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Catholic Friendship Teaches Forgiveness

By Helen Behe

It’s a beautiful day on the Belmont Abbey College campus, but within Room 105A of the O’Connell dorms a storm is rumbling. The hum of the air conditioner is irritating me, and I’ve re-read the same sentence three times. I want to clear my throat, but I don’t want to make any noise. My roommate Lilly is sitting on her bed across from me, and she and I are both glued determinedly to our copies of St. Augustine’s Political Writings. Lilly and I are currently not speaking to each other, as we have just had a heated disagreement and are now sitting in deafening silence. Maintaining this silence is difficult for me, since I can rarely hit the five-minute mark without saying something to Lilly. I’d love to tell her about who I saw at breakfast, or the good grade I just got, or at least ask her if we could have our friend Maya over tonight… but I’m not about to sacrifice my dignity and go crawling back. Instead, I’ll give her the silent treatment. Once Lilly notices how unusually quiet I’m being, she’ll realize that I’m mad, and then she’ll feel bad. But I won’t spare her a glance, and will instead wordlessly continue my homework with noble suffering.  

Lilly puts on her headphones. 

Drat. She’s not going to notice that I’m sulking if she’s busy listening to music. I need to accidentally-on-purpose get her attention. I try throwing a sock clear across the room and into my hamper, but sadly this is too regular an occurrence for Lilly to glance up. Perhaps I should take a more direct approach?  

“Hey,” Lilly says as she moves her headphones off one ear. 

“Yeah, what’s up?” I respond in what I hope is a miffed tone. 

“What’re the pages we’re reading for Dr. Hren?” 

“24-46.” 

“Okay that’s what I thought, thanks.” 

“Yep.” 

“Yeah.” 

Lilly puts her headphones back on. 

Okay, that made some waves. Unfortunately though, I’m not feeling sweet revenge. I’m feeling uncomfortable. My misery is going unacknowledged, and, for some reason, Lilly is acting as if nothing were the matter. I’m just sitting on my bed, disgruntled, in my own personal cloud of dejection. I should be doing my homework, but my mood is making it difficult to focus. As I grab my room key and walk to the bathroom, I try to worry less about Lilly and more about my midterm grade for Dr. Hren’s class. 

I’m sitting down on my bed, post-bathroom trip, and realize something’s been placed on my copy of Political Writings. What is that, a bug? I squint: it’s an Oreo. 

“Hey, Lilly?” 

“What’s up?” Lilly takes her headphones off. 

I hold up the Oreo. “Is this for me?” 

“Yes!” Lilly looks at me with a smile kind enough to make me feel like garbage. “I’m sorry I upset you earlier, and I wanted to cheer you up.”  

“Oh,” I consider the Oreo in my hand. “Thank you,” followed by a weak smile. 

Lilly beams at me before putting her headphones back on. I eat the Oreo, feeling stupid. This Saturday’s argument with Lilly had taught me a valuable lesson that I would not forget: forgiveness. 

This Oreo olive branch became the solution to our disagreements. Lilly would leave an Oreo on my bed, or my book, or simply hand it to me, or in some cases where emphasis was needed, chuck it at my head. But the Oreo would always come with an apology that, like the Oreo itself, I couldn’t help but accept. It wasn’t long before I picked up on this practice. If I used Lilly’s mug without asking, or left our window open and bugs got in, or I spilled Gatorade on her copy of The Theban Plays, I’d offer her an Oreo.  

While I don’t remember what Lilly and I were arguing about that Saturday, I do remember that she forgave me, and in doing so taught me how to apologize like a Catholic instead of sulk like a heathen. Asking for someone’s forgiveness requires more than an Oreo; it requires humility, and that you acknowledge what you did wrong. But I realized that it’s better to lose your pride than to lose your friend, and that while requesting forgiveness isn’t pleasant, it’s a lot more palatable when there’s an Oreo involved. I was able to focus on my homework a lot more easily, too, which Dr. Hren was thankful for. Forgiveness truly makes the world go ‘round. 

 

Read all posts by Helen Behe Filed Under: Featured, General Tagged With: college, Forgiveness, friendship

Learning to Live with Mystery

By Amanda Woodiel

The Christian worldview is chock full of mystery.  How Jesus is both true God and true Man; how God is Three Persons but One Substance; how Jesus comes to us–body, blood, soul, and divinity–under the appearances of bread and wine: these are some of the great mysteries of our faith.  We are steeped in these mysteries, and we are comfortable (for the most part) that our finite minds cannot fully comprehend the greatness of God.  After all, some say, how much of a god is a God who is completely understood?

