God Loves You

(Developing a deeper relationship with Jesus)

“God loves you,” said the gentleman who walked in behind Mom and I this morning at Frisch’s. He had a beautiful accent, maybe African, and was telling everyone he met that “God loves you.” We talked briefly and he said “God loves you. That is my message.”

This got me thinking. This blog post I have been putting off for some time (I call my procrastinating at times my “Jonah” moments when I should be proclaiming God’s love like this man was). Sometimes we need something as simple as “God loves you” to go deeper into our relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I pray this gentle man gets his message out to all he meets.

So what is your relationship with God like? That is your mission for the week. Know that as Father John Paul Mary of the EWTN Franciscan Friars once said that “God loves each of us as if there was only one of us.” Father John Paul Mary also once said that Saint Teresa of Avila called herself “Teresa of Jesus”; in a mystical experience, Teresa heard Jesus call Himself “Jesus of Teresa.” I try to make a visit to Jesus in His Most Blessed Sacrament every day even if just to say “I love you.” I find it peaceful to think not only as myself as “Tamara of Jesus” but that Our Lord would tell me He is “Jesus of Tamara.”

And who is this person “Tamara of Jesus?” I am Imperfectly Tamara, a sinner who knows I am in need of God’s mercy. I procrastinate, I hem-haw on things, I drag my feet when I should be proclaiming God’s love. Maybe it takes a stranger to remind us that yes “God loves us.”

Book Review

The Spider Who Saved Christmas by Raymond Arroyo

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


“All are here for a reason,” the Blessed Mother Mary tells Joseph to “let it be” when he is about to kill the spider Nephila (Greek for “fond of spinning”) when they enter a cave on the flight from Herod’s soldiers. This beautifully illustrated and heartfelt retelling of a Christmas legend is an instant classic for the holiday bookshelves.
I first encounted this legend in a 1989 book called “The Cobweb Christmas” by Jenny Koralek upon my first Christmas as a public librarian and found the story fascinating. I was pleased when our library purchased Raymond Arroyo’s version and since Christmas holds were through, I sat down to read it this afternoon. Told from the point of view of Nephila, herself trying to protect her unborn spiderlings, it’s an enchanting tale about the value of gifts, no matter how small, and how Christ touches all hearts of all creatures. The portrayal of Saint Joseph is another plus in this retelling. (view spoiler)[ There is a poignant background picture as the Holy Family prepares for bed–that of a soldier killing an infant during the slaughter of the males under two years of age ordered by King Herod. It is muted enough not to disturb little ones being read the story but there to remind us of the horror that happened. (hide spoiler)]
On a side note, if you need a cure for arachnophobia, this beautiful story will calm your fears (and make you think twice before killing that “unwanted” spider in your home).



View all my reviews

10 Wonders of the Rosary

Check out this book on Goodreads: 10 Wonders of the Rosary http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43785981-10-wonders-of-the-rosary

My Review: This book is a must read for every Catholic as well as readers interested in history of Christian devotions. Father Calloway presents his list of “10 Wonders” associated with Mary the Mother of Jesus and devotion over centuries to praying the rosary. As a 50ish “cradle” Catholic educated in everything from Biblical studies, archaeology and classical antiquities, stories of saints and Catholic history, I found this to be a true treasure trove of things I had some knowledge of to many new discoveries of people, places and events I want to do further research on As someone with moderate attention issues who has always struggled to focus when praying the rosary while reading this book, with the intercession of Blessed Bartolo Longo (who has a fascinating story in this book), I experienced the power of the rosary firsthand as a spiritual weapon against darkness.

DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY: RECONCILIATION & LOVE FOR THE JOURNEY

“Drawn to You”: How I found the Image of Divine Mercy

Last night while I was struggling to work on this post (I began it at my Holy Hour on Friday), I was scrolling through my music library and came across the beautiful song by Audrey Assad called Drawn to You (from her 2018 album Evergreen) which every time I listen to it, reminds me of the journey of a Christian.  We can’t always see the way ahead yet God offers us graces everyday–we just have to look for them.

