The season of Lent calls us to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.  It is a time for growth and discipline.  It is a time of repentance and renewal.  Recently, I read something that really struck me.  It said Lent is a time to become recognizable.  We should be recognizable as people who have spent time with Jesus.  Do others recognize us as people who have spent time with Jesus?

There are different ways we can aim to become more like Jesus.  Spending time reading scripture, especially the Gospels, allowing the words to permeate our minds and allowing Jesus to speak to us is essential.  Diving into scripture allows us to learn who Jesus is, and to understand and know what He would do, so that we can strive to do the same.  Today’s gospel passage from Matthew tells us that we need to serve Him in the people we encounter and that we will be judged based on this.  Matthew 25:40 says “And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’”  Serving others is one way we become recognizable as someone who follows Christ.

Sitting in Jesus’ presence and going to mass are other ways to spend time with Him.  Letting Jesus speak to our hearts in prayer, and receiving graces from mass, receiving Him in the eucharist allow us to become more like Jesus.  We cannot know Jesus or become more like Him if we do not spend time encountering Him in the eucharist.

Whatever we are choosing to do this Lent, we must remember to continue to learn how to be more like Christ.  And this is not just the goal of Lent, but the goal of our whole lives.  My prayer for each of us today is that we would become recognizable as people who know and love Jesus.    

Over the weekend, this is a phrase I spent time praying with: “through the deserts where our souls starve for your presence- lead us in your ways, O Lord.”  Now that we are in the season of Lent, it is even more fitting.  This prayer and desire is that Jesus would show us the places in our lives where our souls are starving for His presence.

Each of us has a longing for God.  For many, this longing is not yet realized.  For some, this longing has been forgotten.  There is a place within our hearts and lives that only Jesus can fill, because this is how we were made.  And each of us finds ourselves in the desert at various times, a place where we must recognize our lack of faith, trust, and love.  It is in the desert where we experience starvation and thirst, a longing and desire for more.  What matters in those moments is how we respond.  Do we satisfy the hunger and thirst with Jesus?  In our broken and weak humanity, we often try to satisfy our hunger and thirst with everything except Jesus.  But everything and everyone who is not Jesus cannot fill the place that is meant for Him.

Jesus walked through the desert for forty days.  Will we follow Him there to acknowledge the areas where we need to let Him in?  Will we take time to recognize the areas that are dry and barren?

Sitting in adoration, Jesus fully present, my soul has experienced being fed and filled by His presence.  This time spent in a chapel brings out an acknowledgement of the desert areas in my life and the ways in which I need to know and love Jesus more deeply.  As I sat there, I prayed that each of the men on the retreat, and everyone,  would walk through the desert, recognizing that their souls are starving for the presence of Jesus and allow Him to lead them.

Jesus, you make yourself fully present to us.  We have the gift of being able to sit before you, to receive you at mass, and be filled by your love.  Satisfy our starving souls and lead us to walk with you through the desert in these forty days and always.

This past weekend, there was a men’s retreat going on at my parish.  Saturday afternoon, I was dropping something off.  I walked back outside and it was so nice outside that I decided to leave my vehicle at the parish and walk home.  I knew I’d be back shortly to go the chapel, so I would just walk back then.  When I was walking, I thought to myself, “the sun is shining and it’s a beautiful day!”  44 degrees and sunny in February is unusual and it felt almost healing after a winter that has seemed long enough already.  And then I realized that yes, the Son is shining, and it’s a beautiful day and a beautiful weekend!

The CEW retreat that was going on was evidence of the Son shining.  And after I had this thought, I continued to reflect on this as I spent time in the adoration chapel late Saturday night.

In the main space where the retreat was happening, team members were allowing themselves to be used through their service and commitment, helping candidates and each other have an encounter with Jesus.  And in the opposite corner of the building, in a small chapel, Jesus was present and had been since the start of the weekend.

As I sat in the adoration chapel and reflected, this was my prayer- All of this is for you Lord, to allow You to be glorified.  Thank you Jesus for being here, for working through each of the team members, for meeting the candidates wherever they’re at, and for drawing each person here closer to yourself.  Let them feel You shining in their lives.  Holy Spirit, fill each of the men here with the warmth of your love and set their hearts on fire.

This weekend was a beautiful reminder of how the Son shines.  Just as we are drawn to and healed by warm sunshine on a February day, when the winter has seemed long, we can have this experience even more so with Jesus.  This weekend surely allowed people to be drawn to and healed by the shining of the Son!  May each one of us recognize Jesus shining in our lives today and always! 