The mysteries of each other, however–those mysteries engender more discomfort.  Whenever we hear of a tragedy intentionally perpetrated, the first question is usually “Why?”  Why would someone do that?  We seek to understand, because somehow understanding brings with it some measure of comfort.

But what if we can’t understand?  And what if the mystery is closer to our own hearts: someone close to us who has hurt us unimaginably?  When we try to sort out “why?” or “how could he?”–well, that mystery is almost unbearable.

I had always held closely a hope that when my father died, the mystery of his activities and his intentions would be solved.  He passed away recently, and along with the grief of losing a parent and the shock of its suddenness, comes the grief that the mystery–instead of being revealed–has instead become more clouded and more strange.

What do we do when we must live with the mysteries of a human soul that we cannot penetrate?  Clearly, I will not know more about my father’s thoughts, motivations, or activities in this life.  The pieces simply don’t fit together no matter how many times I have turned them over in my mind.

When a painful mystery of life so presses upon our minds and hearts that it feels like murky waters poised to engulf us, it seems to me that we have two options.  We can struggle against it, flailing our limbs in an attempt to stay upright.  We can try to analyze the mystery and expend untold energy and time trying to unravel events, sort out truth, and understand the motivations of another’s heart.

Sometimes, though, we simply can’t fathom the answer.  In that event, not all is lost, for we can learn to float.  We can submit to our human nature.  The fact is, we were not made to know all–certainly not the workings that lie at the bottom of another’s soul.  We can adopt a posture of humility and lie peacefully atop the surface of the water.  One way saps strength; the other preserves it.  One keeps our eyes fixed on the sphere below; the other trains our eyes toward heaven.

Fortunately, truth isn’t only a set of facts but is a Person.  I can choose to rest in Truth, who is Jesus Christ.  Here I accept the finite nature of my human mind and yield to the God who is infinite but who loves me so completely that he came to me in history and comes to me in the Mass.  I don’t understand the mystery of my father, but He does.  Furthermore, if it were to my soul’s good that I unravel the mystery surrounding my dad, He would show it to me.  He hasn’t yet.  He might one day, but today and all days, I can rest in utter assurance that not knowing must be for my best.

When you encounter a mystery in life that cannot be solved–learn to float. You might catch a glimpse of heaven.

Text copyright 2018 Amanda Woodiel.  Photo by Pexels (2016) via Pixabay, CCO Public Domain.

Read all posts by Amanda Woodiel Filed Under: Catholic Spirituality, Family Life, Featured, Grief Resources, Prayer, Therapeutic Tagged With: faith, Forgiveness, grief, loss, mystery

Forgiveness Beyond the Grave

By Amanda Woodiel

My father died last week.  It was unexpected.  He had had health issues the last couple of years and had never seemed particularly robust, but he was never near death, either.

My mom passed away eight years prior.  Here I am, in my 30s (barely!) with five small children and no parents.  It’s not a common status among my circle of friends, but it could be far worse.

I mention this simply to show that I have a frame of reference when I talk about grieving deceased parents.  This isn’t my first rodeo.  What is different this time, however, is that my father was, well, a different man than what he seemed to be.  Over the last few years we had uncovered surprising details about his life–details that I will spare you, dear reader.

So the grief I feel is an alloyed grief.  There is sadness that the opportunity has passed for our relationship to transform coupled with confusion over details that keep popping up (such as the bewildering claim he apparently made that he had been sent on a secret mission for the Department of Defense) commingled with utter dismay that his last note to us–intentionally placed in a spot where we would find it–was as efficient as a corporate memo and as warm as a ransom note.

The question I am left with–aside from the question of what is true regarding his life–is the question of forgiveness.  How do you forgive someone who lies in his grave and whose lies extend beyond the grave?  (The last sentence of his last note to us was, in fact, untrue.)  How do you forgive someone who betrayed his family but who genuinely believed he could fool everyone–and who maybe, in the end, fooled himself?

