Month: April 2025

Getting Back to Work

Published on by Kate1 Comment

I was a little disappointed this morning when I realize Ben had to go into work. For some reason, I was so sure Easter Monday was a holiday and he was going to be staying home. I didn’t have any big plans for the day that were ruined by this realization, but I still felt like I was being robbed of something.

Thank goodness for the Gospel reflections I listen to every morning on Hallow. Jeff Cavins offers a daily Gospel reflection for the Gospel of the day. Today’s Gospel is from Matthew 28: 8-15. Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene and asks her to tell the disciples to meet him back in Galilee. Remember, the events of the Passion all happened in and around Jerusalem. I loved the way Jeff interpreted this instruction. The area of Galilee was Jesus’ main “home base” for his ministry. It is where he continued to return to and was where most of the disciples were from. In a sense, Jesus is telling the disciples to “go back to the office. We’ve got work to do.”

This put a new perspective on Ben needing to go to work today. We have celebrated Easter, the biggest day of the year. But today it’s Monday. What do we do the day after the biggest day of the year? Jesus tells us: we get back to work.

We get to work sharing the Good News. We get to work as moms, dads, businessmen, students, nurses, teachers, volunteers, aids, whatever it is you do in your day-to-day life. But this isn’t the same old same old work. No, we are an Easter people, a resurrection people. We should be filled with light and joy that radiates to everyone we encounter today. Even if these are the same people we encountered yesterday.

Today, while being this day of getting to work, we are also pausing to thank God for the life and work of Pope Francis. I don’t think anyone expected to wake up to the news that the pope had passed onto new life. We are now entering a very interesting period of time and I think there will be some things that are important to keep in mind as we pray for whomever God is calling to be the new Bishop of Rome.

  1. Speculation, while fun to dabble in, must not consume our thoughts. Of course we are all wondering who the next pope will be. Perhaps we will even engage in debates about who would be the best choice. However, it would be good to keep in mind that above all else, the Holy Spirit is guiding the Church and the process for the election of a new pope.
  2. Things will change. Each pope is different and brings his own unique perspective on the world based on his lived experience, culture, theological training, etc. The next pope will not be a carbon copy of Pope Francis. This realization will either excite or dismay a great many people. Let’s let Jesus’ words, both before and after the resurrection, to guide us: Be not afraid! And then, trust in the Holy Spirit’s care and guidance for our particular cares and concerns as well as the global Church.
  3. Take some time, if you can, to learn about how the Church is flourishing or struggling in a different country than your own. It can be very easy to be so focused on the issues the Church is facing in our own context and community we can forget that we are part of a global Church. What is a challenge for me and my community might not be a challenge for you in your area. The pope is the successor of Peter, the shepherd of the global Church. He must, to the best of his ability, guide the global Church without particular preference to one region or another.
  4. Lastly, pray, pray, pray! Pray for Pope Francis as he enters new life in heaven. Pray for everyone traveling to Rome to celebrate and remember Pope Francis during these days of mourning. Pray for the cardinals traveling to Rome for the conclave. Pray for the cardinals as they discern the will of the Holy Spirit for the next pope. Pray for the man who will be chosen to be the next pope. God already knows his name, we simply await His timing to reveal the new pope to us.

Let’s get to work, we have a lot to do.

Daily Graces. kktaliaferro.wordpress.com

The Empire vs. The Cross

Published on by KateLeave a comment

With the upcoming release of Season 2 of Disney’s Star Wars series Andor, Ben and I have been rewatching Season 1. We both enjoy this gritty story and the way the characters develop throughout the episodes. This time through, we have been commenting on some particular phrases that the Empire uses as it begins to take further control of the galaxy. The security folks (I’m not going to get super technical here), talk about “tightening their grip” and extending the reach of imperial control. Contract security is out, storm troopers are in. As we watched this unfold, we looked at each other and said Leia’s line from Episode 4: A New Hope, “the more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.” Here, in Andor, we were watching the beginnings of the tightening, which is the same moment that the rebellion is really starting to come together. The further the Empire stretches itself, the more cracks form for the rebels to slip in and out of.

The Empire’s purpose in all of this is control. They want things ordered they way they want them with no surprises, incidents, or creative thought. When watching Star Wars, I would think that most of us are inclined to side with the rebels. Stand up to the power, resist!

And yet, as I was reading through my most recent copy of Evangelization & Culture (Issue No. 22 on Courage), I found myself coming to realize that deep down, I’m much more like the Empire than I would want to admit.

At its most basic, primal level, the Empire (in my estimation) is operating from a place of fear. The fear of the unknown, of individual thought, of being replaced, of losing what it had gained. The fear of loss of control is a critical motivating force that causes the grip tightening seen in the Andor series. In his article “Spiritual Direction for the Fearful,” Fr. Billy Swan’s counsel reminded me of the Empire and how it’s actions are exactly what not to do in our own lives:

For us, the fear of losing our lives might not be active every waking hour, but the fear of losing something is always lurking – material things, power, honor, status, our mob, our health, our loved ones, our independence, our freedoms. How do we respond to this fear of loss? One option is to double down on our efforts to protect what we have, whether it be our freedoms, our assets, or even our very lives. Yet we know deep down, sooner or later, that we will have to let go of everything and surrender to the mystery of love that is infinitely greater than our fears.

What am I holding on to too tightly? Where am I seeking to be in control, instead of allowing God to direct my life? What am I afraid to lose?

Today is Good Friday, the day of the complete loss of control. Not in the sense of acting rashly or wildly, like a young child who cannot contain her emotions. No, today is the day where we see what perfect surrender looks like. It is the day where hands are stretched wide, holding nothing and at the same time, holding everything at once. Jesus hangs on the cross in what appears to be a complete loss of control. He was taken, beaten, stripped of everything he had, even his connection with the Father. In these moments, Jesus completely empties himself of everything he is. Where Adam and Eve grasped, tightening their grip on the forbidden fruit to gain something they did not need, Jesus releases his hold on everything, to gain everything we desperately require.

Nothing, not one thing. No one, not one person, slips through Jesus’ fingers.

We have a choice today. Will we join Christ, opening our own hands wide to accept all God has to offer us? Or will we side with the Empire, tightening our grip on the things we think we need, only to watch them slip away one day at a time, never realizing that all we had to do was let go. In a magnificent reversal, to find what we truly need, we have to be ready to lose everything.

Daily Graces. kktaliaferro.wordpress.com