"Glory and Praise to Our God"

Hello, everyone!

It has been a long while since my last post, but there is a very happy reason behind my absence. In just a few short days, I will be getting married! The last couple of months have been happily busy with my shower, moving into a new home, and preparing for my upcoming wedding. I apologize for not posting in so long, and I wanted to be sure to get in a quick post before my wedding.

Today, my choir sang "Glory and Praise to Our God" as our processional hymn, and this song really spoke to me because it effectively captures the spirit of effervescent joy and gratitude that is burning inside my heart!

Here are some of the lyrics:

Glory and praise to our God

Who alone gives light to our days

Many are the blessings He bears

To those who trust in His ways

We, the daughters and sons of Him

Who built the valleys and plains

Praise the wonders our God has done

In every heart that sings!

Many are the blessings of God indeed! And great the joy within the song in my heart!

Around Christmastime of 2010, I prayed to God very fervently, asking Him to help me find the man I was meant to be with, the man for whom I had been created, and to help me recognize him as such. At this time, I was lonely, emotionally stagnant, and lacking much direction in my life.

Within two weeks of making these heartfelt pleas, my prayers were indeed answered. I met the man who would go on to become my fiance, and my life would never be the same! All my experiences, both the highs and lows of my life, suddenly made sense, as I realized that every step I had taken in my life had led me in the direction of my beautiful soulmate. Not only that, but God had been (and continues to be) guiding me, with His incredible wisdom and love, every step of the way.

Being with my fiance has helped me to understand and embody the true meanings of joy, gratitude, love, and faith. My outlook on life has become more positive; my work ethic has gotten stronger; my efforts for self-improvement have deepened; and most importantly, my faith has strengthened and deepened in ways I never knew possible.

To be partaking in the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony with this man, my favourite person in the world, and to be joined, heart and soul for eternity, is the most beautiful, joyous, profound gift I could ever be given on this Earth, and I thank God every single day!

My life is certainly an example of the notion in the song that when we trust in God, and surrender our lives to Him, heart and soul, we will experience the most glorious blessings imaginable!

I would love for you to share some of your experiences! What are some of the amazing blessings that God has bestowed upon you lately? What is making you happy? And how can we share this happiness with others?

May God bless you, today and always!

Karen

"A Pure Heart Create For Me, O God"

Today's Gospel reading was a very moving and thought-provoking one. In it, a woman caught in the act of adultery is about to be stoned; when told of this, however, Jesus says that he who is without sin can be the one to cast the first stone. 

In other words, as we are all sinners, we do not have the right to judge others. None of us is perfect, and while our lives, beliefs, and actions vary greatly, the fact of the matter is, we are all children of God, flawed, but loved. We are called to remember this, and to apply it in our actions and attitudes towards others, not just during Lent, but always.

Something I have struggled with in the past is having negative thoughts and feelings about those who purposely and perpetually reject God and Jesus and seek to denigrate Christians. I have felt angry and offended by such attitudes and behaviours. However, as Jesus reminds us in the Gospel, we should not feel anger and contempt for others, no matter their actions. Instead, we should feel compassion.

The ability to replace contempt with compassion is something for which I have prayed to God on more than one occasion. God has helped me with this by helping me realize that those who have unfortunately distanced themselves from God's love are missing out on a truly wonderful experience. We as devout Catholics can attest to the astoundingly amazing feeling of God's love and grace. During difficult times, we can take comfort in this love and in our faith that God will provide for us. During happy times, we can cultivate gratitude and therefore joy unto the Lord, thus multiplying our happiness exponentially. Yes, being enveloped in the glory of God's love is a marvellous thing that is difficult to put into words, and I feel compassion for those who sadly cannot or choose not to be a part of this love.

We have discussed in previous posts about the positive things we can do to help others, even those we don't know, such as works of charity, prayer, and humble sacrifice. To take it a step further, let us strive to cultivate a genuine, humble, peaceful sense of compassion and caring for everyone, even if their attitudes and actions are not in line with our own. We can, as our seasonal Lenten Psalm tells us, ask God to grant us a pure heart.

Here are some excerpts from Psalm 51.