As I have pondered these questions, a specific path to forgiveness and healing keeps coming to mind.  Think back to Cana, the site of Jesus’ first public miracle.  The hosts had run out of wine, and Mary, with the compassion of a mother’s heart, knew the embarrassment they would face.  Her son is at the same wedding feast, so she hurries to him and tells him the problem.  At first, Jesus seems to resist her urging.  But she–great Jewish mama that she is–brushes aside his response and turns to the servants. “Do whatever he tells you,” she says with complete confidence in him.  Jesus is moved by his mother’s urging and by her faith.  Jesus acts, in this instance, because of his mother’s intercession.

This intercessor was given to us from the cross when Jesus gave her to John.  John stands there in history as the faithful disciple but also stands in for us when Jesus gives Mary to his care: “behold your mother.”  She is our mother as well, our dear compassionate mother, who is also, in evangelical parlance, a “prayer warrior.”  Mary, just as she was at Cana, is a compassionate intercessor for those of us who face complicated situations.

Mary is known by many names.  One such name comes from a meditation by St Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons in the last quarter of the second century and a Church Father.  Drawing out a comparison between Eve and Mary, he noted:

“And thus also it was that the knot of Eve’s disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary” (Against Heresies, Book III, Chapter 22).

Man’s fall from grace due to original sin–what knot could be more complicated than that?  Original sin, endured since our first parents, was loosed by the obedience of Mary to the will of God when she gave her fiat to become the mother of the Holy God.  And so she is known as “Mary, Undoer of Knots.”  Mary, undoer of the knot of original sin.  Mary, undoer of whatever knot is in your life and the big knot that is in mine.

I once had a lovely little card that had printed on it “The best way out is always through.”  The best way out of the pain is to walk through it.  And so I have been given the answer to my question of how do I forgive: pray a daily Rosary alongside Mary, Undoer of Knots, for my father’s departed soul and for my wounded one.

What does this prayer do?  Two things.  When we pray in good faith for someone who has hurt us we cannot help but love that person more.  It is hard for us to love the person whom we do not know.  I have only done this prayer for the last week, and already I am looking at my father through more compassionate eyes than ever before; somehow, it is giving me more knowledge of him.

Secondly, praying the Rosary has a way of showing us who we are.  Contemplating the mysteries of the God-Man being scourged or crowned with thorns gives me pause to think about the ways in which I have unleashed my own contempt for my Savior.  The prayer becomes, then, less about offender (dad) and victim (me) and instead becomes two sinners contemplating God’s passion and his love and mercy.

And then, of course, the prayer is the outpouring of hope that God will and does redeem all things.  Everything else in my life–my mother’s terminal brain disease, for example–has shown itself to be a gift.  Perhaps the gift is a severe mercy, but there is always mercy.  There is always the great Divine Act of turning evil on its head to bless–witness the crucifixion itself.

Praying a daily Rosary for those who have wounded us alongside our great mother and intercessor is ultimately an act of hope, an act of humility, and an act of love.  By focusing daily and for a sustained time on the life of Jesus in the company of Mary, Undoer of Knots, I have confidence that I will find healing and peace.

(This post first appeared at www.inaplaceofgrace.com.  Text by Amanda Woodiel [2018].  All rights reserved.  Photo by Petra [2015] via Pixabay, CCO Public Domain.)

Read all posts by Amanda Woodiel Filed Under: Catholic Spirituality, Family Life, Featured, Grief Resources, Mary, Prayer, Scripture, Theology Tagged With: Cana, family, Forgiveness, grief, Mary, pain, rosary, Undoer of Knots

Lesson Idea for Teaching Trust in God

By Gabe Garnica

 

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Objective:  Children will be able to recall and recite three important things that we can offer to God…1) Harms….our sins     2) Hopes…the things we would like      to do/receive     3)  Hurts….people/things/situations  that have hurt us

Materials Needed:

  • 3 medium-sized cardboard boxes/cartons, with labels Harms, Hopes, and Hurts on the front respectively. Box should be large enough so that it cannot be held in one hand easily
  • Items to place in boxes, such as books or rubber balls etc (optional)
  • 4 volunteers

Grade Level:   Grades 3 to 6, but the delivery can be simplified or amplified for lower or higher grades

Scripture:   1 Peter 5:7    “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”                                                                                                                                                          Matthew 6:26  “ Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value than they?”

In the interest of brevity, I will summarize this lesson so that any catechist will be able to modify his or her presentation as needed.

