Lighting the Candles of Mercy and Hope

Mercy – so freely offered to us through Christ our Lord.  As my faith has blossomed over the course of my life, I have found that it is easier and easier to offer mercy to others.  This has brought an incredible amount of peace to me.  For me, the key is to remember to look at another through the eyes of faith for when I am able to do that; no matter what harm I feel someone has done toward me, I am reminded that they carry the light of Christ within them and that we share the same human weakness.  When I see others through the eyes of faith, mercy comes easily and peace follows because then I am

able to do as Paul of Tarsus beckons “keep no record of wrong.”  Praying for mercy every day this past week gave me the strength to get through a very trying experience and I am ever grateful to my Lord for standing with me and for the Spirit which gave me the words to speak and the power to stomp down my human anger.

I really want to talk about hope with you.  I had a very tough time during Mass the Second Sunday of Advent.  Maranatha – oh how I long for Christ to come again so that I can see the face of my mother. 

I am writing this on Saturday, December 12 – Our Lady of Guadalupe.  It was one year ago today that I sat in a very small examining room with my mother and watched the screen as the Doctor examined her.  They were testing for muscle movement.  At the time I kept wondering why I wasn’t seeing any lines moving and the Doctor’s tone of voice became more and more gentle.  Then he got to her back and very quickly said, ok, I think that we have enough.  I thought – gosh – what the heck was this screen supposed to show – I saw very little movement.  I did not know at the time that they sent in the head of the ALS Clinic to examine my Momma.  Then it was time for the consultation.  My sweet

family all crowded into that small room and you could feel the hope each one carried with them but I knew we would not be hearing good news.  Hope left me at when I started to process what the absence of those lines on the monitor meant.  Hope left me when our own Doctor asked me to step out of the room for a private consultation.  Hope left me – me who always says “hope rises eternal” – when she said to me “it is bad – it is very bad – be sure to enjoy your Christmas.”  How was I supposed to tell my Father those words – how was I supposed to call the rest of my siblings and my mom’s siblings to tell them that our Momma’s time on this earth was coming to an end.  I will never forget the look on my mother’s face when she recognized that pain in my eyes.  My sweet Momma – apologizing to me for that pain.  Oh how darkness enveloped me that day.

God sent all his power to me on that ride home and I as slept ~ for the next day hope did rise eternal and strength was given as we celebrated her last birthday and her last Christmas – we celebrated her life!  Oh what an awesome God.  As I feel the weight of those memories every day the word of God give me hope:

Jerusalem, take off your robe of mourning and misery; put on the splendor of glory from God forever: wrapped in the cloak of justice from God, bear on your head the mitre
that displays the glory of the eternal name. For God will show all the earth your splendor: you will be named by God forever the peace of justice, the glory of God’s worship.                                                                                           Baruch 5:1-2

I live in hope every day waiting to see her again.  Maranatha – come now Lord Jesus.

                                                                 

Shalom,

Tina

Light the Candle of Faith

Pope Francis has declared the upcoming year as A Year of Mercy.  We will begin to celebrate this jubilee year on December 8, the feast day of the Immaculate Conception. 

Throughout the coming year, we are asked to celebrate the mercy that God has freely bestowed upon us.  We can get off to a good start during this season of Advent ~ the season in which we should prepare our hearts for the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  For me, Jesus is the ultimate sign of God’s mercy.  He came to earth to reveal God’s mercy.

The traditional themes for the weeks of advent are hope, peace, joy and love.  This year, we are asked to focus on the virtues of faith, mercy, hope and love.  So, let us light the candle of faith this first week of advent.  Faith is certainly a hard concept to describe to someone, isn’t it?  Faith to me is more of a feeling of complete belief in something or someone.  I want to share with you how my faith in God and in our Church has grown throughout my life.

For me, faith seems to be part of my DNA – perhaps that is the same for many people.  My faith in God has never wavered, even through the most difficult times of my life.  In fact, during my darkest times, my faith in God seemed to just grow stronger.  I have often wondered how I came upon such a strong faith.  I want to share with you the three strong pillars which have helped me in my faith formation:

Family:  those chosen by God specifically for me; most notably my Mother, Grandmother and Godmother.  Oh what strong pillars of faith these women represent in my life!  Filled with faith and love enough to move mountains!  Their faith in God and Christ was so full that it spilled over to everyone they touched.  My prayer to God is to always fill my cup so that I may be a witness of faith to others.

Faith Community:  those in our Parish, our Catholic School and in the wider church.  God has placed so many wonderful people on my journey of faith who have inspired me and have shared their faith with me.  I find that faith can be a very contagious virtue!

Life Experience:  those times in my life that I know with certainty that God’s hand had touched me.  These moments are plentiful.  During NCYC I had one such “God moment.”  It happened during Adoration, in the silence of 24,000 members of the young church worshipping our Jesus Christ. 

            I am kneeling in adoration on cold cement floor.  The Bishop begins the chant “Jesus”, “Jesus”, “Jesus.”  The room grows quiet as I gaze upon the altar on which sits the golden monstrance which contains the body of our Lord.  I begin to feel a chill – it starts circling round me, then stops behind me and oh so very slowly embraces me.  My heart races and my breathing becomes fast as I try to maintain control and allow my senses to surrender to this incredible feeling.  Close your eyes and try to picture this moment . . .I pray that God comes to you and touches you in this           way! KNOW that it is God.

I have come to understand that faith is a seed planted in the core of who I am and by the witness of family, friends and life experience, the seed grows into a mighty tree built to withstand the roughest of storms.  I pray that you nurture the seed that God has planted within you for you never know how you may be that witness of faith to others!

                                                                 

Shalom,

Tina