Receiving a hundredfold

Posted on May 29, 2015 by joshuaanddenise under Life in Telegraph, Photo Album

We figure the best way to fill you in on the last month will be through these pictures. Although some details will be missed God continues to work in our lives, both through our family and our community here. There have been those times of doubt, but God’s promise remains for us a beacon as we continue to feel His blessings: “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much.” -Matthew 19:29. As you can see from the pictures spring has sprung!

Planting our little saplings in the back yard!

“This looks like a good spot for another one!”

The community here has continued to receive us with kindness and friendship. We were invited by friends to visit their family fish camp where the Tahltan & Stikine meet. We felt honoured to be invited here. It remains a sacred place for the Tahltan people as it continues to be one of the main fishing grounds.

This is the rock “Thadu” pictured in the picture above(to the left), and the one that we are climbing on in the pictures below. What a difference a couple of weeks makes!

Climbing on “Thadu”

Chilling on the rocks

The Tahltan River meets the Stikine River

The Tahltan River

Up on “Thadu”

Rock climbing?

Chillin!

“Daddy I’m just going to go up here!”

Eagle Rock!

Chilling in the sand

It’s fun walking in the sand

Enjoying the sand and the sun

A look down the Stikine! Celebrating Kateri’s baptism anniversary! “I’m so excited!”

Getting ready to celebrate Mass at Diane’s house, with Father Harrison

The kids couldn’t resist the tractor

“This would be so much more fun if the thing was actually turned on!”

Some moose hanging out in a swamp on the way back from Glenora

Getting ready to go fishing

Teaching patience

On to the dock at Sawmill Lake

“This dirt is so yummy mommy!”

Our “May” baskets, to celebrate the feast days of Mary & Joseph in the month of May

A look back at her first year. Celebrating Aliz’s birthday!

“Happy birthday Aliz, love from Gianna!”

“Happy birthday Aliz!”

“Love from Kateri”

A pose with the birthday girl

Yummy cupcake

The wax is tasty too

–

–

–

–

Talking on the phone

–

–

Mommy’s big helper; folding laundry. Check out my new haircut!

My new haircut

Community Garbage Clean Up Day

After all that hard work, an ice cream cone hits the spot!

Halted on Iron Road

–

“Fish on!”

Catch of the day!

–

–

Helping out in the garden

–

–

Out for a hike with the Lefebvre’s, who had come for a visit

Swimming in Sawmill Lake

“The water is nice.”

“Thanks for the sunscreen mom, but I’m going to enjoy this dirt a la stick!”

Board games and frozen bananas with the Lefebvre’s

The Tahltan River Valley, viewed from up top at the lava beds.

Waterpark in Whitehorse

–

–

–

–

–

–

These next few weeks will be busy, with Josh leaving for 10 days for a trek through Mt.Edziza Provincial Park, and then leaving for Juneau, Alaska 1 week after he gets back. Denise will be attending a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd training course. But we’ll hopefully keep you all updated with pictures in between and after:)

You will receive power

Posted on May 19, 2015 by joshuaanddenise under Sunday Reflections

Do you have a favorite superhero? Why is he/she your favorite? There is usually one particular reason why you like something, like a superhero, because it/they have something unique about them that sets them apart from anything/anyone else!

In the same way, God has given us each a unique and specific gift!

Today(May 17) we celebrate the feast of the Ascension of our Lord, Jesus, into heaven. After dying on the cross and coming back from the dead I’m sure the disciples were thinking this was too good to be true, but then the reality sets in that He will be leaving them for good. We hear in Mark’s Gospel (16.15-20) Jesus’ call to his disciples to go into the world and proclaim the good news, which they have witnessed; His life given for us to enter eternal life.

We further hear in the Acts of the Apostles(1.1-11) Jesus’ hope for us in His departure; “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth.”

What a promise. Jesus is leaving, but He promises he will remain with them. He Spirit will indeed come to give them power, His power, it is only a matter of when! (Spoiler: This ‘when’ is what we call next Sunday’s celebration: Pentecost)

In the Gospel Jesus also reveals what they will be able to do with His power; truly amazing things [Jesus’ disciples were given ‘super’ powers]:

-Cast out demons

-Speak in different languages

-Pick up snakes

-Drink deadly things and not be harmed

-Heal the sick

The amazing thing about this is that He is also calling us, just as much as His first disciples, to do these things! To be His witnesses and, in His name, through the power of His Spirit to do amazing things. Do we live this though? Are you open to His Spirit?