Recently I was talking to my brother, who is in his last semester of college, about transition and change that comes after college graduation.  He’s actively involved in Catholic campus ministry and is not looking forward to that ending.  I remember being in that same boat.  You can’t really prepare for the transition from campus ministry and all it entails back to parish life.  You go from a strong vibrant and active community of people your age that has strongly impacted you back to the parish you’ve known and grown up in, (but which has also impacted you).  While this is not a bad thing, it is a big adjustment.  There is a sadness that follows as you leave behind one community you’ve grown to be a part of to go back to another.  What makes all the difference is how people welcome you.

When you are part of a parish that has almost a non-existent young adult presence, it is a big adjustment.  But it doesn’t mean that community cannot be found.  Late summer after I had graduated, I sought out early morning adoration at my parish.  Afterwards, heading out to my car, two women who were part of the post-adoration Bible study group, followed me outside and invited me to join them in the basement to be part of this group.  They made me feel welcome.  And they did the same thing the week after that, and then the adoration and Bible study became a weekly routine.  There may not have been anyone else there in their twenties, thirties, or even forties, but it was community that was much needed at the time.  Now in my late twenties, not much has changed.  Between that group and another Bible Study on Tuesday evenings, everyone is old enough to be my parents or grandparents.  But sharing the same faith is what connects everyone.  And there is much encouragement, inspiration, and wisdom to be found.

How we welcome anyone is important, no matter what their age is.  How do we reach out to others, as Jesus would do?  How do we recognize the image of God in each and every single person who is part of our parishes, whether they are involved or not?  How do we personally invite others into something we are a part of?  While our faith is not about feelings, how we make other people feel in various moments can leave a huge and lasting impact.

Young or old, we are all part of the Church now, at this moment.  People often say that young people are the future of The Church, which is true, but they are also the Church now.  My hope is that each of us can reflect on how how we can welcome others into our community, because Jesus gave us other people for a reason.  None of us can do this on our own.

About two weeks ago, when I was at work and it was approaching 5:00 PM, looking out the window, I noticed that it was not pitch black at that time, like it had been for weeks before.  It was a little bit lighter outside.  I don’t know if it was the first day that 5:00 was a little bit lighter or if it had already been that way for a few days, but as I walked out to my vehicle, it was noticeably different.  The sky still wasn’t super light at that time, but that little bit of light was enough for me to notice.  It was a reminder to me that the smallest bit of light can make a difference.  We can be a light in this dark world and make a difference.

The world is filled with darkness.  Wherever you look, it seems like darkness is everywhere.  But Jesus’ light is so much greater than the darkness.  And we are all called to allow the light of Christ to shine within us.  In the Gospel for this coming Sunday, Jesus tells His disciples, “you are the light of the world.  A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden” (Matthew 5:14).  We have the ability to let the light of Christ shine through us by living out our faith.  Do we allow His light to shine through us or do we try to conceal it, in order to not stand out, or to hide our faith?

We receive the light of Christ at our baptism, with the mission to keep the light burning.  But, we can let things get in the way.  By attending mass, receiving the eucharist, going to confession, building a life of prayer, doing charitable works, reading scripture, we can keep the light burning.  We must keep our eyes on Jesus, remain vigilant, surround ourselves with a strong faith community, and be open and ready to share our faith.  Christ can work through us.

Each day, I hope and pray that I can be Christ’s light, even if it seems like the tiniest bit of light in the dark world.  The light, no matter how seemingly small, will shine in the darkness.  Because Jesus is greater and more powerful than all of the darkness.  And we have the ability to bring that light to the world around us.  My prayer for today is that we would all shine the light of Jesus, allowing others to see Him.

Last week at work, someone I work with used a swear word when talking about something to our team, then quickly apologized to just me for her language.  Co-workers have often shared with me their amazement at how I never swear and almost every time one of them uses that kind of language around me, an apology to me follows after.  Through these experiences, I’ve been reminded how what you say or don’t say matters and people take notice.  Words are powerful.  Is the language we use reflecting God in the way it should?

Our culture has normalized vulgar and inappropriate language.  From movies and TV shows, to music, and just casually in everyday life around us, people have largely become desensitized to this type of degrading language, being quick to use it and not even blinking an eye upon hearing it.  How often do people throw around the “f word” as if it’s an ordinary word?  How often do people use God’s name in vain like it means nothing?  Hearing these words and phrases should jolt us out of complacency.