Refrain:

Have mercy on us Lord, for we have sinned

Verse 1:

Have mercy on me God, in your kindness

In your compassion, blot out my offense

O wash me more and more from my guilt

And cleanse me from my sin

Verse 3:

A pure heart create for me, O God

Put a steadfast spirit within me

Do not cast me away from your presence

Nor deprive me of your holy spirit

We see in this Psalm that asking for God's forgiveness and help in avoiding sin is just the first step in a true reconciliation. In addition to rejecting the negative, we are also called to embrace the positive; that is, we are called to become more pure of heart and to follow Jesus's example of love, charity, and mercy. We know from the Gospel that His love, charity, and mercy were not reserved for a select few, for those who were always above reproach; rather, Jesus loved and made time to see and help everyone. Let us try to follow in those amazing footsteps!  

It is not to say that we should ignore or accept certain behaviours that we know to be wrong. Rather, we are called, as my priest reminded us today, to "hate the sin, but love the sinner". I think these are wonderful words to live by. Emptying one's heart of negative attitudes and feelings and replacing them with love, compassion, mercy, gratitude, and generosity makes one's heart so light and more ready to give, forgive, and grow more fully in Christ's love.

Let us end with two more excerpts from two other songs that my choir sang today. The first is from "We Are the Body of Christ", a hymn written by the friend of a previous pastor, and the second is from "Get Together" by the Youngbloods.

We are the hands of Christ

We are the hands of Christ

We will lift up our hands

We will tear down the walls

We are the hands of Christ

-----

Come on, people now

Smile on your brother

Everybody get together

Try to love one another right now

Finally, let us all take a moment to pray in thanksgiving for our new pope, Pope Francis, and to ask God to bless him and help him to lead our Church in the most Christlike manner possible.

May God bless you, today and always!

- Karen

"We Are Christ For One Another"

In Sunday's Homily, our priest spoke about a major goal of ours as Catholics: for everyone to go to Heaven. 

Jesus Christ made the ultimate sacrifice of love when He laid down His life for us on the cross, in order that we might achieve salvation. However, there are many who willfully reject this loving gift, or otherwise take it for granted. Further, even the most devout Catholic is not without sin; none of us are perfect. We unfortunately all make mistakes and do things we shouldn't from time to time. As such, we must continually work to make sure that Jesus's beautiful gift has not been in vain. We must, as yesterday's Recessional hymn says, be "Christ for one another". Let us examine some of the songs lyrics.

We are called, we are chosen

We are Christ for one another

We are promised to tomorrow

While we are for Him today

We are sign, we are wonder

We are sower, we are seed

We are harvest, we are hunger

We are question, we are creed

Then where can we stand justified?

In what can we believe?

In no one else but Christ who suffered

Nothing more than Christ who rose

Who was justice for the poor

Who was rage against the night

Who was hope for peaceful people

Who was light

This song emphasizes that Jesus lived a life of loving and helping others, as particularly exemplified by His death and Resurrection. We are in turn called, the song explains, to live now in a Christlike way. We are called to light the way for others, bring about justice, and fight against the darkness of evil. We are called to help others, even if it means sacrifice or even suffering on our part.

As we have discussed in a previous post, sometimes showing love for someone involves some degree of sacrifice. We may have to give up our free time, money, or other resources to help someone in need. Perhaps there was something else we had planned on doing with our time, or something we had hoped to buy with that extra spending money; however, we are called to put the needs of others ahead of our own, so sometimes we have to do without. However, when we truly love someone and genuinely want to help, it doesn't really feel like doing without, does it?

It is not too difficult to find ways to help those around us. But how can we "be Christ" for those whom we have never met? How can we help people in other parts of the world, and even those who have gone before us?

I am currently reading a wonderful book about Mary's apparitions in Fatima, Portugal in 1917. It is entitled "Fatima For Today: The Urgent Marian Message of Hope", by Fr. Andrew Apostoli. One of the predominant themes in the book, as derived from Mary's words during those apparitions, is that we are called to make self-sacrifices, in order to make reparations for sins that have offended the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and at the same time, to work towards the conversion and salvation of souls. 

The book explains that when we make any loving sacrifice, be it big or small, we can offer it up to God in prayer. When we make acts of love, especially if they are difficult in some way for us, we can ask God to accept them as a sign of love for Him and for humanity.

The same can be done in times when we must endure physical or emotional suffering. We can lovingly offer up our pain to God, and ask Him to help us get through it with the grace of the Holy Spirit.

With fervent prayer and reverent reflection, we can begin to see our times of difficulty as opportunities to help others and show love for God, which in turn can potentially make them seem less unpleasant. This is not an easy task, to be sure, and not a change of perspective that can happen immediately. However, God is there to help! We can pray to God for greater strength, clarity, insight, patience, and perseverance, and have faith that that which we ask for genuinely, lovingly, and unselfishly, He will grant us.

