. It felt a lot like going back home for a special occasion.

As the Bishop gave his homily to the congregation, he asked how many of us knew the day we were baptized on. Of course he knew – but nobody else in the church did. He explained that in many ways our baptism day is more important than our birthday. Our birthday is the day we were born into this sin-filled world, but our baptism day is the day we were born into eternal life. He then began to talk about how the spirit of God is alive in each and every one of us, and that REALY made me think.

During a time when our country is feeling more divided than ever, the Bishop’s words reminded me of that truth. The spirit of God lives in each and every one of us. Last fall I shared a picture on Facebook that I had seen earlier that said:

“Kamala is beloved.
Donald is fearfully and wonderfully made.
Mike is cherished.
Joe is important enough that I died for him.”

Although the majority of Americans would not agree with all of those statements, they are ALL true. The spirit of God lives in us ALL – not just your friends and the people you agree with. Recognizing the divinity in another does not excuse any wrongdoing they may have done. Ours is not to judge. Acknowledging the spirit of God in another just enables us to live as God calls us to – and to love one another.

I been thinking a lot over the past week about the goals I’d like to set for myself for the upcoming year. I’ve made a LOT of changes to my life over the past 5 years, and each and every one of them has had a profound effect on my life. I have a strong desire to help others to do the same. I find it overwhelming and difficult at times to think of ways to do that. It’s easy with some people, and it’s extremely difficult with others. Listening to the Bishop yesterday gave me a different outlook on this. By recognizing the spirit of the Lord in everyone I encounter in life, I feel that will enable me to help others. Sometimes we talk ourselves out of doing good deeds because we feel like they are not enough. This doesn’t have to be difficult. You can make a difference in someone’s life by treating them with kindness.

As we move forward in the new year, let’s all remember that the spirit of God lives within us all. We’re not here to judge each other. We’re not here to treat people as good as they treat us. We’re here to love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Sounds live a great way to head into 2021.

Have a great week, and see you back here next Sunday!

Huron County started off the year with a tremendous loss.

Lowell McDonald passed away on Friday, January 1st.

I can’t adequately describe what Lowell was to our community. Pretty much every resident of our area has their own “Lowell Story” to share. While I have my own memories of Lowell, the story that I kept thinking of today was actually my parents’ story.

Not too long ago my parents were on their way to Bad Axe and drove by Lowell and Beth’s house. My Dad passed the remark to my Mom that he hoped one day Lowell would be outside and they could stop for a visit. It just so happened that day they noticed his garage door was open. They drove past the house a little bit when my Dad decided there was no time like the present to stop by. They went back, and they found Lowell outside. They pulled in the driveway and proceeded to have the nicest visit. Before they left he made sure to tell them to stop by anytime for a cup of coffee. After their visit was done and they were driving away, Mom and Dad both said how happy they were that the timing worked out.

About a week or so later – Lowell had passed away.

That story was all I could think about today during mass. So often I feel the Lord will put something on my heart and I dismiss it. I’ll think it’s silly….or I’ll have time to do it later……or someone else will do that…….the excuses go on and on. Today I asked the Lord to open my ears and my heart to those ‘nudges of the soul’ as He sends them to me. There’s not a doubt in my mind it was the Lord that nudged my Dad to turn his truck around that afternoon. As we begin the new year, let’s all open our ears and hearts to those ‘nudges of the soul.’

I called my parents after church today, and my Mom shared with me a passage that was in their bulletin this Sunday. She said it reminded her of Lowell and read it to me over the phone.

“A man’s true wealth hereafter is the good he does in this world to his fellow man. When he dies people will say, ‘What property has he left behind him?’ But the angels will ask, ‘What good deeds has he sent before him?’”

See you back here next Sunday – and thank you, Lowell, for everything you have done for this community. Your generosity will never be forgotten – in this world or the next.

Didn’t really think about this until I read someone’s Facebook post this afternoon – today is the last Sunday of 2020.

Finally.

