"Sing a New Song"

This past Sunday, the message that resonated most significantly with me was the call to glorify the Lord for the wondrous gifts He has given to us. In the First Reading, we were encouraged to "Sing aloud with gladness... raise shouts... proclaim, [and] give praise". Similarly, the Psalm response read: "What marvels the Lord worked for us! Indeed we were glad."

In keeping with this idea, my choir sang a traditional yet lively Processional hymn: "Sing a New Song" by Dan Schutte. For anyone unfamiliar with this hymn, here are some of the words:

Sing a new song unto the Lord

Let your song be sung from mountains high
Sing a new song unto the Lord

Singing alleluia

Yahweh's people dance for joy
O come before the Lord

And play for Him on glad tambourines
And let your trumpet sound

Indeed, we are called to give thanks and praise to our God, for He is truly an amazing, generous, loving God!

First, let us consider what the marvels are that the Lord has worked for us.

What, or who, makes you truly happy?

What, or who, enriches your life? Inspires you? Moves you to be a better person? Gives you a sense of purpose?

I am incredibly blessed to have many wonderful people in my life, including a terrific family and group of friends. I am thankful for them every day. In addition, there have been two major developments for me in the last two years that have completely changed my life, 100% for the better, and have brought to fruition God's plans for me. The first was meeting the man who has since become my fiance. He is my soulmate, the person for whom God created me. Through his loving example, he has inspired me to better myself every day, in every facet of life, and to constantly strive to further develop my relationship with God. I have never known such profound joy as I have since being with this amazing man!

The second significant marvel in my life has been my teaching job. For the past 19 months, I have had the incredible privilege of working with a variety of fantastic students, ranging in age from kindergarten to high school. Where I work, we employ a "whole student" approach; rather than just seeing a subject or skill that needs to be taught, we see each student as a whole person with different academic, social, intellectual, and emotional needs, and we individually tailor our teaching for each one. Working with these tremendous students and seeing them learn and grow, not only academically but personally, has been an invaluable gift. I try my best to remember to pray before each session, asking God to give me the clarity and insight to see how to best help these students, and the patience, perseverance, energy, and positivity to do so in a way that is nurturing and empowering. To see a student light up with confidence and happiness upon learning a new skill or overcoming a difficult challenge is incredibly moving, and I thank God for the opportunity and ability to be a part of these students' amazing journeys.

Yes, we all undoubtedly have many things to be thankful for! Do we make that gratitude known? Do we sing unto the Lord, with glad tambourines and the sound of trumpets? Let us strive to take time each day to thank and glorify God for the many marvels He has given to us. This can be done in many ways. First, we can pray! We can offer a prayer of thanks when we wake up to a beautiful morning with a sunny, cloudless sky. We can say a prayer of Grace at mealtime to thank God for not only the physical nourishment, but also the spiritual nourishment with which we have been provided. We can pray at the end of the day, thanking God for all of the lovely things and amazing people we have encountered.

In addition to prayer, let us also show our thanks and praise unto God in more lively, outward ways! Let us be like the triumphant, joyous music mentioned in the song. Let us spread the Good News of Christ to others, to share with them the love and mercy of our Lord. Let us speak about God, sing about God, and yes, in today's electronic world, even post about God! It might sound silly, but we never know how significant something as seemingly simple as a Facebook status glorifying God can be; we never know who else might be inspired to look at his or her life and find reasons for gratitude and praise.

Let us always cultivate our love for and appreciate of God in our hearts, and in turn, share it outwardly, singing from the highest mountains!

May God bless you today and always!

Karen

"Bridge Over Troubled Water"

This past Sunday's liturgy had a significant theme to it: the need to overcome our dependence on and idealization of material things, and the value of making sacrifices in order to better serve others.

Of course, it is not to say that money and the pursuit of it is entirely bad. Of course, there are certain essentials that we all need, such as food, clothing, and shelter, which we need to earn money to attain. Also, we can all benefit from some fun times out with friends and family, or a movie or sporting event to unwind and relax once in a while. We should certainly appreciate these blessings that we do have!