As we hear in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians(4.1-13) each one of us is given the grace that we need, the gifts that we need, to accomplish this. Some are called to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, others teachers. For what purpose though? All for the building up of the body of Christ, the Church, and His kingdom!

In a way, God has called us to be ‘holy’ superheroes. However, it is not for our glory, much like the usual superheroes that take all the credit for themselves, but it is for His glory, His Church!

We have each been given a unique gif, something that sets us apart from everyone else. God desires for all people to know His love and His power (the Good News), but it is through those who know this love and power firsthand that he can spread it to all!

I would encourage you to pray to the Holy Spirit, and ask for the Spirit to guide and direct you to discovering your unique gift that He has given you for the building up of His body. Let us open our hearts, and as we open ourselves to the power of His Spirit may we come to internalize His call for us to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth.

“Abide in…me!”

Posted on May 4, 2015 by joshuaanddenise under Sunday Reflections

Today in the Gospel we receive a simple, yet rich description of what it means to be a follower of Christ. When Jesus speaks comparing Himself to a “vine” and calls His followers “branches” He creates a clear picture for us (John 15.1-8); Just as the branch is dependent on the vine for life, as are we dependent on Jesus for real life. The grapevine sends nourishment and food to the branches, which in turn are able to produce abundant grapes. In the same way, when we are connected to Christ, when we “abide in Him” His life flows in us and through us, nourishing us, and the outcome is the fruit of joy and love.

With Jesus’ words, “Abide in me”, He reminds us of the relationship he desires with us and has come to offer us: “Abide in me… abide in my love, as I abide in you”. This is an intimate invitation. He invites us into a union with himself, but look at the word he uses: IN. This isn’t a relationship between merely friends. The only relationship I could think of would be that of two lovers, but in a deeper, more profound, way. Just as the vine and the branches are intricately connected, one seamlessly flowing into the other so that they are essentially one. So through our union with Christ what is true of him becomes true of us. By the work of the Spirit, Christ lives in us and we in Him, and we partake of all his riches.

But what does, what should, this abiding relationship look like? As we hear about in St.John’s letter (1 John 3.18-24) it should be lived out of an obedience to God’s commandments and a love that is expressed, not in our words, but in our actions. It is a decision that we are faced with on a daily basis and that we express through our actions and our choices of what we make a priority in our lives. It is a coming to a point of recognizing our full dependency on Him, a dependency that begins anew in every moment of our lives.

These words spoken by Jesus, “Abide in me!” are obviously important, as they are repeated several times in this short scripture passage. This is what Jesus has come for. And why he is speaking with such imagery. So that in a way we could get a taste, or some slight understanding, of His love for us, and the life He offers us. These words seem simple yet are so profound. Perhaps the words of St.Paul shed light on this for us, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galations 2.20) His deep love for us calls us to live in that love, and live out that love in our daily walk with Him.

Sounds really great! But how do we do this? How do we abide in Him, in His love. To go back to the imagery of the vine and the branches; to abide in Him we need to be receiving life from Him(as the vine) by being intricately and intimately connected to Him(as the braches) receiving His nourishment. Christ needs to feed us and fill us, and He has given us many ways:

He has given us the Bible; Sacred Scripture. If we are to abide in Him we need to know firsthand what truth and life He is speaking to us, and the Bible is His word to us, spoken for us. Through His Word He offers us consolation, truth, and guidance.
In response to God’s Word we must also go to Him in prayer, not only with our needs, but with open hearts to receive. This was the constant practice of Jesus himself. He recognized his own dependence on the Father and his life of prayer was a visible expression of that dependence.
In order to abide in Christ we are also given the sacraments; this is where the truth of our union becomes tangible and visible. In baptism we die by going down into the waters and come out a new creation in Christ. In order to abide in Christ, the holy one, we need to be rejecting sin and seeking to live holy lives, so we have been given the Sacrament of Confession that we may continually return to the Father’s love for us and grow in obedience to His commands. Furthermore, through the Eucharist, Christ becomes the true sacrifice for us, entering into our humanity and uniting himself to us as we physically receive him as our spiritual nourishment.
The sacraments further point us towards the importance of our fellowship with our spiritual community, the Church, as a means by which we experience our union with Christ. The Church is the body of Christ, and through our interaction with one another we engage and interact with Christ himself. We can receive His comfort, encouragement, and guidance through others within His body.
We further hear that “every branch that does bear fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.” In this way suffering also plays a part in us letting go of our attachments and earthly desires in allowing our lives to be shaped and united in the suffering of Christ.