I’m never one to wish time away, but this year sure has been a long one. This time next week we will be in 2021 and (hopefully) on our way to a much better year.

I had to chuckle in church today because the second reading was from Colossians, and it’s a very popular one in our family. For as long as I can remember when we were in church, everyone’s eyes in my family would always turn towards mom and dad when the lector spoke those famous words…… “Wives be submissive to your husbands.” We would always see Dad smiling and pointing towards Mom. The next line in that passage is “Husbands, love your wives.” As much as my Mom does for my Dad, he equally does as much for her.

I kept thinking about my parents during the homily, as Father spoke a lot about covenants. The first reading told the story of Abraham and Sarah and their son, Isaac. God made a covenant with Abraham and – even when things seemed impossible – He kept true to His word and blessed them with a son.

As children of God we are all part of the same covenant with Him. The Lord has promised good to all of us, and – as Father reminded us today – trusting in God is good. We must all continue to look forward and see in faith what the Lord has promised us. Even though there is so much uncertainty in the world currently, there is nothing uncertain with the Lord.

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is a special one for me. I always feel so full of potential – thinking about the upcoming year and the ‘clean slate’ I feel we’re all gifted on January 1st. This year as I begin to plan out my 2021, I’m going to try and focus on the covenant that Father spoke of today. Even when things appeared impossible, God followed through on His promise to His faithful servant. I have felt separated and alone at times over the past nine months. This quarantine has had that effect on several of us. We need to remember that we are not alone. Not only is the Lord with us always, we DO have each other.

Even when we are wearing our masks, Father reminded us today that we can still look each other in the eye. As we move forward into 2021, let’s make it a point to look forward in faith – and make eye contact with our fellow brothers and sisters. We may be in different boats, but we’re all sailing through the same COVID storm. Keep your eyes and heart focused on the one who can calm the waters.

Happy New Year – and see you back here next Sunday.

Okay. I can’t properly introduce my blog post this week without being honest about something. It’s less than a week until Christmas. It’s almost year-end at work. My mind is going a million miles a minute.

I kinda spaced out at the beginning of the homily today. (Sorry, Father Rob.) 😬

When I ‘came to’ and caught back up mentally with the other parishioners, Father was asking if there were any engineers in the congregation. Seemed like an odd question to ask, but hey – I wasn’t there for the beginning of the conversation. A few people raised their hands, and Father noted that engineers solve problems that most people don’t even think about.

My mind started to wander (again), but this time I was thinking about another time I had witnessed something similar with my own eyes. It was another Sunday a while back that I had attended mass. Right before it was my turn to walk up to the altar for communion, I noticed one of the ushers walking down the aisle. I wondered what he was doing, as there were so few people in church the ushers were not dismissing us pew by pew as they normally would. I watched him walk over to a pew across the aisle from me, and at that point I noticed what the usher had seen but I had not. There was an older couple that wanted to walk up to the altar for communion, but they both had difficultly walking. The husband had difficulty walking on his own, so he was unable to help his wife – who was having more difficulty than he was. This usher had walked up to assist her as she walked up to receive the blessed sacrament, and then he walked her back to her pew. That random act of kindness warmed my heart, and I think about every time I’ve received communion since.

Peeps – the next 11 days are going to FLY by. I know it feels like we have so many problems to solve, but we really don’t. Menus will figure themselves out for Christmas dinner. Anxiety about what gifts to buy and whether we bought the right thing really isn’t all that important.

I’m challenging myself – as well as all of you – to be a’mercy engineer.’ I’m going to focus less on my preoccupation with crap that really doesn’t matter, and I’m going to try to zero in on those problems that most people don’t think about.

What about my neighbor with young children who is quarantined? What about those among us that need some extra assistance this holiday season? What about my friends who may have just lost a loved one and need a little extra support?

I think if we all signed on as ‘mercy engineers,’ 2021 could be a very different year for all of us.

Have a very Merry Christmas – and see you back here next Sunday.