The danger, however, lies in focusing too much on these material things, to the detriment of that which is more important. When we think too much about what we earn and what we possess, we in turn devalue more important, less quantitative things. Take, for example, someone who works night and day in order to save money for luxurious items, yet misses out on lovely family occasions. We also run the risk of becoming too concerned with others' opinions of our belongings. To be sure, it can be nice to receive compliments on your clothing, car, or TV; however, when gaining the admiration of others for our material possessions becomes an obsession, we lose sight of the truly positive qualities we should hope to be associated with: compassion, humility, kindness, and generosity, to name a few.

Thus far, we have looked at things that we can try to avoid. What positive things, then, are we encouraged to do instead?

As Jesus told the young man and His disciples in the Gospel, we should put away our material goods and be prepared to follow Him. So, let us try to focus on walking down the path that God would want us to, by living in a Christlike way.

Jesus was in every way incredibly generous. He gave freely and willingly, never thinking of Himself but only of the needs of others. He did not see this self-giving as a tiresome, undesirable sacrifice; rather, giving to others was something beautiful, wonderful, and not only desirable, but necessary.

As we have discussed in earlier blogs, making loving sacrifices can seem difficult to us at the time, because it can sometimes involve delayed gratification of own wants or needs. Prayer can be of benefit here. We can ask God to help us be more attuned to the needs of others, to find a more genuine willingness in our hearts to help them, and to be able to cultivate a more humble, selfless attitude. When we can increase our focus on others and decrease our focus on the self, things previously perceived as sacrifices will seem less difficult and more natural and wonderful.

Let us all try to commit ourselves to walking hand in hand with Jesus down the path of life and giving more of ourselves to others. This giving may be monetary, certainly; we can try to give more to the Church and various noble charities, and can donate things like toys, canned goods, and clothing to the less fortunate. We can also be more giving of our time. We can volunteer; there are a multitude of wonderful causes out there that we can be a part of. We can also more freely give our time to our loved ones, particularly when they are experiencing tough times and are in need of a listening ear, a kind smile, and a reassuring hug. Sometimes something as simple as that can make a whole world of difference. 

In keeping with this last idea is the song that my choir sang for our second Communion song this past Sunday: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkel. It is a song that embraces the theme of loving self-giving in a beautiful, moving way. Here are the lyrics:

When you're weary 

Feeling small 

When tears are in your eyes 

I will dry them all 

I'm on your side 

When times get rough 

And friends just can't be found 

Like a bridge over troubled water 

I will lay me down 

Like a bridge over troubled water 

I will lay me down 

When you're down and out 

When you're on the street 

When evening falls so hard 

I will comfort you 

I'll take your part 

When darkness comes 

And pain is all around 

Like a bridge over troubled water 

I will lay me down 

Like a bridge over troubled water 

I will lay me down 

Sail on silver girl, 

Sail on by 

Your time has come to shine 

All your dreams are on their way 

See how they shine 

If you need a friend 

I'm sailing right behind 

Like a bridge over troubled water 

I will ease your mind 

Like a bridge over troubled water 

I will ease your mind

And here is a link to a video where you can listen to this lovely song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjNgn4r6SOA

May the love of Christ give you warmth and light your way, today and always.

Karen

Sin and Self-Awareness: A Positive Approach

This past Sunday's readings focused on the topic of sin. This can often be an unpleasant and uncomfortable topic to consider, as negative feelings often arise when thinking about what one has done wrong. However, the examination of conscience can actually be a positive experience when looked at through a proactive lens. The key when dealing with one's sins is to do so with a genuine and meaningful sense of self-awareness.

When it comes to actively and positively dealing with sin, there are three important and related questions to be asked:

1. What was my sin?

2. What led up to my sin?

3. How can I avoid this sin in the future and instead, replace this negative action with a more positive, loving one?

Let us look at these three questions more closely now.

Acknowledging Our Sins

Sometimes, we do not even realize we have sinned, because we have indeed not committed any of the "big sins". That is, we might look at the 10 Commandments, and as we "go down the list", think, "No, I haven't killed anyone, or stolen anything, or committed adultery. I'm good." Well, it certainly is good to have avoided committing these acts. However, as a local priest once said, the 10 Commandments are not the only guidelines for how we should and should not behave; they are merely a starting point. We must also be conscious of the "little sins" that may begin to pervade our lives.

"Little sins" may be things like speaking negatively about someone, expressing anger and frustration at a loved one, or failing to lend a hand to someone else because it isn't convenient for you at the time. It may involve being prideful and working to take credit for something, perhaps at another's expense. It may involve putting material things at a priority, telling a "white lie", or refusing to grant forgiveness to someone seeking it.