Our union with Christ, this “abiding” relationship, is indeed a mystery; something not easy to grasp or explain. And so I would like to conclude with the elucidating line from St.John’s letter: “By this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit he has given us.” (1 John 3.24) So it is by the work of the Holy Spirit that we are united with our Savior and experience life with and in Him. Let us draw strength then from this reality and entrust ourselves fully to Christ that, as branches, we may draw on the vitality of the true vine, Jesus Christ, to produce good fruit; fruit that is life for us, fruit that is life for the body of Christ, fruit that is life for our community, and fruit that is life for the world.

Don’t you recognize me?

Posted on April 19, 2015 by joshuaanddenise under Sunday Reflections

In the opening lines of the Gospel today(Luke 24.35-48) we hear about the 2 disciples who had been on the road to Emmaus, and had encountered the risen Jesus, sharing their experience and, I’m sure, their excitement and joy at this meeting.

You could probably picture their faces when Jesus all of a sudden appears; startled and frightened, they thought they were seeing a ghost.

I was particularly drawn to how Jesus was trying to convince the disciples that he is real, that it is indeed Him. He invites them; “Look at my hands and feet… Touch me and see,” and, “Do you have anything to eat?” It is in these small and simple gestures that Jesus invites them to recognize Him. We may wonder, “Why would they not have believed?” Especially when they had heard that this was what was to come, in Jesus’ own words, and when they had seen first-hand all that he had done!

We are also faced with these same moments in our own lives, moments where Jesus appears to us and He invites us to recognize Him. Quite honestly we can also be caught off guard, like the disciples were, and have a hard time recognizing Him. But He calls us to; recognize Him in our spouse, to recognize Him in our family members or our friend, to recognize Him even in a stranger. It’s not always easy to recognize the face of Christ, especially when He comes to us through someone who has hurt us, someone who we see is not making good choices, or in someone whom we don’t get along with. Sometimes we can be blinded by our own pride, like the crowd and the Pharisees were to Jesus, while other times it can be our selfishness.

But Jesus understands His disciples disbelieving. They had joy even though they doubted. And He called them to look outside of themselves, outside of their inner doubt. They were open to Him, and in turn He opened their minds and their hearts to see. It is not something that we can simply grasp with our own human understanding, that Christ suffered and rose from the dead to forgive our sins. But through His invitation to us we can open ourselves to encounter Him in others and He can open our minds to understand this great mystery, this reality of His great love for each of us.

Let us come before Jesus with hearts open to His love, open to His presence, open to His resurrection in our lives, because when we come to Him with openness He responds, not holding back but revealing the truths of His life and His love for us. Let us take up our invitation to be witnesses to these things in our lives and seek to recognize Him in all that we do and in whomever we meet today, travelling on this road to new life in Him.

Stare at the 4 black dots in the centre of this picture for about 15 seconds.

Close your eyes and keep them closed until an image appears.

What did you see?

Vacations & Celebrations

Posted on April 18, 2015 by joshuaanddenise under Life in Telegraph, Photo Album

It’s been a while since we posted an actual photo update, so here it goes. We went on holidays for most of the month of March(for 3 weeks) so that has delayed this quite a bit, especially with being tossed in to the Holy Week/Easter festivities as soon as we got back. But we’re back on our feet and things seem to be getting back in to more of a routine.

To start off our vacation, we stayed in Terrace with the Vandenberg family on our first night(who also really enjoy board games) and the second night at our sister and brother-in-law’s in Prince George. The hospitality was so wonderful after long days of driving. Thank-you!

It’s always so great getting to catch up with family and friends which takes us to a bit of a different space than when we are living in a place where we are doing ministry 100% of the time; just a bit more relaxed. We had such an amazing time with Josh’s family in Chilliwack(spending about 1 week there) and really cherished the quality time, especially since we figured it would be a while before we would get to see them again. We also were able to catch up with quite a few of our friends, but obviously with such a time constraint were not able to see everyone that we had hoped to. We know that we are all still united in prayer! We also had the opportunity to spend 1 week in Kelowna, with Denise’s family, where we had the opportunity to partake in the festivities of a family wedding and a baptism. Amidst the schedule of visiting we were able to gather our restock of supplies and groceries. When our time had drawn to a close we were excited about heading home, back to Telegraph Creek. We missed the quietness and the routine, but felt so blessed in our time we had with family. Sadly, we somehow misplaced or deleted most of our pictures from our vacation:( (which included all of our time in Chilliwack) So our words here and the pictures of our mind’s eye will have to suffice!

