The Retreat

This past Saturday was filled with promises for our Catechists; from 10 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. 125 children were under our care. We had three charismatic speakers: Karina, Tanner and Gwen. Each of them offered both spiritual and practical lessons. Their gifts encompassed one word: love. How did Jesus remain in their hearts? They are all in their mid-twenties, yet the love of God prevails in their spirits. How did they escape all the fiery darts of the Enemy? The answer is twofold; they have prayer warriors interceding on their behalf and they, themselves, are grounded in God. This does not necessarily imply that their lives are without challenges; it simply means that they are better equipped to release their problems through prayer or to discuss them with spiritual friends. They figured out long ago that they are never alone and that the Lord is ever present in their lives. Through every season God is there for them.

Being Grounded

We have a well-rooted tree in our backyard.  The deciduous tree has many emotions. In the fall, the leaves shed and without notice; they turn into brilliant hues of red and brown. This natural occurrence has to take place in order for the tree to give out beautifully scented, white blossoms. These blossoms not only adorn the tree, they blanket the ground. From there the tree remains a staple in our backyard, providing shade during the hot summer months. We experience similar seasonal changes; we go through difficult times, shed tears, dust ourselves off, and wash our faces. How do we know it’s going to get better? we can only have that assurance if we are grounded in God. Because of our faith in God, we not only have hope that difficult situations will get better, we trust that they will soon pass. Those who get stuck in life’s rut and refuse the change of seasons in their lives will remain spiritually stunted.  God gave us nature as a metaphor for the seasons of our lives. After the leaves fall  a great wind clears the way. In order to produce the sweet fragrant blossoms, we must shed the old leaves.

Shedding is Forgiving

If you have become that person who sees only the faults of others and cannot understand why they do not change, you may be the problem. You may be stuck in a season of unforgiveness because you are carrying luggage filled with rocks. Each of these heavy rocks has the names of the people you are angry with and refuse to forgive written on them. Your negative self-talk has consumed your thoughts, and it pains you as to why you’re misunderstood. It is never the intention of God to see anyone suffer alone, but it is a season for you to reflect on your life, surrender your emotional pain to God and allow Him carry that heavy load. The seasons, like our lives, are a cycle. The choice is so simple and the task so easy; one by one, leave these burdens at the foot of the Cross. Allow yourself to arrive in time to catch the perfect blossom. Visualize it!  Place it in the heavenly bouquet for God’s glory.

Luke 23:42-43   New American Bible (Revised Edition)

⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³ He replied to him, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

The Foot of the Cross

²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” ²⁷ Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

Consider the words He spoke to his Mother and to John. He asked John to take care of her. Jesus focused on the needs of His Mother, He was honoring her even as He was dying on the Cross.

Gwen

Of the three special guest speakers, I know Gwen personally. This young lady is an inspiration and she will prevail in every area of her life because she puts God first. I’ve witnessed her heart in action and the love that she has for these Catechists is remarkable. When her future husband enters her life, he will be handpicked by God. The Lord gives us the desires of our heart when we remain faithful to His word (Ps 37:4). Gwen certainly has done this. Gwen led the Catechists into the art project. The project was based on Luke 11:9-13.

Luke 11:9   New American Bible (Revised Edition)

⁹ “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

It was enlightening to see the artwork because the Catechists expressed their moods. One of the girls in our group drew what looked like an abstract, a mixture of colors splattered on the 8 by 11-inch canvas. She explained to me that her life was, “A big mess!” I replied, “A big colorful mess with a lot of hope.” She smiled and asked if I wanted her painting, while the other girls chimed in with the same offer. My quick response, “Oh – you girls all have grandmothers, I’m sure that they would love to have your drawings.” These young adults expressed themselves freely during this retreat, through prayer, art and fun and games. It was a treasure in my heart to be part of molding their spiritual direction. We ended the retreat with Mass.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, what would we be without You in our lives? I thank You for all that You do for those who put You first. May our community of believers grow so they can  reach out to all lost and hurting souls. I praise Your Holy Name in knowing that You hear the cries of Your people. Bless us, Lord, with the gifts you have set aside for us.  Allow us to empty all of our burdens at the foot of Your Holy Cross. Amen.

