By Death We Grow

Friends of Faith:

Which came first, dying or growth?

In the world of plants, first the seed must die before the flower can grow and fully bloom.

How true is that of humanity? When do I as a person grow? When do I as a person grow closer to God?

“And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For Christ, while we were still helpless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” Rom 5: 5-8

I have seen untimely deaths and I have witnessed the growth that took place in the people closest to the one who died. I have seen children give up careers to take care of their parents and through the response of their faith they are blessed with strength and courage to respond with love while having their own needs fulfilled by the blessings of others.

I have witnessed those affected by illness and hardship. When there was hope and faith, God’s love poured out through them – growing not only those directly affected, but inspiring others to become more, and to grow in their own faith. I have seen friends and neighbors receive the blessings of tears and smiles of joy while helping one another recover from natural disasters or an untimely death. (It is better to give than to receive, or, we receive more in giving than we do in receiving.)

As spouses (or faithful friends) the love we have for each other grows when we give up something of ourselves FOR the other: when we sacrifice our time and our energy to help one another without anger, jealously, or envy. We grow when we build the other person up, when we rise to the responsibility of becoming parents, and when the needs of our spouse or family member becomes our own concern, like sacrificing a personal career goal for taking care of a family member.

In each of these instances some part of our selfish person dies. In each of these instances some part of our selfish personality dies – to become less of ourselves, to rely more on God, and to grow in faith.

Heavenly Father, in hope we ask for the courage and strength to die to ourselves and accept our sufferings and sacrifices as Your Son, Jesus did when He died on the cross for us. “O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.” (Prayer of St. Francis) Amen.

Without Christ’s death our sins would not be pardoned; without Christ’s death there would not be new life. Without the death of a seed the plant cannot grow. Without the death of my selfish desires I will not grow to receive the love of another.

In the middle of this Lenten season, may I learn to find greater hope through the experience of a death of self, so that I may grow deeper in faith, gain a greater love for God and have peace in the knowledge that Christ’s death was given so that I might live.

In faith and hope, dying to grow,

Blessings,

Charlotte

My Search

Women of Faith:

I search daily for my purpose, for what it is I am to do with the gifts I receive and for how I am to act and react to the circumstances of life. I search for answers to day to day choices and for control of difficult problems. I search to give hope and comfort to those who are suffering loss, loneliness and are afraid of the future.

I search to listen to and be guided on the “right” path, by the “right” voice, and with the “right” heart.

I seek to be patient in a world which is overcome with instant gratification and selfishness. I seek to act in kindness and compassion when I am tempted to be judgmental, cynical and sarcastic.

I seek to find the path of the Spirit while being led by laws in a society which is often self serving and ignores God’s simplest commandments and truths.

As I thought about Epiphany and the role of the three kings in Christmas I thought about how they searched for and found Jesus—without a bible, without GPS and without the knowledge of 2012 years of tradition, history and experience. Do we have the patience to wait or do we need an instant post on Facebook? And could we have endured travel on a camel?

"Go and search diligently for the child… And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Mt 2:1-12

Just think about the difficulty of their decision and the actions they took—they chose the “right” star, they chose to listen to the “voice” of an angel instead of King Herod who they could see, and they chose an infant, a stranger, to give their wealth, their gifts.

The sky was filled with a thousand stars for them to choose from, just as we have many paths to follow in our own journey.

A king, Herod, who they could see and touch, tried to lead them astray by tempting them with his own selfish desires.

Finally, they had to believe and trust a Spirit that spoke within them that Jesus was the Messiah, the Chosen One, the one sent to them from God to lead them—a stranger, worthy of gifts of a King.

So are we searching for and praying for the “right” Light?

Are we searching for the grace of understanding: that like the Magi we will recognize God in nature, in our experiences and in our relationships?

Are we searching for greater trust: that God’s Light will guide us into an uncertain future and that we will follow in confidence with a belief in God’s love for us?

Are we searching for peace: that our hearts would follow Jesus by rejecting violence and self gratification and being kind and compassionate in our relationships with spouse, family and friends?

Are we searching for the commitment to begin again: by opening our hearts to wholeness in the Spirit rather than to trying to fill them with earthly satisfaction which will only makes us temporarily happy?

Heavenly Father: I praise the brightness of Your star which guides me. May I continue to be blessed with the desire to follow it, and an opportunity to understand what Your will is for me. May I always search for Your righteous path. Grant me the patience to give to others without expecting instant gratification in return. Help me to stay committed to search for Your love, Your hope and Your peace. Amen.

May your search this week be for His Light, His Choice and His Will in your life,
Blessings,
Charlotte

The Growing Cycle

Friends in Faith:
As I grow in faith, as we each grow in faith, I realize how closely Jesus’ life and our lives with Him follow the natural growth cycle.

Jesus’ life cycle follows an ageless growing cycle: the “preparation” for His birth, the “planting” of the Nativity, the “nurturing cultivation” of His life and teachings, and the “abundance of the harvest” in His dying and Resurrection.

With the Ascension this week the Apostles briefly felt “empty” as Jesus left them alone and went to be with His father in heaven.

“He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons …But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, … When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going,… two men in white garments … said, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return ….” Acts 1:7-11

This is the same emptiness we feel when we are hungry or have not eaten properly; when we choose a starvation diet or to be nourished by food which is either “sweet” or “rotten.”

Yet we know God never leaves us empty, alone or unfed, if we live for Him and through Him.

Do we believe Jesus when He said “eat my flesh” or are we the Jews who quarreled among themselves and then left Jesus (John 6:66)?

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." Jn 6:51-58

In receiving the Eucharist our growing cycle is always fulfilled. He promised the Apostles the guidance to “new life” in the abundant gift of the Spirit of Pentecost (next Sunday.) And in his flesh and blood given us in the Eucharist at the Last Supper when He said, “Do this in memory of me.” (In old Greek, memory means “make present today.”)

We may each be in a different place in different parts of the life cycle. However, just as the growth of a plant must be nurtured by God thru Mother Nature, so must our own lives be nurtured by receiving the Eucharist regularly and following God’s plan in Holy Scripture. For instance, in our marriages, Ephesians 5:21-33 www.usccb.org/nab/bible/ephesians/ephesians5.htm

If we are to live spiritually our life cycle must follow Jesus’ life so that we will wisely “process” the food that He has prepared, planted, cultivated and harvested. We will then be “sustained” by the harvest, and enriched with a new and more abundant life, the richness of heaven.

So where am I in the growing cycle?

Am I in preparation, seeking what is right?

Am I planted firmly in my faith, following the truth?

Am I being cultivated properly, growing in faith by adding spiritual food (regular church attendance, daily prayer, friends, books, music, etc.) which will lead to an abundant harvest?

Am I harvesting, spreading the good news, gathering and mentoring those who are seeking a role model in Christ and spreading new seed to continue the growth cycle?

And regardless of which part of the cycle, am I always feeding myself with His abundant Spirit and the Eucharist—leaving aside the “sweetness” that society tempts us with (materialism); or setting aside the “rotten” untruths of the culture (sexual impurities, gossip, etc)?

Heavenly Father, Praise be your nurturing fulfillment in Your Spirit. Help me to always seek the fulfillment of Your true food (the Eucharist) and to avoid the temptations of the sweet and rotten. Thank you for enriching me with great friends and role models. Thank you for the many blessings You give me and for the richness of faith You have implanted in me. Amen.

Prepare, plant, grow, harvest and be fed abundantly.
Blessings,
Charlotte