Exercise

Friends of Faith:

Exercise—oh how I hate that word. I’d much rather not do it, and I keep hoping someone else will do it for me than so that I don’t have to do it myself.

On the flip side, I love to eat: all I can, whenever possible. It seems to be my favorite recreation. I am always inventing reasons to eat out and trying new things to eat in my kitchen.

But we all know what happens when we eat and don’t exercise. We get fat, not healthy. Instead of the food I am eating becoming the nutrition which energizes and strengthens, I become sluggish, lack endurance and become weak.

And vice-versa for some who exercise whenever possible, but starve themselves physically. They too are unhealthy.

It’s a delicate balance. Most of us struggle at some time with the balance and very few are perfectly balanced all or even most of the time.

He said to them, "Give them some food yourselves." They replied, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people." Now the men there numbered about five thousand… Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets. Lk 9: 13-17

And the balance between eating and exercising is very much like the balance we need in our spiritual lives—between being present and fed by Christ’s word and food each week in the Eucharist and by the way we exercise the faith we profess when we walk outside the walls of the church.

By just exercising our “goodness” as a person without being nourished spiritually we will be left unfulfilled and wanting. To say we have faith and to do good without attending Church and receiving the promise of the Eucharistic food we will be left weak and sluggish—without enough Spirit to move us forward.

And vice-versa, by just eating the food of the Eucharist and not exercising His message I won’t be entirely healthy, because this was not God’s intention for us as a community of well fed Christians.

Unlike earthly food which becomes more like us, God’s food (the Eucharist) is intended to make us more like Him. His nourishment should spiritually strengthen us and better equip us to exercise of our faith though the gifts he has given us in our talents and through His graces. Instead of being taken in, He is in us to take us out—to show His glory to the world by the way we live.

But just like exercise, we have to do something to make that happen, to use the nourishment (the faith) He gives us.

Heavenly Father, in the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus, by His Body and Blood given to us as our everlasting food, at the Last Supper, and by His death on the cross (exercise) you have shown us perfect balance in word and deed. Help me to learn to balance my life. May the fulfillment I receive by Your food (Eucharist and Scripture) be multiplied by the faithful exercise of Your presence in my life. Thank you for the promise of fulfillment in the rewards of heaven.  Amen.

Exercise in the Spirit, eat and be filled by the Body of Christ, be balanced by a perfect God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit)—the perfect unending trinity.
Blessings,
Charlotte

 

Unfinished Business

Friends of Faith:

Don’t you wish you could say that the laundry, the dishes, the cleaning, the cooking and/or dieting, the reading, the taking care of and praying for kids, the “to do” list was completely done—finished.

But some jobs are just never finished. There always seems to be another shirt dirtied, another meal to be fed, another closet to be cleaned, another “to do” added on the list and regardless of their ages a child (or parent) who needs prayers.

These are just a few of the unfinished jobs we encounter on a daily basis. But what are some of things we don’t recognize in our lives which are unfinished and might require our attention?

And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. Lk 24: 13-15

The disciples of Jesus recounted what had taken place along the way, and how they had come to recognize him in the breaking of bread.  While they were still speaking about this, he stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and terrified and thought that they were seeing a ghost. Then he said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Lk 24: 35-38

Christ died, Christ rose, and Christ keeps coming back. His passion that we should be saved and that we should recognize him will never be finished.

He was spit upon, unrecognized, unrealized, and doubted. And yet he continues to work to heal us, to justify us, to forgive us, because we are “unfinished sinners.”

“And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him.” Lk 24: 3-31

“Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples after being raised from the dead.” Jn 21: 13-14

He was recognized in the breaking of the bread. He has given us everlasting, unending food, His body and blood. He FINISHES for us the cooking, if we will accept and eat.

But later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised.
He said to them, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” Mk 16: 14-15

He gave us THE never ending mission: to go out into the world and proclaim Him to EVERY creature. He has FINISHED the “to do” list. Are we doing the mission he commanded of us? Are we serving each other, or do we expect Him (and/or others) to do it for us?

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Jn 20: 21-23

And he gave us His divine, and never ending, mercy of forgiveness and reconciliation. The same apostles he commissioned on Holy Thursday as the first Christian priests, he commissioned to forgive our sins. He FINISHES the ultimate cleaning, the cleaning of our souls. All we have to do is ask. It is our ultimate “unfinished.”

Are we humble enough to ask (and accept) his forgiveness thru the Sacrament of Reconciliation, thru the priests who he gave the authority to forgive sins? Do we ASK or do we think we can forgive ourselves? He has offered for us the ultimate “finish.”

Our unfinished business is to EAT the food he provides; to SERVE His mission of spreading His word and serving others in His image; and to CLEAN our souls by His mercy. He gives us food. He modeled our mission. He gives us His mercy. Only thru Him is it finished. “It is finished.” Jn 19:30

Risen and all Glorious Lord, May I be humbled by Your presence in all You have created so I could rise with you. Help me to place Your mission above what I think is my “unfinished” business. Forgive me for the times I do not ask for Your forgiveness and try to do it on my own. May I be blessed with the Peace you so readily offered as you gave Your life for me. Amen.

Three times Christ’s presence was denied (we sin). Three times he offers us “Peace” (mercy and healing). Each time he was recognized by the bread he broke. Do we receive the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation as often as possible so that we can be finished thru Him?

My business to come to full understanding and full repentance will never be finished because I am a human sinner. But with God all things are possible.

Put Christ at the top of your “to do” list. Make Him your mission. Let Him help you finish!
Blessings,
Charlotte

My favorite things

Women of Faith:

We all have “favorites” we wouldn’t be without because we think those favorites are the best, taste the best or make us better people just because we believe in them.

We believe in brands and breeds sometimes without reason or true understanding of why we believe what we believe. Beliefs we have because we have been influenced or convinced by someone that one “brand” is better than another—some of my favorites: Ford vehicles, the Chicago Cubs, Amana appliances, black lab puppies, Kohl’s and Heinz ketchup.

Brothers and sisters: I declare and testify in the Lord that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds; that is not how you learned Christ, assuming that you have heard of him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus, that you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth. Eph 4:17-24

Our favorites should be real, change us, improve us and give us a new way of life.

But all vehicles, even Ford’s, wear out; all teams lose sometimes, even the Cubs; all appliances have both good and not so good features; puppies grow up; stores make new policies and as far as I know most ketchup is made out of basically the same ingredients.

But God, and the Catholic, universal, Church that he designed, entrusted to Peter (Rock) never wear out. He always forgives my faults and His features are designed to make me better. And God, thru the Church and the Bible, have remained constant and true regardless of what has happened in this world for the last 2000 years.

Do I consider Him and raise Him and promote Him to the same level as my favorite things?

"Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.. So they said to Him, "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent." So they said to him, "What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? …. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." … Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." Jn 6: 24-36

Heavenly Father, “Amen, amen, I say to you. You are the true bread from heaven. You give life to the world.” (Jn 6) May You become the favorite to all those who are unsure of what to believe. Help me to believe in my heart and to live my life in a way that will convince others that you should be a favorite of theirs too. Thank you for the signs that you so subtly give to encourage those who believe. Amen.

Does my life promote God as my favorite?

This week convince someone that God is the most important part, the FAVORITE part of your life!

Blessings,

Charlotte