  • Have one child play God; that child will stand to one side for most of the lesson
  • Remind the children that just as Jesus offered His cross to God, we can also offer all the good and bad things that happen to us to God also.
  • Explain to the children that, in addition to our thanks, praise, and requests, we can offer three other things to God
  • Give the box labeled “Harms” to one child and explain that this box represents those times that we hurt God, others, or ourselves by not obeying what God wants us to do.
  • Ask the children what we call those times…invariably someone will say “sin” and so ask the children how we “let go” of our sins….confession.
  • Give the box labeled “Hopes” to one child and explain that this box represents those things we want to do in the future, such as passing a test, getting on the soccer team, or becoming an athlete.  Explain to the children that while we can prepare for these things, we have to trust in God and leave it up to  Him if we will get what we want because He knows what is best for us.
  • Give the box labeled “Hurts” to the last child and explain that these are the times we have been hurt by people or when things do not go our way.  Explain that, just as Jesus forgave those who hurt Him, we too should forgive people for hurting us and ourselves when we cannot do the things we wanted to do.
  • Ask the children to try to hug or shake hands while holding their box.  Now ask the children with the boxes to give their boxes to the child playing God.
  • Close by telling the children that they cannot love and help each other as God wants them to until they give their boxes to God as well.

2016   Gabriel Garnica

Read all posts by Gabe Garnica Filed Under: Catechetics, Catechism, Catechist Training, Elementary School, Evangelization, Games, Prayer, Sacraments, Scripture Tagged With: 1 Peter 5:7, Forgiveness, Matthew 6:26, reconciliation

“Go and Sin No More”

By Maureen Smith

Brueghel_II,_Pieter_-_Christ_and_the_Woman_Taken_in_Adultery_1600As I reflected on this Sunday’s Gospel, the words of Jesus to the woman caught in adultery struck me. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”

What must it have been like for this woman who was known for and identified by her sin? When Jesus forgives her she stands as a new creation, freed from her past.

Nevertheless, Jesus is aware that, while she is cleansed of her sin, she will encounter the same temptations, the same situations, and the same people and therefore cautions her and instructs her very clearly.

Jesus does not gloss over the fact that she has sinned. But he does look upon her with a gentle and merciful gaze because he wants to heal her from the harm wrought in her soul by sin. He desires to free her from the clutches of the evil one and give her the grace to follow the path God has for her.

We are given these same instructions every time we leave the confessional and after Mass to “go and sin no more.” In fact, they are of particular significance during our Lenten journey, a season of repentance and conversion of heart.

Jesus does not condemn us but he does take our sins seriously. He died for them, after all! He does not desire perfection for its own sake, but for our own freedom, that we might be restored to our original dignity and be drawn closer to His Sacred Heart.

But what if we don’t feel ready to change? What if we are not sorry? If you think you are the only person who struggles with these problems and questions, know that you have at least one other friend out there who finds herself in the midst of this struggle.

Fortunately, we don’t have to rely on ourselves to conquer our resistance to grace! The words of Jesus in today’s Gospel remind us that we are not bound by our past. Jesus’ redemptive and transformative grace is more powerful than if we had never sinned, because “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). This kind of healing love is the answer to our feeble hearts.SantCompostela25

Few people know that the Sacrament of Confession is a healing Sacrament. Only recently did I come to know this  fact. So, sometimes when I approach the confessional, knowing that my heart is not “firmly resolved to sin no more” but willing it to be, I confess this state of my soul and ask for the healing necessary to be free from whatever is holding me back from doing the will of God and from letting go of my attachment to sin.

As we see in the image of the woman caught in adultery, the Lord comes to us, his children, as we are, knowing our sinfulness and our inability to choose the narrow path over what is easy. He not only forgives us but gives us a share in his power to resist temptation and choose life.

Puerta_de_acceso_al_Ex_Convento_de_San_CayetanoThis invitation by Jesus to start anew reminded me of the following passage from the Old Testament that I encourage you to take to heart during your Lenten pilgrimage.

“I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and holding fast to him” (Deut 30: 19b, 20a).

The next time you enter the presence of the Blessed Sacrament or the Confessional, consider asking the Lord for this healing, to choose life.

When you leave Mass or exit the Confessional and hear those beautiful words of the priest, “go in peace,” remember the words of Jesus in the Gospel today and remember that his healing and grace is with you.