One such grace happened to me when I was teaching 7th grade Religious Education. Shopping for classroom supplies in a friend’s Catholic bookshop in 1994, I was checking out when drawn to a poster Casey had hanging behind her register. It was the picture of Jesus below with the words “Jesus, I trust in You.”  I added it to my purchases and when I got home a box of “Holy Traders” saint cards (I was big into collecting trading cards since a tomboy loving baseball and football cards all the way to movie cards) showed me there was a saint on my birthday (October 5) Blessed Faustina. To my surprise Blessed Faustina was the nun to whom Jesus appeared to ask for the image of the Divine Mercy and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.  Wow!  There are no coicidences with our Lord!  Since, I’ve been blessed to continue the journey with Divine Mercy with Saint Faustina and Our Lord (I was even born on the same day of the week, Wednesday, that Faustina entered into eternal life on).  I’ve been blessed to visit the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, to see Blessed Faustina canonized the first saint of the new millennium (via EWTN) and when a pair of nuns came to present at our parish, to have the relic of Saint Faustina pressed against my Miraculous Medal while wearing it close to my heart.

So I will be forever grateful to God for drawing me to His Divine Mercy, especially in my understanding of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

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Trivia for the Day:

A Sacrament is “an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.” In the Catholic Church, 7 Sacraments are recognized.

  1. Baptism
  2. Eucharist (Communion)
  3. Confirmation
  4. Reconciliation (Confession)
  5. Anointing of the Sick (not “Last Rites”)
  6. Matrimony
  7. Holy Orders

We place the Sacraments in 3 categories:

  1. INITIATION (Baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation)
  2. HEALING (Anointing of the Sick and Reconciliation)
  3. SERVICE (Matrimony and Holy Orders)

A Sacrament of Healing

Going to confession SHOULD NEVER be feared but looked upon as what it is: an opportunity for healing and for grace that only God can give.

That being said, yes when I was younger and naive in my faith, I was at different times scared, embarrassed, and downright discouraged by sins in my life. I also suffer from a mental illness (depression) that does its best to make you feel broken, worthless, unlovable and discouraged from climbing out of whatever hole you may be in.

Also whether you believe it or not we are engaged in spiritual warfare. See Ephesians 6:12 if you need Scriptural proof.

So no matter who you are, where you are in your journey, what you have done or haven’t done, never give up. Look to the Cross of Christ where Blood and Water flowed from His pierced side. This is His Sacrifice of Love to heal each and every one of us. We just have to TRUST in Him.

Next to Jesus’ Real Presence in the Eucharist, Confession is one of my great loves about being Catholic. The grace of needing to climb out of my own self-righteous judgmental attitudes comes with healing through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. On our journey (that work in progress we are to be saints) we must first of all, admit our own faults, failings and sins. It is not time to be like the Pharisee in the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (see Luke chapter 18) and puff ourselves up with “how holy we are” but rather to look at our sins with the humble heart of the Tax Collector of how much in need of God’s mercy we are.

This immense love that Jesus offers us in the Sacrament of Confession leads to the importance of this Sacrament in our life as Catholics and in the message of The Divine Mercy.

Divine Mercy and a Message of Love

To assure us of His Mercy, Christ spoke to Saint Faustina about confession a number of times. The great message of these messages is that NO ONE is outside the mercy of God and we should always pray for salvation of souls, even the person who may seem like the worst and darkest sinner of all.  In the end, only GOD knows what is in a person’s soul as that person takes the last breath. Never despair of God’s mercy but TRUST.

Here are just a few of my favorite messages from Saint Faustina’s Diary about the Sacrament of Reconciliation:

  • Daughter, when you go to Confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows down upon your soul and ennobles it. Every time you go to Confession, immerse yourself in My mercy, with great trust, so that I may pour the bounty of My grace upon your soul. When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity. The torrents of grace inundate humble souls. The proud remain always in poverty and misery, because My grace turns away from them to humble souls (Revelatation from Jesus to Saint Faustina: Diary 1602)
  • Make your confession before Me. The person of the priest is, for Me, only a screen. Never analyze what sort of a priest it is that I am making use of; open your soul in confession as you would to Me, and I will fill it with My light (1725).
  • Tell souls, Jesus spoke about the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where they are to look for solace; that is, in the Tribunal of Mercy. There the greatest miracles take place, are incessantly repeated. To avail oneself of this miracle, it is not necessary to go on a great pilgrimage or to carry out some external ceremony; it suffices to come with faith to the feet of My representative and to reveal to him one’s misery, and the miracle of Divine Mercy will be fully demonstrated. Were a soul like a decaying corpse so that from a human standpoint, there would be no restoration and everything would already be lost, it is not so with God. Oh, miserable are those who do not take advantage of the miracle of God’s mercy! (Diary 1448).
  • But God has promised a great grace especially to you [Father Sopocko] and to all those … who will proclaim My great mercy. I shall protect them Myself at the hour of death, as My own glory. And even if the sins of souls were as dark as night, when the sinner turns to My mercy, he gives Me the greatest praise and is the glory of My Passion. When a soul extols My goodness, Satan trembles before it and flees to the very bottom of hell (Diary, 378).

