Tag: Jesus

What Can You Give? A 4th of July Message

Published on by KateLeave a comment

Happy 4th of July! It is fitting that the Gospel and homily I heard yesterday coincides with this independence day holiday.

For those that need a refresher, yesterday’s Gospel reading was from the Gospel of Luke. Jesus was preparing  72 disciples to go out on mission ahead of him, telling of the Good News that Jesus had to share. He gives them specific instructions about what to bring, or rather, all the things they were to leave behind. They were not to bring money or baggage. They weren’t even permitted shoes! Why do you think Jesus was so explicit about the fact that these travelers were not permitted to bring anything other people would find necessary for travel?

Our priest had an interesting take on that question. Usually when I hear this reading I hear all the things the disciples had to do without. It is a lesson in simplicity, in solidarity with the poor and a call to let go of my clutch on material possessions. This is absolutely a fine message to interpret from this Gospel. Our priest, however, went another direction.

He asked us to think about what we had to give. We were each put on earth with something to give. Consider the disciples. They were not allowed to take things that would have possibly made their journey more comfortable – money for an inn, shoes to make traveling easier, extra clothes in the event that extra clothes would be desired or necessary. But he didn’t send them empty handed. They had their message, the courage of their conviction and their passion for their faith.

What they had seen and heard was convincing enough they felt compelled to share it with others. If they weren’t absolutely convinced in the person and message of Jesus, why would they travel with no money, feeling no anxiety about where they were going to sleep? Why would they travel with no shoes, harboring no worry about the length of the journey? Why would they bring no extra garments, not knowing what kind of weather or road conditions they would encounter?

The disciples trusted that what they had to give would be enough to take care of them. How many of us can say we feel the same? Do we give first and then graciously accept what is given to us? Or do we wait until we have received enough, only then to share what we consider extra? Another way of thinking about it is to consider whether Sunday is at the beginning or the end of your financial week. Do you give to God first (making Sunday the first day of the week), or do you wait to see what is left (making Sunday the last day of your week).

What Can You Give? A 4th of July Message. Daily Graces. kktalifaerro.wordpress.com
By Jnn13 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons. Text added by Kate Taliaferro 2016
It is my opinion that the founding fathers were looking first to give and then to receive. They wanted to give our people a freedom they had not known. They wanted to give citizens basic rights and privileges. They hoped to give the generations to come a country and government that had the people’s best interests at heart. They had a vision where citizens came together, giving to one another, so that in each other’s giving we all could reap a bountiful harvest of freedom, protection, representation and basic rights.

On this July 4, 2016, I hope that you are able to find a few quiet moments to thank those who have answered this call to give before receiving. May our country continue to flourish, holding true to the vision that brought it into being.

“In every way I have shown you that by hard work of that sort we must help the weak, and keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus who himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” – Acts 20:35

And Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Published on by KateLeave a comment

I wish I could say I haven’t been avoiding you, dear reader. And though yes, we have been busy and yes, Ben has come and gone a number of times on various missions and duties  as his job requires, I have still found time to knit, read some books, crochet a new pair of slippers (almost), bake multiple batches of cookies and watch a number of interesting movies. All of this and not one post. To be completely honest, as you’ll soon be able to tell, I wrote this post nearly 2 weeks ago and am only today getting around to publishing it.

I’ve talked before about how I am capable of minor obsessions or passions. I focus intensely on one or two things, like knitting or decorating cookies, and then after some time it falls to the wayside, to be replaced with a new series of books, making rosaries or creating new crochet patterns. All of these are wonderful things. There is nothing inherently wrong with them.

And yet, if I truly believe that this writing is something I am being called to, which I do (I don’t think I could have stuck with it so long if wasn’t God’s will for me at this time), then these other wonderful, interesting and otherwise diverting are actually temptations away from what God is asking of me.

I would imagine we all experience this at some point in our lives, probably many points in fact. We know what we must do, but suddenly other things seem to be more important, are more exciting or are more appealing. We make excuses, we have reasons, we tell ourselves whatever we need to hear, yet in the depths of our hearts we know we are shirking responsibilities or avoiding the callings of God for our life.

Today (well, 2 weeks ago), on the Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth, I renewed my consecration to Jesus through the heart of Mary. I have spoken of this consecration once or twice I think, but not in any great detail. For the past 33 days I’ve been reading, meditating 33 Days to Morning Glory. Marian Consecration. kktaliaferro.wordpress.com Daily Gracesand preparing to renew my consecration using an extraordinary book, 33 Days to Morning Glory. Fr. Michael Gaitley MIC, has combined the lives and teachings of St. Louis de Montfort, St. Maximilian Kolbe, soon-to-be St. Mother Theresa and Pope St. John Paul II into one complete whole that guides the seeker on a journey to understanding and deeper faith in Jesus with the help of His Blessed Mother.