Read all posts by Maureen Smith Filed Under: Campus Ministry, Catechetics, Culture, Evangelization, Featured, General, Liturgical, Prayer, Sacraments, Scripture, Theology Tagged With: confession, Forgiveness, Gaze of Mercy, Jesus, Mass, mercy, Sacrament, scripture, Woman caught in adultery

Living Advent 2: Don’t Judge a Person by Their Christmas Lights

By Maureen Smith

On my walk to the metro the other day, past houses illuminated with brightly colored lights (which were put up too early) and festive cheer, I found myself feeling irritated, lonely, and discouraged.

But this is Advent. I’m supposed to be happy. I work for the Church, so why am I not more excited?

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The answer hit me like a snowball to the face.

One of the reasons why my heart has been restless is because I have been so critical of the “happy holidays” culture, separating myself from those who are not more traditional. In an attempt to celebrate Advent “successfully” (whatever that looks like), I put myself above anyone who does not observe this pentential season the “right” way.

I have fallen yet again into the, “I’m not one of those people mentality.”

How many times have we all said this, especially during Advent? Do any of these situations sound familiar?

  • Criticizing retailers for putting out merchandise too early
  • Gossiping about the neighbors who decorate the day after Thanksgiving
  • Rolling our eyes at black friday shoppers
  • Đèn_trang_trí_Giáng_Sinh_trên_vỉa_hè,_Thành_phố_Hồ_Chí_Minh_2013If we did shop, our shopping was completely justified…we’re not one of those rediculous 3am shoppers…
  • Glaring at the barrista who hands us a red coffee cup and wishes us happy holidays
  • Plugging our ears in protest of Christmas music played before the Octave

Is this having the effect we really want? Is this really the Christian response? Are we so liturgically rigid that we deny returning charity to others of good will?

These “others” are trying to spread joy in that same secular world which told Mary and Joseph that there was no room for them. Do we not give them room in our hearts? Are we too busy complaining that it isn’t the right time to sing “Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee” that we forget to recognize and adore the presence of Christ whose love is incarnate in the smiling person before us?

05_Das_katholische_Fest_der_Heiligen_drei_Könige_2013_in_SanokJust because it is not the proper time to sing “Joy to the World” our Savior still reigns and we still can be joyful! We can still help others’ hearts unfold before us, opening to the Son of God.

In all of this holiday mania let us be lights of joy and let us receive others as lights of joy. Christ came in the most unexpected place on that first Christmas day, and we have the opportunity to meet him in those very people we are so quick to judge, those who “take Christ out of Christmas.”

No one can really take Christ out of Christmas. Our challenge is to recognize Christ in those place where he is needed most, and bring his love and light into the darkness. As Christians we cannot just ignore the darkness and those who are thirsting within it for a savior.

It was His Heart that beat under the heart of Our Lady waiting to be born for the salvation of the world. It was His Heart that cured the sick, forgave the sinner, and fed the hungry. It was His Heart that beat on the Cross for us and still beats for us in Heaven. It is His Heart that beats within our own Hearts. The question is, are we willing to bring that love into the world?

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Christ sees us all men and women as his children, he does not evaluate us as “happy holidays” people or “Merry Christmas” people.

If we find ourselves frustrated by the culture, by the fact that our ministry makes it difficult to pray, or if this season brings with it personal challenges and struggles, let us be consoled by the truth that Christ comes into the world each time at Mass and is always present in our hearts and in the hearts of others.

Whether or not we do Christmas or Advent “right,” no matter when we put out our Christmas lights and decorations, he still comes, for he is always faithful.

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Read all posts by Maureen Smith Filed Under: Catechetics, Culture, Evangelization, General, Prayer, Sacraments Tagged With: advent, Christmas, culture, evangelization, Forgiveness, heart of jesus, heart of mercy, holidays, live, mercy, New Evangelization, prayer, secularism, Year of Mercy

This Lent, Join Thousands to Learn About Mercy in Marriage

By Karee Santos

Faces of Mercy square parish ad small from Tami KiserMy husband Manny and I are excited to join several stellar speakers for a February 2016 online event called Faces of Mercy, produced by CatholicConference4Moms. Over 4,000 Catholic women registered for last year’s event. Manny and I will be speaking on Mercy in Marriage and the power of forgiveness to make your marriage strong, long-lasting, and joyful. Other presentations cover a wide range of topics such as teaching children how to forgive, overcoming evil through showing mercy, lessons on Divine Mercy from St. Faustina, and the role of mercy in combating pornography addiction.