Bannock(& popcorn), books, & a movie at the school, for the Scholastic Book Fair!

Riding bikes and helping Grandpa Tom pick up sticks(Kelowna)!

Happy early Easter!

Grandma & Isaiah’s leaning tower of blocks. I honestly can’t remember how many times it was repeated, but when it got so tall that it fell over, it would start from the ground up all over again!

Kateri became best friends with a garter snake, which she named Alivia!

It’s nail time with Auntie Joelle:)

Surprise! Yummy plastic cauliflower!

We had a very blessed Holy Week, despite how busy it was. We were blessed to have the presence of Fr.Harrison, from Victoria, for Palm Sunday Mass and the Easter Vigil. And we were even able to have a weekday Mass with Adoration & Benediction.

It was very special leading the Holy Week services on Holy Thursday and Good Friday; being so involved with the planning really helped us to enter in to the mystery and spirit of it all. I also celebrated my first funeral. It was such an honour to be asked to celebrate and I felt that it was a very blessed time; to be able to share our support for the community and especially the family involved. It is never an easy time, but it was a celebration of a life well lived and an opportunity for all to draw closer in love and support.

Blessing the fire (Easter Vigil)

Colouring Easter eggs.

Celebrating Kateri’s birthday with her homemade “Treasure Island” cake. We had her class over to our house to play games, roast hot dogs, and eat lots of cake!

Celebrating Gianna’s baptism anniversary with ice cream sundaes. Our good friends, the Steiner family, were also in town for the day to visit us!

boy ladybug & spider girl

Kateri learning to ride her bike!

Hooray; all by yourself!

“Look mommy, look daddy!”

Face painting by mommy

Myself & Constable Evan went for a hike to get conditioned for our week and a half trek through Mt.Edziza Provincial Park in early June. I was a little over ambitious, loading my pack to about 60 lbs, but I survived:$

He is here!

Posted on April 12, 2015 by joshuaanddenise under Sunday Reflections

Easter is here. Christ is risen. We have journeyed through the desert of Lent, through temptations and the reality that our failings and shortcomings have put Jesus on the cross. And now throughout this season of Easter we celebrate the victory He has won for us through His resurrection.

In the Gospel today(John 20.9-31) we hear about Jesus appearing to His disciples who were, in hiding in a closed room, afraid of what would happen to them. Amidst their doubts and fears, probably amidst their guilt for not having done enough to prevent Jesus’ death. Amidst the sorrow of losing their close friend and teacher they had the doors shut, for what security and safety they could get. All of a sudden Jesus came and stood among them. He entered into their doubts and fears, their sorrows and guilt, and brought His peace. He greeted them twice, “Peace be with you,” and they were filled with joy.

How often in our lives do we settle in our sorrow, our guilt, or allow our fears to close us up. When we are hurt we close our hearts to others, but also sometimes to the Lord; Jesus, who wants to bring us His peace.

This scene that we see in the Gospel is also that of the beginning of the Church. With his disciples gathered in the room Jesus sends them out and commissions them, with peace, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” inviting them to receive life in Him through the working of the Spirit and to share that life with others. Jesus also calls us to receive His life, His Spirit, which empowers us to be His life to the world: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

Further to this we see, in the first reading(Acts 4.32-35), the early church in action, the gifts and blessings received by each being shared with all. “There was not a needy person among them.” We see this same model in families(parents giving to their children and children contributing their joy and unique gifts), and I also see this model as a large part of your culture, the native culture, that all are cared for and supported by one another(I witnessed this example recently having a community meal after a funeral with one clan cooking & helping with the needs of the other clan). The church’s idea, as we see in scripture, is that all would be ‘of one heart and soul!’

This idea of community, “church”, is affirmed by something greater than us, as we see Thomas’ response to Jesus’ appearance: “My Lord, and my God.” This is a profound response of faith, Thomas’ belief that Jesus is God; If Jesus is truly here, back from the dead, then all that He has said about Himself and everything He has claimed to be is true. We see the Spirit at work, always leading to the truth. This is the Church’s foundation.

