Creation – Page 3 – Daily Graces

Don’t you know you have 4 legs?! Reflections on who we truly are

Published on December 3, 2017 by KateLeave a comment

Well not you specifically of course! But you might be surprised how many times I have said this to our dog, Max, over the years we have had him. Whenever Max gets muddy we try to wipe at least his paws down before letting him back into the house. 1. He is a white dog so the mud really stands out and 2. the kids track in enough, I don’t need extra muddy footprints to wipe up. Nearly every time I have to clean him off he tries to escape around the 3rd leg. This leads me to inevitably complain, “Don’t you know you have 4 legs?! Stand still!”

I was sharing this with Ben a few weeks ago. I said something to the effect of: “You would think that even Max should be able to understand something so integral and basic to his identity. He has 4 legs. Period. Even if he can’t count per say, shouldn’t he at least be able to recognize that not all of his legs got cleaned off yet.”

As I was complaining, a light bulb went off in my head. We are just like Max. Not in that we actually have 4 legs (wouldn’t that be awkward), but that there are realities so basic and fundamental to our existence which we fail to grasp. We are made in the image of God. We have God’s life in us, grace freely given to us at our baptism. We have the opportunity to become living tabernacles, hold Jesus within us and letting His goodness, mercy and love shine through us. But so often we get caught up in the day to day, the sin, the temptation, the hustle, the bustle, the good times and the not so good times. We, or at least I for sure, lose touch with who I really truly am – a daughter of God.

Today is the first day of the new Church year, the First Sunday of Advent. Advent is a unique moment in the year where we are preparing for the coming of the Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus, the most incredible and abundantly generous gift of our loving God, is truly God and truly man. St. Irenaeus teaches:

“For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God”

Advent is our opportunity to enter deeply into communion with the Word, with God, so that we might become a son or daughter of God. There are many ways we can enter into communion with God, especially during Advent. We can commit to a daily Mass or weekly Confession. We can carve out time for a Morning Offering or daily Rosary. There are many reflection series, both online and in print, designed specifically for Advent. Advent is an excellent time to explore God’s Word in a more prayerful and intentional way – have you printed out your free Lectio Divina journal yet?

Advent is a time to step back and evaluate who we are in relation to who God is. Who are we, in our most basic and fundamental elements? The Catechism of the Catholic Church professes that we are:

Made in the image of God (355)
Capable of relationship with God (357)
Willed by God into being – both body and soul (362)

This Advent, what are you going to do to help you reconnect with these basic truths about your life? Why are they important? What impact do they have on your life and relationships? And, how will they bring you into deeper communion with God as we await the coming of the Savior?

Daily Advent Prayer Experiences for 2016 by DailyGraces.net

December 13, 2016 – Perspective on Creation

Published on December 12, 2016December 12, 2016 by KateLeave a comment

What did it feel like to take the time to intentionally ask Jesus into your heart and day yesterday? For me at least, I know that this is something I can gloss over. I believe in Jesus, I love Jesus, Jesus is a part of my life. But taking the time to say the words, especially saying them out loud, carries impact. This impact can, has and I’m sure will continue to influence who I am and how I perceive the world.

Presently I am reading an excellent book called God is Not Fair And Other Reasons for Gratitude by Daniel P. Horan, OFM (look for the book review post-Advent). Horan’s book covers a wide range of topics that all link to why we should be grateful for God’s overabundant love, generosity and mercy. One of the key themes that I can see arising from this book is how we look at the world differently when we see it through our relationship with Jesus.

Horan has one chapter that discusses our relationship with creation. He challenges the more standard stewardship model that many Christians operate on: “Rather than think about the whole of nonhuman creation as entrusted to us, which makes us cosmic landlords or property managers for God, we should consider our inherent kinship with the rest of creation” (32). When we view the created world through Jesus’ eyes, what will we see? Will we be looking at a world created for our benevolent (and often not so benevolent) stewardship, a property to be managed that is separate from our own destiny? Or, would we see how when we speak of this thing called “creation” we are necessarily speaking just as much of ourselves as we are the plants and animals residing alongside of us. Are we managers or co-workers in creation?