It is unbelievable to see and hear the way people speak to each other and about each other.  All you have to do is open up social media and spend a few minutes scrolling to see the awful and cruel way people speak to each other.  Comments and posts are filled with extreme name calling, the use of the “f word”, and other derogatory language.  Unfortunately, this language is used outside of social media too.  An example in my own life that comes to mind immediately is the times spent praying and walking in front of Planned Parenthood and the countless people who drove by, screaming derogatory messages angrily out their windows.  It always did sting when this happened.

There is never a good reason to use this sort of language.  God calls every single one of us to greater heights.  There are countless words in the English language that can be used to express ourselves in an appropriate way.  Each and every single person is made in the image and likeness of God, so the way we speak and the words we exchange with others matters.  Words that are vulgar and inappropriate have the ability to defile and violate the dignity of the person.

Being human, we can easily say things we regret or words we didn’t mean and that’s where God’s mercy and forgiveness come in, but I think swearing is a whole other category that is completely avoidable.  We have the ability to intentionally choose what we say, and we can avoid carelessly using God’s name in vain, the “f” word or other similar words.

Through our words, we should speak love, speak life, and speak truth.  God has given us the ability to speak, so we should avoid those words that violate God and others.  When you avoid this type of language, people do notice.  And you will never know how it might inspire someone to make a change or to at least stop and think.  My prayer for today is that our words would be a reflection of God within us.

About once a month at work, I spend the day working at one of our interim housing sites (shelters).  Most of the office staff are assigned one day each month in order to help cover the hours of the normal work day, before the housing staff members come in to cover their evening and overnight shifts at the sites.  But, for the most part otherwise, I do not have any interaction with the public or clients we serve.  My regular everyday work involves being in an office, working in spreadsheets, running reports, analyzing data, reviewing budgets and spending trends and projections, reading grant contracts and manuals, reviewing policies and procedures, and referencing the Code of Federal Regulations, ensuring contract compliance.  This is my ordinary and everyday job.  The few times I interact with clients at work is something different and out of the ordinary, which can seem more exciting.  Thinking about this made me reflect on the different seasons in the Church.  Now that we are back in ordinary time once again, it can seem mundane and boring compared to the other seasons, but it is where most of life is lived, and we can find a lot of beauty and goodness here if we are looking.

Ordinary time is my favorite liturgical season.  It takes up the largest chunk of time in the liturgical calendar.  And it doesn’t appear to be too exciting.  There are no big holidays and it doesn’t really include periods of intense spiritual practices.  Yet, I’ve always liked how simple it seemed; how ordinary it appeared.  But simple and ordinary does not mean unimportant.  In fact, Ordinary time does not have its name due to being ordinary in the sense that we know it.  Ordinary comes from the Latin word ordinalis, meaning a numbered order.  Even though the name of the season is referring to weeks that are numbered, I think we can still think about Ordinary time as a time that is like regular everyday lives.

The ordinary moments of our days can have a huge impact whether we realize it or not. The conversations we have, the people we interact with, the schedules we follow, the events we go to, the work we do, the text messages we send are all seemingly ordinary things that make up most of our days.  But these very things may be what inspires someone, changes something for someone, or impacts someone.  On the flip side, we can be inspired, changed, and impacted by the people around us too.  Jesus is in the ordinary moments, in the midst of our day-to-day lives.  We just need to look.

In Ordinary time, the focus is on the teachings and ministry of Jesus.  And it is a time that I think we can learn and grow a lot.  It can be a time where we learn how to walk more closely with Jesus, especially in the ordinary moments, where nothing seemingly exciting is happening.  It’s where we can learn how to live more like Him, contemplating the Gospels and striving to follow His ways.  It is when we can work on being consistent in prayer and showing up, even when things seem dry, or when we might not feel like it.  This time is a time to focus on the slow and steady growth that most of life entails.  We can work to order our lives more towards Christ.

This liturgical season we are in does not appear grand or exciting, as it is the time outside of the major liturgical seasons.  Our lives too are mostly made up of ordinary moments, between big exciting opportunities and experiences that we have at times.  Day in and day out, our lives are made up of routine, average, tasks and conversations.  But these moments can stretch us and challenge us to keep growing and keep showing up.  My prayer for each of us is that we would see every day as an opportunity to encounter Christ in the midst of the ordinary!