The Lord comes among us here today as a community of believers, and whether we come with our fears, sorrows, guilt, or hurts, or whether we come seeking to be filled with faith and truth and peace, Jesus breathes His Spirit upon us, filling us with His life. He invites us through this intimate encounter(as He did with Thomas, “Give me your hand, put it into my side.”) to the experience of His Church(His body), to receive the unique gifts He has for each of us and, not to hold on to them for ourselves, to share those gifts with others!

Easter Saturday

Posted on April 9, 2015 by joshuaanddenise under Life in Telegraph

We were blessed to have a priest, Fr.Harrison Ayre, to celebrate the Easter Vigil with us, last Saturday evening, along with his companion, from Victoria, Jim. Jim wrote a summary of Saturdays events and so I would like to share his words with you. [Hopefully I will be able to get an update from our end of things, being that it must be close to going on 4 or 5 weeks now. There will be some more shortly:) Along with lots of pictures!]

In the words of Jim: Fr. Harrison and I travelled to Telegraph Creek early Easter Saturday morning where he was to conduct the Easter Vigil. We arrived at Josh and Denise’s place by 11:30am. They provide Lay Ministry to community of TC and the house that they live in is the rectory for St. Theresa’s Catholic Church. The house is only a few steps away from the church. Denise made us a lunch of grilled cheese sandwiches, raw carrots and sliced apples. Josh and Fr. Harrison were getting their plans together for the Easter Vigil Mass and I was hanging out with Kateri, Gianna, Isaiah and baby Aliz watching Disney youtube movies, on my tablet, while Denise started preparing the after mass potluck stew. Denise came into the living room to say we may not be able to have Mass today. I asked why not and she said there was a grass fire… I didn’t think a grass fire would be that serious, but it turned out that the long dry grass that lay on the rocky ground quickly caught fire and spread at an amazing speed up the hillside behind the house about 1000 meters away. Luckily, the wind was pushing it away from the houses and up the hillside. The fire was moving fast and we could see from the window the flames licking their way towards the top. The fire reached a large bush and instantly, the bush combusted. This looked very serious because the whole area was super dry and the forested edge at the top of this long hill if caught would be a major disaster. The local volunteer firefighters had their one firetruck on the scene quickly and I saw Josh at a distance dragging a fire hose up the hill trying to get ahead of the fire, but the fire soon outran the scope of the hose. Word came that the community should evacuate to the school. I told Denise that I would stay, while she took the children, and finish the stew and if the fire came close, I would take the car and drive to the school. It must have been an hour or so later that Denise phoned to say that fire had been contained and she and the children would be home soon. Luckily the volunteers had managed to get to the top of the hill and dig a fire trench to try to stop the fire from reaching the forest edge which was at the crown of the hill. The fire had died out at the trenches, probably due to thinning spots of grass and luckily, before it could reach the big trees. The timing couldn’t have been better because the Easter Vigil was soon to start.
The Easter Vigil starts with a blessing of fire outside the church. Earlier Josh and I had made a fire pit with an old truck rim embeded in the ground. Fr. Harrison blessed the fire and the cerimonial lighting of the large Paschal Candle started with a prayer. Each member of the congregation, small as it was, gathered around the Paschal Candle holding a long, thin, tapered candle with a round paper shield affixed, to prevent hot wax from reaching their hands.
The procedure was to light each members candle and process into the church. However, the wind wasn’t co-operating so we had to light the small candles in the lobby of the church. Josh lead the procession with the Therible ( the vessel that contains the aromatic incense), Fr. Harrison was next with the Paschal Candle and I next with the Alter missal. The lobby was small and the idea was after all the candles were lit we would, in procession-like fashion, move up the church aisle to the Altar. Behind me in the crowed lobby was Kateri, Gianna and Denise with Isaiah in her arms, and the rest of the congregation. We were all packed quite close in the lobby of the church waiting to proceed up the aisle. Suddenly, Denise yelled “Kateri!” I turned to see Kateri’s hair on fire. Because every one was bunched up in the little vestible of the church, Gianna’s candle had got too close to Kateri and the candle flame had caught the wispy ends of Kateri’s long beautilful blonde hair. It flared up immediately from the bottom of her shoulder length hair to the top of her scalp in a burst of brilliant orange flame. Kateri had no idea what was happening . I was stunned and paralyzed holding the large missal, but Denise quickly extinghised the fire in Kateri’s hair with a couple of smothering swats. Kateri had no idea what was happening… There remained a contrasting vertical ridge of black burnt ash clinging to Kateri’s blonde hair. The fire was out but Denise kept swatting at Kateri’s hair… Kateri had not felt anything but soon realized what had happened… It happened so quickly and Denise had put the fire out so quick that it was like it had never happened… Denise scolded Gianna for holding the candle so close to Kateri and forced a smile for Kateri’s sake so she wouldn’t realize how serious the matter was… Kateri soon did and started crying…
Every one was in shock… Denise led Katirie out of the church lobby, and back the house, still carrying Isaiah, Josh quickly followed Denise with Gianna, leaving the Therible where it stood. The dramatic event was over and Fr. Harrison, realizing that Kateri was not hurt but only shocked, continued the service proceeding up the aisle with the rest of the congregation. Shortly after the service started, Denise, Josh, Kateri and the rest of the children returned. Kateri’s hair had been washed and brushed and looked no more worse for wear. Quite lucky.
During the homily, Fr. Harrison quite appropriately used “Fire” as his theme…
All in all, Kateri was okay and what hair had caught on fire was insignificant and not noticable. She soon forgot all about the incident and was playing with the other kids later at the after church pot luck.

