Do Not Be Troubled - Follow Him

With all the recent talk about the "end of the world" and "rapture" it was timely that we read these words of Jesus from the Gospel for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, "“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.” (Jn 14:1-4)  In Matthew's Gospel He reminds us that "only the Father knows the hour." (Mt 24:36) So why all the fuss about end-time predictions?  Why the predictions at all?

All of us have the tendency to want to "control" our lives.  We want to be in charge of what happens to us.  If it is not in our time or in the way we planned then we want nothing to do with the situation.  This attitude manifests itself more and more in our fast-paced and ever-changing society. The idea of abandonment to the will of another is foreign or out-right scorned.  Even some Christians (among others) give in to this thinking when they attempt to predict the end of the world through formulas of their own creation - formulas that they control.

In this beautiful Easter season we celebrate Christ's victory over sin and death. We celebrate His complete love for all of humanity of all times.  We celebrate His complete abandonment to the will of the Father, ultimately seen in His giving up His life on the Cross.  Three days later He rises from the dead.  He rises and gives us reason to "not let your hearts be troubled."  We can only embrace this reality by surrendering ourselves, as Jesus did, to the will of the Father.  This is how we are to prepare for our own "end-times" and for the ultimate end of the world.  Jesus reminds us to be prepared at all times and we do so by staying united to Him, especially through the sacraments.  He is the One who shows us how to live for He is "the way, the truth and the life."

Let this message of hope be the message that others can witness through our lives.  Our world, which is so full of trouble these days, needs this witness...needs Christ.

by Michael Lavigne

God Thirsts for Us

In preparing a recent presentation on prayer, I was struck by the Catechism’s definition of prayer.  “Prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with ours.  God thirsts that we may thirst for him” (CCC 2560).  I find that imagery of thirsting just so beautiful.  Think about that for a minute – the living God thirsts for us to come to Him in prayer, to thirst for Him!  Thirsting implies this sense of desperation and longing.  David cries out with this longing for God numerous times in the Psalms.  “My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1).  “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When can I go and meet with God?” (Psalm 42:1-2).  The reality is that just as water is the one thing which we physically can’t live without, God is the one thing our hearts cannot live without.  Because they were created for Him!  “The desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself.  Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he never stops searching for” (CCC 27).  It is God alone who can fill the longings of our hearts, those things for which our heart thirsts!  It’s similar to standing at the base of a waterfall.  At the base of a waterfall, there is more water than you could ever drink.  All your thirst is satisfied.  This same thing happens in prayer, in relationship with God!  All of our thirst is satisfied.  Additionally, while standing at the base of that waterfall, the power of the water pouring over you washes off any dirt, any impurities, and you are completely cleansed.  The same thing happens in prayer when we allow the power of God’s love and mercy to pour over us and cleanse us.  He is thirsting for us to come to Him that he might satisfy all of our longings and desires. 

What I find to be so profound about this whole notion is that it is God who first thirsts for us.  “The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet every human being.  It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a drink.  Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desires for us” (CCC 2560).  Prayers itself is a gift because it is God who first thirsts for us to thirst for him!  “God calls man first…the living and true God tirelessly calls each person to that mysterious encounter known as prayer…our own step is always a response” (CCC 2567).  We see this clearly if we look at salvation history.  It’s the story of God pursuing his people, extending himself in relationship and covenant with them, over and over again so that he can be with them.  And what do we find at the culmination of salvation history?  We find a God who thirsts for us so much that He sent His dearly beloved son, Jesus, to die for us.  The crucifix is a reminder of God’s thirst for us.  As He is hanging on the cross dying, Jesus cries out, “I thirst.” (John 19:28).  He thirsts for our love in prayer.  His thirst led him to the cross.  Will our thirst lead us to prayer?

by Sarah Houde

The Fullness of Life

“I have come that you might have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10).  These words of Jesus have always stirred something deep inside of me – a dissatisfaction with living a mediocre life, a desire to live radically, to have a full and abundant life.  With the arrival of spring and new life all around us, I’ve found myself reflecting on these words more frequently once again.  How often I find myself falling into the monotonous routine of life.  A lot of days it certainly doesn’t feel like I’m living this “life to the full” that Jesus spoke about.

Our beloved Blessed Pope John Paul II who was just beatified this past weekend had something to say about living the fullness of life.  “You are young and you want to live. But you have to live life to the fullest and with a specific goal. You have to live for God, for others. And no one can live his life for himself. The future is yours, but the future is above all a call and a challenge to find your life by surrendering it, losing it, sharing it through a loving surrender to others.”  The fullness of life that Jesus promised comes in losing it, in laying it down for others.  Living a radical and abundant life means that we will refuse to settle for mediocrity when it comes to love.  St. Therese of Lisieux and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta lived such abundant lives because they lived each day doing small things with great love.  We find purpose and meaning in our lives and break free from the dull monotony that limits our existence when we decide to make self-giving love our primary goal and motivation.  In our society this is crazy!  To think that living for someone else, not putting ourselves first, is what leads to a full and abundant life?  That’s a radical thing.  Is it easy?  Certainly not.  But is it worth it?  Absolutely.  Why?  Because it is in doing so that we find the fullness of life.  As we are reminded in this Easter season, the Resurrection is only possible after the Crucifixion.  The new life that Jesus promises can only come after we die to our selves.  We have as our model Christ Himself who showed the fullest extent of his love by his radical death on the cross.  But who then proved the fullness of life that this brings by his powerful rising from the dead.  Let us choose to live this fullness of life!  Christ is Risen!  Alleluia!

By Sarah Houde