This past Saturday the catechists for our class were required to help with food distribution. This is an intricate part of St. Norbert’s parish services. This organization is under the direction of a lady named Mary, who knows exactly what needs to be done. Her team is organized and ready to delegate anyone who is there to help. As the students arrived, they were quickly put to work. We had a lot to accomplish before the rain arrived. The first assembly line was filling the grocery bags with cans of chicken broth, black beans, corn, and chopped pineapple, followed by dry beans, rice, spaghetti, granola bars, and cereal, 200 bags in total. Then it was time to fill the bags with fruits and vegetables: potatoes, onions, carrots, bananas, oranges, and tomatoes. In addition to this weekly service, special bags are made for children, with snacks provided by the parishioners. Once a month St. Norbert puts together packages for the seniors, and we also give out diapers for families with babies.

The students naturally adjusted to the role of servanthood. The rain arrived just in time to drench the volunteers; they were running to the cars to hand out the groceries. Although constant rain wreaked havoc on the volunteers, not one person complained. We worked from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Reaching Young Souls

To reach the youth, we must pray diligently against the works of the Devil. It takes two years to complete the Sacrament of Confirmation at our parish, and as volunteers we have many obstacles against us to reach the hearts and souls of these teens. We need  strong, relatable leaders to guide them through this maze of confusion. It’s not an easy task to mentor a generation who has grown up during a counter-cultural revolution.  Many of them have believed elements of this world view as acceptable norms. An example of this is the promotion of abortions as “reproductive rights.” We, as a team, work to bring the Word of God to them in truth. Every good team must have great captains, and we at St. Norbert were blessed when Abraham joined our team.

Abraham is the director of our Youth Ministry. When I first met him, I saw something special in this young man’s kind eyes. Abraham was raised in the bay area of San Francisco by a family of devout Catholics. His upbringing included attending meetings several times a week with his parents, who where spiritually connected to their parish. How did he know if this piece of the puzzle would be a right fit for him?  Abraham prayed and discerned which direction to take in life. His top priority was to remain faithful  because church life was like his second home. He prayed about going into the priesthood but God had other plans for him. He was certain of one thing and that was to teach religion to the youth. He had many prayerful decisions to make, and one of them was to be married. After Abraham and his beautiful wife Luciana married, they settled in Southern California. Luciana received her tenure in teaching, so this was one of the deciding factors to stay in Southern California. This was also an answer to the direction they would take in life. They both followed their dreams, and God granted them great favor.

Abraham had been offered a position at another parish before he interviewed with St. Norbert. He wanted to be certain that our parish was the missing piece of the puzzle for his spiritual journey. Before making his decision he and his wife prayed about the first offer and waited until the interview with St. Norbert. After one interview, Teresa, the director of Faith Formation at St. Norbert, offered him the position. She, too, had a team (including me) praying for the right candidate to fill that post. Abraham has the heart to serve in this not too highly regarded position. This is why it’s a calling from God; there are no career experts directing people into this type of job. Unless you’re in seminary, these positions are not on the radar of job seekers.

I’m grateful for Abraham because he comes with a world of modern knowledge; he’s social media expert, tech savvy and young! Being young is a prerequisite to reach the youth because they can relate to him and he can better understand the negative influences challenging this generation. Part of Faith Formation requires the anointing to oversee spiritual growth of those discerning Confirmation.

“The best job in the world is working for God!” Abraham Gonzaléz

I saw an interview with Rita Moreno, a 91-year-old actress, who recently starred in a movie. I’m 71 and God is still using me to teach and spread His wonderful gospel. Nothing will hold me back from my calling, and I pray that at 91 I’ll still be able to fulfill my part in the work of God.

My Prayer

Lord, open the floodgates from heaven and pour out Your Holy Spirit on our youth! Help all who are involved in Faith Formation to be moved by Your Spirit as we teach. Lord, You are the Great  Puzzle Master, and many are still waiting to be placed in that special part of the puzzle You have set aside for them. I pray for all who continue to question Your existence. Lord, reveal Your love to them and bring them into Your Kingdom. Amen.

It’s been four years since I’ve last ministered on Skid Row. This was a special ministry that I took to heart, and as a team we loved praying for those who were downcast. I served in this role for 20 years. God always has the last word with ministries, so because of COVID and an autoimmune disorder that I developed from a flu shot, the door to this ministry was closed.