Let us consider, then, the many ways in which we can be "Christ for one another" in the coming days, months, and years. I would love to hear your thoughts on the subject - feel free to leave a comment! It would be great to get a discussion going.

May God bless you today and always!

Karen

"Lift Up Your Hearts to the Lord"

A predominant theme in this past week's readings is that of willingly and gladly surrendering oneself to God. In the First Reading (Isaiah 6.1-2, 3-8) we were given a wonderful example of this. When Isaiah hears God ask, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?", he replies "Here am I; send me!"

Further, in the Gospel (Luke 5.1-11), we heard of the Apostles' efforts in their fishing boats. After a long time without success, Jesus helped them catch an abundance of fish. More importantly, however, Jesus told them, "from now on, you will be catching people", and to "not be afraid" about this challenge.

Between these two readings were the Psalm, which encouraged us to sing the praises of the Lord, and the Second Reading, in which we heard of the importance of spreading the Good News of God's love and Jesus's sacrifice on the cross for us. We can see, then, that spreading the Word of God is very much a part of our call as Catholics, and that we are to do so with great joy and positivity.

In keeping with these themes, my choir sang "Lift Up Your Hearts" as our processional hymn. It is an upbeat song that is a great way to start off the Mass. Here are some of the words:

Lift up your hearts to the Lord

Praise God's gracious mercy

Sing out your joy to the Lord

Whose love is enduring

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the Earth

Praise the glory of His name

Say to God, "How wondrous your works!

How glorious your name!"

We are indeed called to propagate the faith and spread the Good News of God's love for us. In order to do so to the best of our ability, there are a few things we can do first within ourselves. Recall that in a previous post, we discussed that before we "renew the face of the earth", we should first try to "renew the depths of our hearts", thus better equipping ourselves to truly and completely do God's will.

One major thing, as has been discussed in several blog posts already, is to cultivate greater gratitude, which in turn cultivates greater joy and peace. As the above song says, let us contemplate God's many wondrous works! Let us spend time reflecting on and rejoicing in the many wonderful works God has done in our lives, and the many beautiful gifts - spiritual, physical, and social - that He has given to us. When we can fully recognize and appreciate our many blessings, our hearts become lighter, stronger, and more prepared to passionately spread this joy and gratitude with others.

Also, one very important and significant way to "lift up our hearts" and "sing out our joy" is to strive to participate more actively and meaningfully in the Mass. 

It is a psychological principle that when we have done something many, many times and are thus completely familiar with how to do it, the process becomes automatic. When something is automatic, it can also be rather mindless - that is, we can do it without thinking about it. For example, when you have been driving for a while, you no longer need to think about which pedal is the gas and which is the brake; your foot just "knows" where to go. Similarly, we all likely sang our national anthem day in and day out when we were in school. Being so routinized, we could sing the words without having to think much about them. 

The same thing can happen in Mass. Other than in special seasons, such as Lent, the songs and especially the spoken responses are, for the most part, very much the same week after week, year after year. We become very familiar with the words that are to be said, and as a result, it can be easy for their recitation to be done with mindless automaticity. This is a problem I used to have. I would say the responses and prayers but at the same time, be thinking about what I was going to make for lunch, or homework I had to complete, and so on. Spiritual reading, prayer, and mindful practice have helped me to not do this anymore. Of course, I am not perfect, and I do slip up once in a while, but I work very hard to stay focused on what I am singing or saying to the best of my ability.

Let us all commit ourselves to being more mindful of what we are really saying when we recite the Holy Holy, Memorial Acclamation, and so on. Really, truly try to reflect on the words and their surface and latent meanings. The same thing goes when we are singing along with the hymns.

When we more fully comprehend and embrace what we are saying or singing at Mass, we can truly "shout with joy" and express that conviction by speaking and singing in a loud, clear, passionate voice. Our hearts and spirits can be invigorated, and we will get so much more out of the Mass. Then, we are better prepared to go out into the world and share what we have learned and experienced with others.

On a different note, we were all likely quite shocked and perhaps upset at the news of the Pope's resignation. Let us "lift up our hearts" in fervent prayer to the Lord for the Pope and for the positive future of our Church! 

May God bless you, today and always!

Karen

"I Trust in Him, and Have No Fear"

Courage. Strength. Faith. These three values go very much hand in hand, and their significance was a major theme of this past Sunday's readings. In the First Reading, we heard that though the path down which we travel may be full of roadblocks and resistance, we must be brave and persist, and cultivate strength of heart, soul, and will. In the Gospel, we witnessed Jesus personify this concept. Jesus knew that many did not believe that He was the true Son of God and our Saviour, and some were very forceful in their opposition to His goals and teachings. However, Jesus never backed down; He always persisted in spreading the loving Word of God, gently and humbly, yet also strongly and authoritatively.

