St. Joseph's Corner: Our Lady and a special 60th wedding anniversary

Our Lady of Lourdes

Today is the Feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes.  Here is a favorite poem to her.

Lovely Lady dressed in blue,

Teach me how to pray!

God was just your little Boy,

Tell me what to say!

Did you lift Him up sometimes,

Gently, on your knee?

Did you sing to Him the way,

Mother does to me?

Did you hold His hand at night?

Did you ever try

Telling stories of the world?

Oh! And did He cry?

Do you really think He cares

If I tell Him things,

Little things that happen? And,

Do the Angels' wings

Make a noise? And can He

hear me if I speak low?

Does He understand me now?

Tell me - for you know.

Lovely Lady dressed in blue,

Teach me how to pray!

God was just your little Boy,

And you know the way.

Today is also the wedding anniversary of mom and dad.  

They have for 60 years assumed the duties of living together in a holy way, helping each other to know, love, and serve God "all the days of their life."  They have helped God in bringing 8 new human lives into the world, loving them, nourishing them, teaching them, disciplining them so they too can strive to live a holy life and be in Heaven someday.

Thank you mom and dad for your Unconditional Love and for co-operating in God's Plan of bringing us into the world so that we can see God in you!  

St. Joseph's Corner: Steps to a Worthy Confession / Part 1

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         Have you ever wondered why there are two creation stories in the Bible?  If you study them you will find that in the first story God not only created the visible world but the invisible world as well. We are all familiar with the creation of the universe so man would have a fit place to live.  It was to be Heaven on earth for “God walked with man.” Scripture tells us that before God created the visible world, He created the invisible world, the Angels, the highest creatures who are spirits without bodies having superior intellects and free wills. In order to live forever with God, He tested them; a prerequisite of eternal life for all His creatures.  Speculating as to what the test may have been, it is as if the angels saw into the future and beheld the "God-Man.” Out of pride, Lucifer cried out, “I will not serve.”  The “Bearer of Light” would not bow to a nature lower than himself, namely, man.  Not accepting God’s Will and His plan, Lucifer who now became “Satan,” sinned mortally.  He and his followers made the deliberate choice of refusing to obey God. In Justice, God commanded Satan and all his followers (devils) fall from the Heavens into a place of eternal punishment called Hell.  Those who accepted His Will entered Heaven and became Adorers before the Throne of God and some, messengers.

          The second story of creation centers on the fall of man and God’s revelation of His Mercy.  “The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and “blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.”  This ‘breath of life’ was man’s soul, made in the image and likeness of God Himself with faculties of free will and intellect.  He was created to cultivate and care for the garden that God planted and of which grew “various trees which were delightful to look at and good for food, with the Tree of Life in the middle of the garden and the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil.”

          Scripture tells us that one day when Adam and Eve heard the Lord God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of day, they hid themselves.  The Lord God called out, “Where are you?” Having been tempted by the devil’s cunning and sly ways, Adam and Eve had fallen.  Out of pride, they consciously chose to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, for they “wanted to be like God!”   Rejecting God, the evil and horror of sin in its reality showed itself.  This sin is called Original Sin.  Although it was a personal sin for Adam and Eve it was to sting all human beings (except Mary and Christ).   They lost Sanctifying Grace, the greatest gift they had received when they were

created and were now subject to suffering, concupiscence, and even death.  Man was separated from the friendship of God.

          And God said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing what is good and what is bad!  Therefore, he must not be allowed to put out his hand to take fruit from the Tree of Life, and thus eat of it and live forever (in sin).”  So, God’s Justice banished them from the garden.  But the beauty of this story is that right before God casts them out of the garden, He shows them Mercy, the action of His greatest attribute, Love. God gave them the Hope of a Redeemer, One who would “pay the price” and restore the friendship between God and man. 

          Now, you might ask, “Why had God not offered Mercy to the Angels?”   The angels were given FULL KNOWLEDGE of His Mercy.  They are pure spirits, not limited by time or space as we are because we are made of body and spirit.  They saw God for Who He Is.  There was no one to tempt Lucifer and his followers. Of their own free will, which God will not interfere with, they chose to reject Him thereby condemning themselves to eternal separation from God.  Their sin was irrevocable. 