I hope these help you on your journey and inspire you to never give up hope, no matter who you are, where you are or what your current spiritual state is.  Always trust in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He’ll never give up on you.

For a great Examination of Conscience, see this link by the Marians of the Immaculate Conception: DivineMercy.org

Have a most blessed Divine Mercy Sunday, my brothers and sisters in Christ!

 

GOOD FRIDAY: “WHOM ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?”

Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?”

John 18:4

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Trivia for the Day:

The Scripture from the Gospel of John above is heard in every Catholic parish celebrating the Passion of the Lord on Good Friday services. It’s part of the cyclical nature of Scripture Reading in the Catholic Liturgy that there is a 3-year rotation of readings. On Palm Sunday, the Passion readings follow that cycle but on Good Friday, the Passion always comes from the Gospel of John.

My Lenten Silence

I did start this post on Ash Wednesday but for whatever reason the writing (other than a few bursts of creativity here and there) dried up during Lent.  It could be the depression but most likely it is a matter of real-life responsibilites which have led to fatigue.    However just because Lent didn’t go the way I thought and hoped it would, the Holy Spirit led me to a most productive (and needed) book for Lent.

“Give Up Worry for Lent” by Gary Zimak

A few weeks before Lent, I started trying to figure out what Lent should be about this year. As I suffer from depression and lack of focus at times due to it, I kept wandering from place to place.  Did I want to do the same (and very helpful) Lenten program from Dynamic Catholic “The Best Lent Ever” or did I want something else?

We celebrated Confirmation for our 5 eighth-graders at the Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains on Sunday March 3 and Bishop Joseph Binzer gave the candidates (and those of us in the pews) an excellent homily which paid tribute to the late Father Jim Willig who said in the midst of his suffering from cancer, “I don’t know what my future holds but I know WHO holds my future.”

Father Paul our priest at Holy Name who has been excellent at spiritual direction purchased the “Little Black Book” for Lent for the entire parish.  I got to “sketching Lenten plans” in the front on Sunday or early Monday.  What I was left with was a confusing jumble of basically “self-improvement” tips.  But one struck me in particular that I scribbled: “TRUST MORE, WORRY LESS.” And yes, we should always keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus.

So in his gift of counsel, Father Paul provided me with a helpful reflection to lead into Lent by looking at the Tuesday Mass reading from the Book of Sirach 35: 1-12. If you don’t have a “Catholic” Bible, check to see if you have apocryphal books at the end of your Bible. There are 66 books in the King James Version of the Bible; 72, sometimes 73 depending on how it’s broken up, in the Catholic Bible. These books were found only written in Greek not in Hebrew but are part of the Canonical Books decided upon by the 5th century.

Sirach 35: 1-12

To keep the law is a great oblation,
and he who observes the
commandments sacrifices a peace offering.
In works of charity one offers fine flour,
and when he gives alms he presents his sacrifice of praise.
To refrain from evil pleases the LORD,
and to avoid injustice is an atonement.
Appear not before the LORD empty-handed,
for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the precepts.
The just one’s offering enriches the altar
and rises as a sweet odor before the Most High.
The just one’s sacrifice is most pleasing,
nor will it ever be forgotten.
In a generous spirit pay homage to the LORD,
be not sparing of freewill gifts.
With each contribution show a cheerful countenance,
and pay your tithes in a spirit of joy.
Give to the Most High as he has given to you,
generously, according to your means.

For the LORD is one who always repays,
and he will give back to you sevenfold.
But offer no bribes, these he does not accept!
Trust not in sacrifice of the fruits of extortion.
For he is a God of justice,
who knows no favorites.eep the law is a great oblation,
and he who observes the
commandments sacrifices a peace offering.
In works of charity one offers fine flour,
and when he gives alms he presents his sacrifice of praise.
To refrain from evil pleases the LORD,
and to avoid injustice is an atonement.
Appear not before the LORD empty-handed,
for all that you offer is in fulfillment of the precepts.
The just one’s offering enriches the altar
and rises as a sweet odor before the Most High.
The just one’s sacrifice is most pleasing,
nor will it ever be forgotten.
In a generous spirit pay homage to the LORD,
be not sparing of freewill gifts.
With each contribution show a cheerful countenance,
and pay your tithes in a spirit of joy.
Give to the Most High as he has given to you,
generously, according to your means.

For the LORD is one who always repays,
and he will give back to you sevenfold.
But offer no bribes, these he does not accept!
Trust not in sacrifice of the fruits of extortion.
For he is a God of justice,
who knows no favorites.