Yes, we will all encounter some form of difficulty or resistance when we strive to do good and to spread the will and Word of God. We may face doubters, disbelief, and perhaps even ridicule. But, we are called to be strong, and we can derive this strength from our faith in the goodness of God. He will protect us, and He will not lead us astray. From any darkness, He will bring us light! From any coldness, He will bring us warmth. From any harm, He will bring us healing.

Let us strive to take courage in that knowledge!

In keeping with this theme, we sang two fun and uplifting hymns as our Processional and Recessional hymns: Blest Be the Lord and Yahweh. Here are some wonderful excerpts from each song.

Blest Be the Lord

Blest be the Lord, blest be the Lord

The God of mercy, the God who saves

I shall not fear

The dark of night

Nor the arrow that flies by day

I need not shrink before the terrors of the night

Nor stand alone before the light of day

No harm shall come to me, no arrow strike me down

No evil settle in my soul

Yahweh

Yahweh is the God of my salvation

I trust in Him, and have no fear

I sing of the joy which His love gives to me

And I draw deeply from the springs of His great kindness

Open our eyes to the wonder of this moment

The beginning of another day

As you can see, both songs not only extol the virtue of finding strength in one's faith in God, but also take it a step further and suggest that even in difficult times, we can find ways to cultivate joy and gratitude. This concept has been quite prevalent in my blog posts of late, and I think it is quite important and helpful to keep in mind, especially in tough times.

Now then, what we are called to do with our faith-inspired strength and courage?

We have been given many suggestions in the Liturgies of the previous two Sundays.

On January 20, we were encouraged to be "moved by the Spirit" - to let the Holy Spirit abound in our hearts and be inspired by it to take action to help others.

That Sunday, we sang Everyone Moved By the Spirit. Here are the two short verses from this song.

Come, O Spirit of Jesus

Come in the power of His name

Renew the depths of our hearts

Come, O Spirit of Jesus

Send forth the power of Your love

Renew the face of the earth

I think that the ordering of these two verses is significant. Before we can 'renew the face of the earth', we must first renew our own hearts! 

Through prayer, reflection, reading, and positive social interaction with others, we can continuously learn and grow and find ourselves more spiritually invigorated. We can find ourselves feeling closer to God, more attuned to His loving direction, and more ready to do His will. When this happens, we are better equipped to go out into the world and make a positive difference for others in a genuine and meaningful way.

On January 27th, we were given further suggestions and explanations as to what we can do. We were told that we have all been given unique gifts of the Holy Spirit; no one is exactly the same, and therefore, no one has exactly the same path to walk throughout life. We are called to discern what our special gifts are, to develop them as much as possible, and then use them to the fullest for the service of others.

The song You Have Anointed Me gave us some good suggestions for ways to help others. Here are the lyrics to this lovely song.

To bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the broken heart

You have anointed me

To proclaim liberty to captives, release to prisoners

You have anointed me

Your spirit, O God, is upon me

You have anointed me

To announce a year of favour, to comfort those who mourn

You have anointed me

To give to them the oil of gladness, and share a mantle of joy

You have anointed me

Your spirit, O God, is upon me

You have anointed me

As you can see, there are many, many different ways to use our God-given gifts to help others. Those mentioned above are just a few suggestions.

To reiterate the main theme for this week, using these gifts may not always be easy. We may encounter a variety of challenges and difficulties along the way. However, we can take solace in the knowledge that God is always there at our side, helping us along the way. Let us pray to God to grant us what I have come to think of as the 3 Ps: Patience, Perseverance, and Positivity. If we can cultivate these three virtues, I believe we can find true strength to accomplish an unlimited amount of wonderful things.

I would love to hear your ideas for ways we can be moved by the spirit and spread the love of God to others! Please feel free to leave some comments and get a discussion started.

God bless you, today and always!

Karen

"Fire and Water"

This past Sunday, we celebrated the Baptism of Jesus Christ. In keeping with this theme, my choir's song lyrics featured two significant symbols: fire and water. While these two things seem completely contrary and oppositional on the surface, we can see through the Liturgy that they are, in fact, very much complementary.