          In the Apostles Creed we pray, "I believe in the forgiveness of sins."  The Sacrament of Baptism washes away the sin of our first parents and all other sins committed.  This Sacrament makes us a child of God and heir to His Kingdom. An indelible character imprinted on the soul marks us as a member of Christ, a member of His Church.  
          We have need of another Sacrament though, as we grow and mature. Unlike Baptism which can be received only once, the Sacrament of Penance, sometimes called Reconciliation or Confession can be received throughout our life.  This Sacrament helps us to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" as St. Paul states.  This Sacrament helps us to develop a personal relationship with Christ with whom we Hope to spend our eternity with.

To Be Continued....

                   

   

News and Events: Lent and Fish Fry

This week we begin the holy season of Lent.  A time to reflect and prepare ourselves to celebrate to great feast of Easter.  We miss the mark when we think of Lent as just a time to give up some kind of food.  We can begin to think of Lent as a kind of 40 day Catholic diet plan. While it is a good thing to look at what we eat and make changes, there are many other ways we can observe Lent.  Mother Ellen, our foundress, wrote:  "When we talk of penance and mortification, somehow people so often think in terms of food, especially in terms of doing with less of eat....  There are many other ways to do penance.”

The first station of the cross at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption

 Also beginning this week is the annual Fish Fry at St. Joseph Academy, Walton.  Each Friday during Lent, the parents, teachers, sisters and volunteers  prepare and serve thousands of fish dinner.  This is the main fund raiser for the school and without it we would not be able to continue to function.

A Day in the Life: The Quality of Mercy

Recently, a close friend of mine (who has given me permission to share this anonymously) has been in a very painful situation that requires them to be in regular contact with a person who has spread false rumors about my friend in their local community. My friend has been talking to me about how hard it has been to forgive this person; even though they want to do it, they've been struggling with feelings of bitterness and anger.

In trying support my friend over the last several weeks, and with the current Year of Mercy declared by Pope Francis (Misericordiae Vultus), the need for mercy and forgiveness has been on my mind for some time now. I might be a Sister, but I'm still quite human, with all of need to forgive and to be forgiven that any other person has. Sometimes it happens that people have this idea of consecrated religious as being above frailty and above making mistakes. Well, let me just say, if that is true, then I'm in big trouble!

News and Events: Our Vocations

This week we are blessed to welcome Emily Heckman into our community.  Emily will enter on the February 2, the Feast of the Presentation.  Emily comes from South Dakota and is an Emergency Medical Technician.  A call to the religious life is a great gift from God.  This week Emily will begin to learn what it means to be consecrated to God and to give herself completely to Him. The stages of formation begin with postulancy which is from 6 - 11 months. During this time Emily will get to know our community and learn our charism.  She will study the documents of the Church regarding religious life as well as study scripture and the history of the Catholic Church. She will pray, work and play as a member of our community.  I know that you will keep Emily in your prayers as she begins her new life as a Sister of St. Joseph the Worker.

Kas, our postuluant, and Emily help out in the kitchen,. 

Next week will be a celebration of another type of vocation.  Sister Patricia Jean's parents are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. Without good, faithful, stable and holy families, there would be no religious vocations.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the family is the first school of the Christian life. They are " centers of living, radiant faith." ( CCC #1656)

In the Christian home we learn how to work, pray, and live as a family.  We learn how to love and how to forgive. It is difficult to teach a young woman how to live community life as a religious if she hasn't had that witness from her parents.  It is hard to understand the vow of poverty if she grew up in a family where wealth was considered the reason for living. Obedience will be difficult to appreciate and love if the woman grew up with the idea that it is o.k. do to whatever she wants to do without regard for others.  Mr. and Mrs. Cushing's witness to the beauty of the vocation to the married life inspired one of their sons to become a priest and one of their daughters to become a consecrated religious.  Their other children are carrying on the wonderful witness to the married vocation as they live their vibrant faith. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Cushing on this wonderful anniversary.

Sister Patricia Jean, Father Mathew Cushing, Sister Margaret Mary and Sister Therese Marie.

The Cushing family with Sister Patricia Jean and Sister Celeste Marie.