Good Friday

Posted on April 7, 2015 by joshuaanddenise under Uncategorized

The death of Jesus Christ, on which we contemplate and reflect today, in the gospel, can be a hard reality to face. Jesus, the Son of God, is mocked and scorned, alienated and abandoned, executed like a common criminal, ALL FOR US.

But WHY?

We can stand today, along with the mother of our Lord, the mother of the Church, at the foot of the cross. If we do stand here, with purity of heart, we open ourselves to enter into this mystery of love, a love that goes beyond anything this world can offer. Standing here we see the cross, we see the innocent and kind Son of God hanging there, battered and bloodied, fastened to the tree in such a cruel way.

Our loving Lord willingly choosing that brutal death in order that we might be saved, BECAUSE he loves us. Through his Passion and Death on the cross our God rescues us from ourselves!

Today, let us ask ourselves and meditate on, “What is my response to this?”

And let us open ourselves, our hearts, to receiving His deep and life-shaking love for us; His love that says, “I do this all for you. I choose YOU”, as he stretches out His arms to embrace us and free us.

Holy Thursday

Posted on April 7, 2015 by joshuaanddenise under Sunday Reflections

As we reflect on the readings from our celebration this evening we see Jesus’ actions in 2 key areas:

The Institution of the Eucharist, and
The Washing of the Disciples feet

The Institution of the Eucharist, which we hear about in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians(1 Cor. 11.23-26), is the fulfillment of the Passover meal, which we hear about in the book of Exodus(12.1-8, 11-14). Just as the firstborn of the Israelites was spared by the blood of the Passover lamb, so Jesus is for us as baptized Christians the Passover lamb who saves us, for all time, from the death of our sins. He draws us into eternal life with him, by his sacrifice. In the words of Pope Benedict, “The Institution of the Eucharist demonstrates how Jesus’ death, for all it’s violence and absurdity, became in him a supreme act of love and mankind’s definitive deliverance from evil.” –Sacramentum Caritatis

This is what we celebrate every time we partake of the Eucharist. Jesus gives His body, as the priest speaks(in the person of Christ), “This is my Body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me”, “This cup is the new covenant in my Blood. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” This is the Institution of the Eucharist; the Last Supper, the first celebration of the Holy Mass.

Just prior to this Last Supper Jesus actually washes the feet of his apostles(John 13.1-15). He is on the dusty, dirty floor with a basin, a bowl, water, and towel. He washes what would have been the dirtiest part of a person, in those days. They would have walked across dirt and sand long distances in sandals. The Son of God washed those dirty feet, taking the place of where a servant or slave would have been instructed to be. The apostles would have been stunned at this act of humility and condescension, when it was proper that they should have washed his feet.

We live in a culture today that is very ME focused; what do I need? I will do what I want and I desire. I will do what feels good for me.

How do we flip this culture to what Jesus is trying to teach us in the gospel? It will take a changing of our perspective, our expectations, and our attitude. Jesus’ attitude of servanthood was in direct contrast to that of the disciples, who had recently been arguing among themselves as to which of them was the greatest(Luke 22.24). Since there was no servant present among them it would have never occurred to them to wash one another’s feet.