Do you see how the difference in perspective changes the way we should be operating in the world? Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si is a challenging call for this shift in perspective. Pope Francis says:

I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all. The worldwide ecological movement has already made considerable progress and led to the establishment of numerous organizations committed to raising awareness of these challenges. Regrettably, many efforts to seek concrete solutions to the environmental crisis have proved ineffective, not only because of powerful opposition but also because of a more general lack of interest. Obstructionist attitudes, even on the part of believers, can range from denial of the problem to indifference, nonchalant resignation or blind confidence in technical solutions. We require a new and universal solidarity. As the bishops of Southern Africa have stated: “Everyone’s talents and involvement are needed to redress the damage caused by human abuse of God’s creation.” All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents (14). – Bold mine.

So what are we to do about it? Today, take your 3 minutes to list 5 ways you impact creation around you. Then, list 5 ways that creation impacts you. Finally, come up with 2 things you can do today that will improve your relationship with creation (some ideas might be being more conscious about your water usage, taking care not to throw food away or if you do need to finding a way to compost it rather than add to a landfill, placing a birdfeeder, talking with your children about the beauty and necessity of winter as part of the seasonal cycle, etc.).

***Does inviting Jesus into your heart allow you to see the world more clearly through His eyes? How does this make you feel? Uncomfortable, challenged, motivated, passionate?Please feel free to share your experience, thoughts and offer support to one another in the comments, on Twitter with the #DailyGraces or on the Facebook page.

Worth the Making

Published on October 18, 2016November 9, 2016 by Kate1 Comment

For me, holiday season means baking season. I know we aren’t quite there yet but this weekend I made a big batch of sugar cookies for Halloween. I didn’t decorate them like I normally would have which makes me a little sad, but we truthfully don’t have the counter space or storage space for such an endeavor. Just making the cookies themselves took me 3 days. The kids helped make the dough on Friday and then I spent 2 days baking them.

Normally, it doesn’t take 2 days, just a few hours. But when you are living in a space that isn’t your own and you don’t have your regular tools and pans, things can get a little tricky. Like in this example, where the largest “cookie sheet” I have isn’t actually a cookie sheet but a 9X13-ish cake pan. The most cookies I got on that thing was 9 at a time and that was pretty squished. This recipe made nearly 60 cookies (I know, I should have halved the recipe, I usually do. I blame pregnancy on that particular decision-making moment).

As I was going through this baking marathon, before I had decided not to decorate them, I found myself wondering if it was all worth it. I mean yes, these cookies are good, but they aren’t the best cookies I’ve ever eaten. Yes, they can look super cute when they are decorated well, but to truly decorate them well would have taken at least another 2-3 days depending on how long naptime was. To really go all out with these cookies is a multi-day extravaganza that usually leaves me with cramped hands, sore feet and no tupperware left.

For what? Someone to walk in and eat 2 cookies in under 2 minutes. Days of work for a brief moment of enjoyment. Surely it would be easier to go to H.E.B. (Texas’ version of Kroger/Jewel/Raley’s) and buy a box of cookies. Why pour my soul into something so fleeting?

I believe that we do these kinds of things because of the way we were created. God didn’t make us up or imagine us, He gave us life as a reflection of His very self. God poured His breath into Adam while fully knowing that this firstborn of creation would choose disobedience over obedience. God creates us still knowing that now, because of original sin, our lives on earth are but sparks in the night, there for a moment and then extinguished.

We are capable of reflecting God in all things, even in our creativity. Think of someone who is passionate about gardening. They work their soil, preparing it for seeds year after year, constantly trying to improve its nutrients and suitableness. They weed, they prune, they cultivate. They marvel at each flower and enjoy the fruits of their labor. They do all this, knowing full well that these plants that they have loved into existence will die come winter.

Or consider the people who have booths at your local craft fair or fall festival. These people have worked all summer, some all year, long to bring you their merchandise. The hours spent deciding on paint color, harvesting the right kind of wood, repeating the same pattern over and over, was done out of love for their craft. Of course, the financial compensation is also a motivating factor, but for many items these crafters are making pennies on the dollar when you consider an hourly wage and the cost of the materials. Their passion is both a testament to their creativity but also a reflection of the creative God who made them.