 

So maybe, more than an endless Lenten to-do list, I needed to go deeper.  Providentially I found a new book Give Up Worry for Lent” by Gary Zimak which on Ash Wednesday reminded us with the Scripture “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)  This Scripture gave me great comfort Ash Wednesday before Mass so thank you Mr. Zimak and Sacred Heart Radio (740 AM Cincinnati) for sharing this book. I guess I just needed the Holy Spirit to remind me that yes, true rest (true peace) is only found in Our Savior Jesus Christ. So who better to seek everyday than Christ? And who better to give us rest than Jesus?

Image result for come to me all who are weary

So in the end, maybe this silence during Lent hasn’t been a bad thing. I’ve highlighted so many passages in Mr. Zimak’s books on my Kindle app that I couldn’t begin to post them all here and finish tonight.

So since it’s Good Friday, I’ll end with a question we should all ask ourselves: “Whom are you looking for?”

Whom Are You Looking For?

I paid extra attention to this question as Father Paul read it during the Liturgy of the Word.  The guards with Judas were looking for Jesus to arrest him, King Herod was looking for Jesus to perform a miracle, Pontius Pilate was looking at Jesus to ponder what truth was.  So whom are you, whoever you may be reading this, wherever you are in life, looking for? Are you even looking for a Savior to begin with?

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York was on the Fox & Friends program this morning talking about Good Friday and happily I caught the segment.  He pointed out in talking about the Notre Dame Cathedral fire in Paris on Monday of this Holy Week that we’re all “hard wired for the Divine.” Sometimes it takes something tragic like the fire to wake us up. When I saw the cathedral, a place I’ve dreamed of visiting most of my adult life, in flames my first thought was a prayer that the Crown of Thorns was saved. In the aftermath of news and pictures coming out it was evident that we had globally experienced the power of Jesus Christ in how much was saved at a moment many of us thought all was lost.

Monday was a preview of what Good Friday is all about.

At that moment all must have seemed lost to the Blessed Mother and the disciples as Jesus said, “It is finished” and gave up his spirit. Yet as the Blessed Mother, the Apostles, Mary Magdalene and many others soon learned, all was not lost. Jesus Christ, Son of God, who shed His Precious Blood to take away our sins, rose triumphantly from the empty tomb, opening the gates of Heaven and taking away Death’s sting.

There is so much more than what we can see with our limited human eyes. Don’t be afraid to seek Him out.  Look for Him and He will never ever let you go.

A Visit to Our Lord

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I’ve been absent for a while…it’s been a long year to find writing footing again.

The more I pay Our Lord Jesus these little visits, the more I want to stay there with Him and never leave–especially with the way the world seems these days.

But we must carry on.

A short prayer that came to me on this visit:

Lord help me to do what You want of my life
Not what my selfish inclinations want for me
Nor what the world may tell me what should be.
If it is contrary to Your Will help me to know that I may be at peace with the Child of God You made me to be. 

That’s all I got tonight.  The tank may be low for my writing but I refuse to give up.

Please keep me in your prayers and I will keep you all in mine.

Let’s reflect Christ to everyone we meet and let Him touch us in others.

 

An Update on the Prayers for the Journey Project

February has been a very dry month for me creatively so I’m asking for prayers that in this dried up well of imagination, God will shine His Light upon me to lead me where He wants.

I hope with Lent approaching I may find time to blog the prayer reflections again.  Thank you in advance for any prayers and advice you can offer.

I refuse to give up but I may have to accept my limitations at present.

 

Recommended Books: The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming

A little something new — been doing a “Teen Reading Challenge” and wanted to share books in my humble opinion that are worth checking out.

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial RussiaThe Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Murder, Rebellion & the Fall of Imperial Russia” is the tagline from which our local high school book club readers choose this title.
If you’re a historical fiction reader looking for engaging non-fiction, I highly recommend Candace Fleming’s excellent portrait of the Romanov Family, the contrast of the imperial life versus the life of peasants and working poor and the events leading to the Russian revolution of 1917. I found the the “Beyond the Place Gates” sections especially rich in detail of how the majority of Russia’s citizens lived. Fleming presents her narrative like fiction with an objectivity of non-biased journalism at its best, a rarity in much historical non-fiction in these days of “fake news,” and the book appears to have been thoroughly researched from all points of view.
This book is suitable for teens in grades 7 & up (there is the violence of revolution, World War I and cold-blooded politically-motivated murder) as well as adults interested in history and biography.

View all my reviews