In today’s Gospel (1/12), we read about the call of the first disciples.  The one part that caught my attention when reading the passage is, “Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mark 1:17).  These words from Jesus have two parts.  Jesus asks His disciples to follow him, and also tells them that He will make them witnesses to draw others to Him.  This line seems to speak to the fact that our faith may be personal, but it should not be private.

Following Jesus is a big first step.  But we cannot stop at that.  Once we follow Him, we must be willing and ready to share our faith and our experiences of Jesus with others.  A faith that is not lived out and shared is a faith that is dead. If we have a deep faith and a strong relationship with Jesus that is great for us. But if we never share it, it doesn’t really mean much.

We may often hear different reasons people have for not sharing their faith.  We hear things like, “I don’t want to force my religion on anyone”, “my faith is something private not to be shared”, “I don’t want to offend anyone”, “it’s not my job”, among various other reasons.  But, just as in the Gospel passage from Mark, when Jesus tells His disciples He will make them fishers of men, we too are called to evangelize.

There are many reasons that Catholics are required to go to mass at a minimum of once a week.  People often believe they can just pray on their own in place of going to mass.  It goes back to the idea that our faith is personal, but not private.  It is not individual, but rather, something communal.  Each of us is part of the Body of Christ and our faith is strengthened when we join together as one community, expressing our faith together.

We are all called to evangelize, to draw others to Christ.  Evangelization often sounds scary and intimidating.  But us sharing our faith doesn’t have to be in big and seemingly profound ways.  The small day to day moments, through our words and actions, can be enough to make an impact.  My prayer for each of us today is that in our daily decision to follow Jesus, we would allow Him to make us fishers of men, willing to share our faith with the people around us.

In today’s (1/6) Gospel passage from Mark, we read about the miracle of Jesus feeding 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish. There are a lot of messages we can get from this passage. Just as Jesus takes the small amount of food and multiplies it, He can do the same in our lives. Our seemingly small and few gifts, talents, and our amount of time, when given to the Lord can be multiplied and used for a great purpose.

We can often look at the world around us, feeling quite small and insignificant, wondering, how can I possibly make a difference? But when we have a servant mindset and heart and offer our gifts to God, He can use us and bless and multiply our efforts.

One of our tasks here on earth is to build up God’s kingdom. We cannot do that if we are not giving God our time, resources, and gifts. It can be easy to want to selfishly hold onto these things. After all, our resources sometimes seem limited, our gifts not good enough, and our time too short. But God has given us what we need and wants us to give them back to Him in order to serve and love others through Him.

We must trust that God has given us what we need and that He can use us to make a difference. He takes what seems small and insignificant and turns it into what is abundant and overflowing, just as He did with the five loaves and two fishes to feed thousands. My prayer for today is that each of us would place ourselves in the hands of God and trust that He will multiply our small offerings for great things!

Recently, an extended family member greeted me by confidently saying, “Hi, Abbey!  Merry Christmas!”  This wasn’t the first time this family member called me by my sister’s name.  As this family member has been part of the family for more than 28 years, since before I was born, it seems kind of strange to get my name wrong repeatedly. But this occurrence caused me to think about names and their significance.  Our names are our titles and what identifies us for life.  God calls each of us by name.

Our names are sacred.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “God calls each one by name. Everyone’s name is sacred. The name is the icon of the person. It demands respect as a sign of the dignity of the one who bears it (CCC 2158).  God knows each one of us individually.  He has chosen us, calls us, and invites each one of us into a personal relationship with Him.  It can be easy to overlook the fact that He calls us each by our unique names.  We are more than a part of a generic crowd or group.  To be set apart and recognized individually is something special.

While it seems small, it is significant when we use other people’s names and when people use our names.  Whether it is when writing a written message to someone via text, email, or letter, or when speaking to a person, it makes a big difference.  It feels as if you are known by someone when they use your name.  It feels more personal.  Now think not just about the people around you using your name, but God Himself using your name too.  That is an incredible thought.  The God of the universe calls you and I by name.  How do we respond?

On the surface, names can seem insignificant.  But in reality, they play a huge role in our lives, as the name we are given by our parents at birth is with us for life.  Our names identify who we are.  They are more than just a label, but as the Catechism says, they are an icon of us and they signify our dignity from God.  My prayer for you today is that you would recognize that God knows you and is calling you by name!