It is by Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet that he calls them, into his priesthood, to do the same for others and to be servants of all. His call is also for us, “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” How do we practically do this as his followers?

[As parents we do this often when we help our child when it is not easy. As workers we do this often when we drop our ego and give credit to someone else’s good idea. When we reach out to a co-worker we may not care for and talk to them. When we smile and offer a helping hand. As strangers we do this often when we smile at a stranger, offer to help carry something for them or help in any way.

As children of God we do this when we help the least of our brother and sisters. When we do something that we don’t want to but know it will help someone else, when we put someone else’s needs before our own.]*

We can wash another’s feet but we have to change our focus, to be centered on others rather than centered on self. We can start today, by finding one way to wash another’s feet, then two tomorrow, and three the next day. It will become easier as we grow and, even if it means getting dirty or uncomfortable, we will learn this beautiful lesson Jesus was trying to teach all those years ago.

*[Practical suggestions for washing others’ feet adapted from Theresa Vogel]

“This is my Son.”

Posted on March 1, 2015 by joshuaanddenise under Sunday Reflections

I wonder what it would have been like for the three apostles, Peter, James, & John, as they encountered the transfiguration of Christ (Mark 9.2-10). Jesus, whom they had been with for a couple of years, whom they had walked and talked with as they would any friend, and now He is transformed into His heavenly appearance. They catch a glimpse of His divinity. A foreshadowing of what is to come. It really floored them, and actually terrified them. They didn’t know what to do or say. They were blessed to receive this amazing experience, this awe-inspiring moment, and what did they say, “It is good for us to be here, let us stay here like this for a while.” I could really relate to this, and I’m sure many of you here may have had similar moments, where God has granted you a moment of joy in prayer, satisfaction or reassurance in your friendship with Him, or just a sense of peace and comfort in His love for you. It wouldn’t have mattered where you were, necessarily, because you were transported, if for only a moment, to this mountaintop. It is good to be in these moments, and God gives these to us as a foretaste of what He has in store for us, eternally.

As we see the apostles in today’s Gospel encounter this foretaste of God’s heavenly kingdom we are also reminded that these moments do not last forever, at least not here on earth. This reminder that we must come down from the mountain leaves us with the reality of going back to our struggles within family life and within ourselves in our daily routines. God doesn’t leave us to our own devices though. And this is very important to remember. God doesn’t speak in scripture, in the New Testament, very often so what He speaks to us from the cloud must be quite important; “This is my Son. Listen to Him.” “This is my Son.” In our struggles; “This is my Son.” In our daily tasks and routines; “This is my Son.” In our doubts and our fears, “This is my Son.” When we are seeking answers, “This is my Son.” God has sent His Son as THE answer. He hasn’t sent us some philosophy, or any other intangible thing, but a person; His Son.

We see in the readings today the blessing we receive when we trust in God (Genesis 22.1-2, 9-13, 15-18), as the answer to life’s questions, that He does not hold anything back from us when we choose Him (Romans 8.31-35, 37).

Jesus Christ is His answer.

But is HE YOUR answer?

Yes, we’re all here at church so that says something, but is He truly your answer? Our lives should look different if He is our answer. He doesn’t want to merely be an interruption in our schedule on Sundays.

Let’s seriously ask ourselves today; “Is Jesus my answer?” Beyond our words, beyond our actions, do you believe with the depths of your soul that He is your answer. If you don’t know for sure ask Him! He has shown Himself to us today in the Gospel, that He loves us so much that He doesn’t want us to settle for anything less than the fullness of His friendship. The good feelings will pass, but when they pass, how will you answer? We have the opportunity to receive Him today, to say with our words, and our action of receiving him, “Amen. I believe you are my answer to life, live in me.” He comes down in vulnerability and humility, where Heaven meets earth, in the form of a small piece of bread, in His flesh given for us.

The truth is, it isn’t easy! We are actually promised crosses in this life, but we are also promised resurrection. In our friendship with Jesus, if we are willing to affirm that He is our answer, He leads us down from the high mountains and walks with us to Calvary, where He teaches us to love HIM, not just His gifts (the good feelings), to give of ourselves, and to store up our treasure in heaven.

Let us take with us today God’s life-changing invitation to us: “This is my Son. Listen to Him.”

the BLUE DOOR

encountering God through family life & mission