This year’s amazing line-up of presenters includes:

  • Jennifer Fulwiler, Sirius XM radio show host & author of the best-selling conversion memoir Something Other Than God;
  • Simcha Fisher, speaker at the World Meeting of Families and author of The Sinner’s Guide to Natural Family Planning;
  • Kimberly Hahn, Bible-study author and wife of theology professor Scott Hahn;
  • Mike Aquilina, author or editor of more than 40 books and host of several television series on EWTN; and
  • wonderful friends and colleagues like Elizabeth Reardon, Pat Gohn, Allison Gingras, and Lisa Duffy.

Conference organizer Tami Kiser has brought to life an extraordinary way of entering into the meaning of Christ’s mercy during this Year of Mercy, starting on December 8, 2015, that Pope Francis has declared for the Church. Pre-recorded talks from the Faces of Mercy conference will be available to registrants on demand. Parishes can schedule a viewing at their convenience, and individuals can download and listen whenever they want throughout all of Lent. Plus, on February 20, 2016, Jennifer Fulwiler will be speaking live at 10:30 a.m. EST, and moms can gather virtually at 3 p.m. for live stream praying of the Divine Mercy chaplet.

A special option available this year is for parishes to host the talks as a Lenten retreat. This is a great way to rejuvenate faith and trust in God during the cold winter months before we celebrate Christ’s resurrection! The CatholicConference4Moms website has all the information for parish participation here.

Please consider registering either as an individual or on behalf of your parish, if you’re a catechist or religious education director. May Christ shower his mercy and blessings upon you!

To learn more about Karee and her marriage ministry, click here, and to get the free eBook, Marriage Rx: 50 Inspirational Quotes to Make Your Marriage Better Today, click here.

Copyright 2015 Karee Santos.

Read all posts by Karee Santos Filed Under: Catechetics, Sacraments Tagged With: Catholic marriage, Catholic mother, Forgiveness, mercy, Year of Mercy

Our Cornerstones

By Maureen Smith

640px-Masaccio,_trinità,_dettaglioIf we remember anything from Mass today, it is probably the Gospel, as today is commonly known as “Good Shepherd Sunday.” We probably heard homilies on this passage from John where Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd who “lays down his life for his sheep.”

As I sat at Mass this morning, it would have been easy for me to pass over the other readings and focus on the Gospel, but the homily I heard tied in the concept of rejection from the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, which references the Psalm for the day. Jesus is the “stone rejected by the builders” that has become the “cornerstone.” The Passion of our Lord which we recently celebrated was His greatest rejection, and His becoming the “cornerstone” is what we celebrate this whole season of Easter.

How often are we rejected? In each chapter of our lives we face some sort of rejection. We experience rejections among our friends and family, school, work, and in so many places. Many of our fears come from these experiences, whether we are mindful of them or not.

The very fact that Jesus was rejected – and that His exultation came, not just despite but, because of His acceptance and endurance of His rejection – gives us great hope. We come to believe that it is through our experiences of rejection that we learn to belong to God rather than anything else where we might experience rejection.

But often it is not other people that reject us, it is ourselves that do the rejecting. We can find it hard to accept ourselves the way we are, with our wounds, our imperfections, our current circumstances. We fail to let this Good Shepherd lay down His life for us because we are so afraid of rejection. We deny ourselves the possibility of being raised up with Jesus as the cornerstone with those shameful parts of us we are rejecting in ourselves.

The Lord put on my heart today that it is these very places that we reject that He comes to redeem, glorify, and make the cornerstones in our lives. If we have the courage not to reject ourselves, we can then embrace the Love of the Good Shepherd without reservation. He does not say that He has come to lay down His life for His sheep, except those with this problem or that problem. No! He travels every corner of the world to bring each soul to His Heart that loves us too much to reject us as we often reject ourselves.

What are those “stones” that we reject in ourselves? How does God want to redeem them and exalt them as cornerstones?

I pray that all of us reflect on this profound truth, that Christ who has come to save us and bring us into His Flock has a Heart so tender and loving that will never reject those who come to Him.

Read all posts by Maureen Smith Filed Under: Catechetics, Catechist Training, Culture, Evangelization, General, Prayer, RCIA & Adult Education, Scripture, Theology Tagged With: addiction, Catholic, Catholicism, Cornerstone, evangelization, faith, fear, Forgiveness, Good Shepherd, Healing, Jesus, life, mercy, Redemption, Rejection, Shame, Wounds

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