What is a consecration to Jesus through Mary, or more simply put a consecration to Mary? The easiest way to understand Mary’s role is to explore her mission or “job”. Mary’s job is to form us into Christ. Just as she sheltered, guided and taught the child Jesus, she continues to shelter, guide and teach the faithful today. Mary is a living embodiment of the generosity and overabundance of God. God not only gives us His Son to be our brother, friend and Savior, on the Cross Jesus’ love continues to overflow in the gift of His mother. This moment is especially important for John Paul II, who understood that consecrating oneself to Mary was to join with the apostle John by taking Mary into his home. That’s really what this is all about, inviting Mary into our home, our life, and asking her to school us in the art of sainthood.

And so, as Mary has gradually taken over the tutelage of this unruly student, I have begun to see certain things in new light. Temptation for starters. Temptation is that which encourages us to avert our eyes from God, the sparkle in the corner of our eye that causes us to lose focus and turn our head to a different direction. Mary has been showing me where temptations are in my life. As a result, I’ve been praying that she will begin to give me the strength I need to overcome them and ignore them. Hopefully we all will see the fruit of her labor here in the blog, or in my “Other ideas” folder which seems to be ever expanding.

To be clear, a consecration to Mary in no way obscures, distracts or circumvents a person’s relationship with Jesus, our Savior and Mediator. Mary’s sole purpose is to form us into saints, that is, to help us become every more fully living images of Jesus. She is a gift from the abundant love God has for each one of us. The sacrifice of Jesus for the salvation of the world was enough, His action is complete. Mary is simply one more way that God continues to shower us with His blessing, grace and mercy. That is why we ask Mary to “pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.” We ask her to stand alongside us, to show us the way, as we journey both with and toward her Son.

Book Review: Find a Real Friend in Jesus

Published on by KateLeave a comment

I currently work with a program that is designing mini courses to introduce concepts of the Catholic faith to adults, especially new catechists. We have been struggling to write the course on Jesus of all things. You would think this would be an easy one, I mean he’s kind of a big deal and the cornerstone of our whole Catholic faith. We can’t screw this one up. The current draft has some wonderful information in it – notes about the culture, history, socioeconomic and political environment Jesus grew up in, how various characters in the New Testament related to him, a comparison of the 4 Gospels, an analysis of the Incarnation, Passion and Resurrection, etc. All great things and so important to know and understand when learning about who Jesus is.

Book Review: Find a Real Friend in Jesus kktaliaferro.wordpress.com #DailyGracesBut something keeps nagging at me, like we are missing something. Gary Zimak’s new book Find a Real Friend in Jesus, is exactly what we have been missing. You can know a lot of theology, history and Church doctrine about Jesus. But if you want to grow in your faith, you have to know Jesus. Zimak offers “10 amazingly easy steps” through which we can not only come to know Jesus, we can actually begin to have a real relationship with him – dare I say consider Jesus a true friend.

Zimak isn’t lying. These steps are very easy. What’s the catch then you say? It’s all in the follow-through. It’s very easy to read the Bible when you understand the message and it’s uplifting. It’s not as easy to read passages that challenge you to change, grow, or adopt a new vision for the world. It’s very easy to pray to Jesus when we are in need of something. It’s not as easy to get up 20 minutes early to spend quiet time (and awake time) talking to our Lord about the areas of our life that need adjusting. It’s very easy to complain about our sufferings. It’s much much harder to endure them day after day, or, even more fruitful, embrace them as Christ embraced his own cross. Just like any relationship will fizzle and die if both sides do not actively talk and spend time together, your relationship with Jesus will be what you make of it. All Jesus needs is a little crack in the door to let his light and friendship shine into your life. Open yourself up to him a little and he will give you all of himself and more.

One thing that I really loved about Gary’s book is that I’m pretty sure in each step he mentions asking God for the grace, strength, courage, inspiration, etc. to accomplish the step. I think that this is key. Even with “easy” steps, we still can and should ask for the grace to fulfill them to their fullest. We can do nothing without God. Even the part of the relationship that deceptively appears to be ours is just another way that we can allow God to live and work through us.

Do you wish you and Jesus had a stronger relationship? (a question everyone should respond yes to, in case you were curious). Do you feel like you don’t have a relationship with Jesus? By practically and faithfully employing the steps that Zimak lists (or even most of them, depending on who you are and what time you are willing to commit to this endeavor) you can make, re-start and grow your relationship with Jesus.