I have good insight into how homeless people operate. Many of them are self-serving and rebellious because they came from dysfunctional families. These families were not equipped to direct them or give them any type of guidance. Asking the homeless to leave or to move out causes them great pain and anger because to survive on the streets you must find companionship. Two broken souls try to lift each other up but fail because of their emotional trauma. Very rarely will you find a loner on Skid Row, but when you do it is because they have been mentally affected because of drug abuse. Women are the most vulnerable because they are subjected to all types of abuse. Usually a woman will hook up with a male, and in many cases the relationship is volatile and violence is ever present. I’m writing about this because this past Friday I had two separate, traumatic encounters with homeless men.

First Encounter

Last Friday I went to Homegoods to purchase decorative pillows. As I was leaving, I pulled up to the edge of the driveway to make a right hand turn. I was on the car phone with a friend when suddenly I heard a loud thump on the side of my car. It startled me, because at first I thought a car hit me. But it was not a car but a homeless man who was angry with me because he felt I was in  his way. The man quickly moved and almost ran from my sight. I rolled down the window of the car to yell something at him, but quickly came to my senses. He got away, leaving my car slightly dented. I got home and told Mike what I had experienced. Mike’s response was,”What did you do? You must have done something to upset him!” I answered, “No, no! I was waiting to make a right hand turn.”

Second Encounter

Later that day Mike and I attended one of our grandsons basketball game. Neither Mike and I nor his parents were happy with how the coach bullies some members of his team. Mike and I went to dinner and had the most unpleasant meal; we both ordered unpalatable dishes! I was still upset about the outcome of the game, so I told Mike I was going to Adoration to pray. We have Adoration only once a month, but it last 24 hours. I arrived at the church about 7:30 p.m. Paying close attention to my surroundings, I scanned the church and felt safe. There were several families with both parents, several couples and me. I got my rosary out and started to pray, but on the second decade something unusual happened. A barefoot person walked up to the altar and picked up baby Jesus (we are still celebrating Christmas). I was sitting on the third pew so nothing escaped me. From there the person, who I thought at first was a woman, walked up to the altar picked up a book and was behaving very erratically. He was making motions with his hands, almost as if  he was putting a curse on the altar. I looked at the family sitting directly across from me and, with hand gestures, asked if we should do something. They looked worried and kept praying. From there the person walked over and picked up a church bulletin and placed it near some burning candles at the statue of the Blessed Mother. Now we were all on alert because this could have started a fire. Nothing upsets me more than someone desecrating the holy things of God;  but, because I was alone, there was nothing I could do. Finally when the crazed man walked into the Adoration room and took a large, life-sized cross, four men came from different directions to escort him out. The possessed man walked down the aisle where I was sitting, slurring all types of obscenities. The brave men got him out, and I wanted to leave because I feared for my safety.  We were all discussing if we should call the police because the church was going to be open for 24 hours for Adoration. I called one of the sacristans to report the incident, and she told me to call the police. As I was on the phone with the police a massive headache came upon me. I never get headaches but this one was almost as if my head was about to explode. I could not concentrate to finish the conversation with the police. As I walked out, I asked one of the men to escort me to my car, which was just a few feet away. I got into my car and drove home.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     The drama continued at home: poor Mike tried to calm me down as I held my head, crying and asking him, “What is wrong with me? Am I going to die?” I did not share the details of the incident with Mike until the following morning, and I promised him that I would never again go out at night on my own.

Adoration

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “Adoration is the acknowledgement of God as God, creator and savior, the Lord and master of everything that exists as infinite and merciful love.” (CCC #2096) “Adoration is homage of the spirit to the King of glory, respectful silence in the presence of the ever greater God.” (CCC #2628)

Christmas in January

Yes, we Catholics are still in the Christmas season. This morning our hymns included Joy to the World, What Child is This, We Three Kings, and Nowell. Our Catholic Christmas celebration begins on Saturday, December 24 on Christmas Eve with the celebration of the Nativity of the Lord and ends on Sunday, January 8, the Epiphany of the Lord. This year in the United States this Christmas season will be 14 days instead of 12. To those of you who procrastinate about taking down Christmas decorations, this works out well for you, and this could be an incentive to convert.

My Prayer

Dear Lord, I thank You for protecting me during these unfortunate incidents. I pray for our state to make headway with the dilemma of the homeless and mentally disturbed population. I pray that we, as a state, will help in solving this problem by providing housing and open mental hospitals for these hurting souls.  Amen.