Pat and I are blessed with rising and sharing mass together this morning! It was the Presentation of the Lord, Jesus, in the temple today, and Father spoke of the "glimmers of light" that we have received in our lives that reveal to us the coming of our Salvation in Christ! We pulled up the driveway to smile at the heifers out in the pasture enjoying the morning sun and also looking with longing and curiosity at their friend Lilly the dog! How wonderful in this warm dry winter for them to be able to exercise in the pasture rather than being huddled together in a yard filled with snow and snowbanks as they had to last winter. The work is so much less this winter with the lack of snow! Pat loves it! When Father Paul spoke during the homily about the "glimmers of light, and some have had huge experiences of LIGHT!" Yes, I would call many of my journey much more than glimmers! Last night in our faith formation class we shared a lesson on the Holy Spirit and there was mention of the Charismatic movement in the Catholic Church... I had to share my personal experience with my parents praying over me to receive the Holy Spirit when I was about 16, and how it transformed my life and my relationship with Christ became so real and deep within my soul - I burned with love and understanding of HIM! This led my parents and myself to start attending a Charismatic prayer group, when we moved to Minneapolis at a convent in Wayzatta! This was my first exposure to nuns and it touched me deeply to see these women,who had given their lives to Christ as his Brides! So much so that when I and Pat's sister found ourselves in a Christian Commune in Boulder, Colorado... I started to think about that our life there of wearing long dresses- separated from the men, with time each day for Bible study, prayer and chores - "This must be what it is like to be a nun. I want to be a nun!" When I returned home to be told by my parents that they through scripture at an Ignation Retreat - Isaiah 55: 1-2 - that they were joining the Catholic Church with my younger siblings - "You ( I was the oldest of 11 and about 19 years old) and your two younger sisters can descide for yourselves." "I want to be a nun, so of course I want to be Catholic!" I said without a hesitation! We all 13 within a few months took our first communion at Christmas Midnight Mass at our wonderful convent- all the sisters had been praying for this day, and the Holy Spirit shed it's bright LIGHT to reveal the Truth of the True Church! Every day since has been the most gloriously lit path! I had to sit in mass and feel that the light has been a beacon or for sure a lamp upon a lampstand - giving light to the entire house - not just a glimmer! And when Father spoke about some of the moments of light we might have experienced - he mentioned healing and I felt that he was speaking just to us! John's miraculous healing is so huge and so cast in LIGHT that is seen by many! Tomorrow is his birthday #23, and how I was thinking of him today on the vigil of his day of birth - the Presetation of Jesus in the Temple!
Lord Jesus, Your light is so radiant in our lives... the idea of a glimmer just doesn't fit! I see this bright glorious day just reflecting the wonder in my heart - watching your call to me unfold in such miraculous ways! Speaking of the Holy Spirit always reminds me of the many times in our marriage I have been amazed by the wisdom and courage of my husband to see clearly your Truth and Light and to bravely speak it! Most especially when he set our path into life and love by clearing away any doubts... "The World needs LIGHTS!" Patrick spoke these words clearly and without hesitation when all others were saying that it was too much of a mess in this world to have more than one or two children - some said none - at our Engagement Encouter! It made me hesitate that we were being selfish to want to have a large famliy - but the Holy Spirit spoke with clarity the Truth through my amazing husband! This has been our entire marriage, and is now carried forth with our children! Such a ministry and such a mission of the Truth of LIFE and LOVE,which our Church in all its wisdom asks of us as dometic churches - families! Jesus, you are so beautiful, and families that cling to you, and all that you ask of us as we embrace LIFE... we find a slice of heaven here on earth! We are armed with the armor to face all the gaints that come against us with Courage! WE are filled with Wonder and Awe at the beauty of your Church and all the blessings we receive through your wonderful glorious sacraments! How we rejoice in the Gifts of your Holy Spirit... Wisdom, Understanding, Right Judgment, Courage, Knowledge, Reverence, Wonder and Awe! Jesus, we trust in you. Amen and Halleluia
"To present our experiences at the temple is to sacramentalize them. To present our eperiences is to recognize that all experience, from the smallest to the largest, has a supernatural dimension. We offer our experiences on the altar of the fact that we are loved just as we are, and that everything that happens to us is an opportunity to draw closer to Christ. We present ourselves at the temple because our lives,our work,our sacrifices are not our own...Before we present ourselves at the temple, we see ourselves through the eyes of the world. After we present ourselves at the temple, we see ourselves with the eyes of God....Outside the temple, for example, I'm an aging spinster, alone and unloved. Inside, I'm a woman rich in insight, wisdom and friends; I'm reminded that I have a unique and special mission. Before we 'present' our drug-addicted son at the temple, we are crazy with worry. We feel like failures as parents,that our life's work has gone for naught. After presenting him at the temple, we remember that we have given our very best, that love is never wasted of lost, that our child is in the hands of God. In fact, that is exactly what Mary and Joseph did with Jesus." Heather King is a Catholic convert, contemplative, writer... this sharing is from http://www.magnificat.com/
"Sion, adorn your bridal chamber and welcome Christ the King; take Mary in your arms, who is the gate of heaven, for she herself is carrying the King of glory and new light. A Virgin she remains, through bringing in her hands the Son before the morning star begotten, whom Simeon, taking in his arms announced to the peoples as Lord of life and death and Savior of the world." From the procession with blessed candles beginning the feast of the Presentation today! Wow! Our Church is the BEST! Thank you, Holy Spirit!
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