The "little sins" may seem rather harmless in isolation; one might think, "No one was really hurt by it." However the problem with little sins is that they can build up and, over time, become habitual. When "smaller" sins become habitual, we grow accustomed to them and accept them as normal. In turn, they  extend themselves and grow into bigger sins. For example, if a little white lie here and there becomes more and more commonplace, it becomes easier to lie about bigger and more important things, and then the pattern of dishonesty proliferates even more.

It is easy to spot our "big sins" because they are so noticeable; it is not so easy to recognize our little sins. We can think of sins as snowflakes. A "big sin" such as killing someone can be thought of as a huge blizzard that arrives with a bang and builds up quickly. This is certainly hard to ignore. On the other hand, "little sins" are like the tiny, wispy snowflakes that arrive with a whimper and fall slowly. We do not think much of this type of snow; "It's only a dusting. Everything will be fine." However, if this "insignificant" snow continues to fall for an extended period, before we know it, it will accumulate and cover up our grass, trees, roads, and so on, just the same as that big blizzard did.

Let us try to always be cognizant of both our "big" and "little" sins, before they start to build up to the point where we are buried by them.

Factors Precipitating Sin

Once we have acknowledged the things we have done wrong, it is helpful to examine what might have led us to sin. This is not to say that we are looking for someone or something else to blame; rather, we can look for internal factors that may have combined to make sin more likely.

By and large, negative emotions and cognitions can set the stage for sin. Anger, frustration, desperation, fear, jealousy, or embarrassment, just to name a few, can all play in a role in our behaving in ways we normally wouldn't.

Consider a student (let's call her Student A) who sees other kids picking on someone (Student B). Student A likely knows that this behaviour is wrong. However, Student A may be fearful that if she doesn't 'go along with the crowd' in being mean to Student B, she too will be ostracized; as such, Student A chooses to make fun of Student B, too. Fear of social exclusion or ridicule can be a powerful trigger for making poor decisions.

Similarly, feelings of stress and frustration can often lead one to say things one shouldn't. These feelings can be overwhelming at times, and tend to bubble over to the point where one vents one's anger in another person's direction, whether or not this other person had anything to do with it. In one's stress and anger, which are strong self-focused feelings, one might not even notice the hurt the other person experiences as a result. This is an unfortunate but rather commonplace situation.

As I have said, however, determining the precipitating factors of sin is not meant as a means of justification for our wrongdoings. One should not think, "Oh, I was feeling stressed and anxious about work, so I'm off the hook for snapping at my brother." Rather, we should use this self-awareness as a means for avoiding the repetition of our mistakes. Herein lies facet #3 of our sin self-awareness.

Replacing Sin with More Loving Actions

Once we have determined the areas in which we have struggled, and the internal factors involved, it is time for the third, and, I'd argue, the most important step: to actively work to avoid making the same mistakes again and to instead choose to act in a more Christlike way.

For example, once the student realizes that her mean social behaviour stems from a fear of others' opinions of her, that student can try to work on building her self-confidence and independence, so that if a similar situation arises, she will feel better prepared to stand up for what is right, rather than taking the easier route of joining the crowd. Likewise, once the person in our example understands that he lets his work stress spill over into his personal life, he can work to deal with this stress in more proactive ways. For instance, the next time he is in a situation where he is already in a bad mood and hears his brother say something 'annoying', he can take the "take a deep breath and count to ten before responding" approach. It sounds simple and perhaps a little cheesy, but it is effective!

All in all, when we have sinned, we can use these three facets of self-awareness to help us turn the feelings of shame we may experience into a positive, loving commitment to do better in the future.

Let me leave you with two songs for your listening pleasure: "Heaven Help Us All" by Stevie Wonder and "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas. My choir did these songs for our second Communion hymn and second Recessional hymn respectively. Both discuss the topic of sin, albeit in different ways; "Heaven Help Us All" mentions several different types of sin, such as racial discrimination and violence, for which one might need forgiveness; "Dust in the Wind" describes the folly of putting material goods on a pedestal. Enjoy!

"Heaven Help Us All" - Stevie Wonder

"Dust in the Wind" - Kansas


May God bless you today and always!
Karen