FIRE

For the processional hymn, we sang "Glory and Praise to Our God", a song that offers praise and thanks to our God for the many blessings and gifts he bestows upon us. The lines that stood out to me most were as follows:

In His wisdom, he strengthens us

Like gold that's tested in fire

In everyday life, we associate fire with danger, damage, and destruction. Fires can cause great pain and loss. How, then, can fire be a gift for which we praise God?

Look closely at the first part of that excerpt. What does the fire do? It strengthens us!
 

We have all encountered "fire" in the form of painful, difficult situations in our lives - times of great hurt, fear, anger, sadness, and despair. At the time of such a situation, it is hard to find any positivity or silver linings. However, with time, prayer, and reflection, we can see that from all things, even terrible things, something good can emerge.

Pain and suffering help us build and extend our inner strength. From coping with difficult situations, we can learn many helpful things and develop many beneficial skills and attitudes that will in turn better equip us for the many new experiences that lie ahead.

I myself have gone through such a difficult period of time. A few years ago, all within 7 months, I went through the painful end of a long relationship, the death of my closest relative, and the loss of my job. At this time, it felt like too much to handle, and I felt like I would never experience anything good again. However, with God at my side, my heart healed, and I was able to work through these difficulties and glean something good from them. I worked on developing greater patience, empathy, optimism, lightheartedness, and independence. These qualities would serve to be very important, because the very next year, I met the amazing man who would become my fiance, and got a new job, finally in the teaching field. Had I not had occasion to work on bettering myself, I might not have been in the "right place" mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for my new relationship and new job to blossom and flourish in the beautiful ways that they did.

I cannot thank God enough for helping me to turn my negative experiences into positive self-growth. By fire, He strengthened me, and I am at a place in my life now where I have never experienced such profound joy!

In sum, with the help, love, and support of the Lord, we can overcome life's painful obstacles and come to find new happiness, love, and light. It is not to downplay the seriousness of pain and loss - pain and loss HURT. I just encourage you to remember that, even when times are at their worst, there is always something more beautiful ahead.

WATER

Let us now discuss the signficance of water.

The two main "water-themed" songs we sang on Sunday were "Come to the Water" and "We Have Been Baptized in Christ". Here are excerpts from both of them:

Oh, let all who thirst

Let them come to the water

And let all who have nothing

Let them come to the Lord

We have been baptized in Christ

It is He that we have put on

We who are washed in this water

Have hope of eternal life

Water does many wonderful things for us. It refreshes us when we are thirsty. It helps cook meals that nourish us. It cools us down when we are hot. It cleanses us when we are dirty.

In Baptism, and every day after that, God indeed does all of these things for us. When we hunger and thirst for something, particularly emotional and spiritual nourishment, God is there to provide it. He fills up and rejuvenates our hearts and souls.

When we our emotions are "hot" and we are feeling angry, hurt, jealous, or otherwise ill at ease, we can rely on God to help calm us down. Through prayer and spiritual reflection, these negative feelings can begin to melt away and be replaced with happier, more peaceful feelings.

Similarly, God can "wash away" the sins that weigh down and harden our hearts and souls. Baptism is meant to cleanse us of original sin, and thereafter, we have the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation to cleanse us from the sins we commit in life. 

These many benefits are ever available to us. We just have to be prepared to genuinely, humbly ask for them.

We can see, then, that while seemingly opposite, fire and water actually go very much hand in hand. The forces and processes of challenge, strengthening, cleansing, and rejuvenation work together to help us grow and realize our greater potential, such that we become better prepared for the many wonders and experiences that God has in store for us. Let us, therefore, work to keep our minds and hearts open to what lies ahead, and to trust in God to guide us every step of the way.

May God bless you, today and always!

Karen

"What Are We That You Have Loved Us So Well?"

This past Sunday, we celebrated the feast of the Epiphany, the recognition of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and our Saviour.

This was the last Sunday for my choir to solely play Christmas-themed songs. While I look forward to getting back to our regular repertoire, I will miss playing these  joyous, upbeat songs. I find Christmas hymns in general to be very inspiring, and on Sunday, the song that spoke to me most was our Offertory hymn, "Emmanuel". It is a wonderful song with great lyrics, yet it is also noteworthy for its change in tempo and metre. The verses are in a slow-paced 3/4 time, whereas the choruses change to an upbeat, quicker, 4/4 time. This change from doleful music to rejoicing music symbolizes the emergence of light and life that Jesus's birth brought to our world.

Here are a few excerpts from anyone who is unfamiliar with this song.

Baby born in a stall
Long ago now, and hard to recall
Cold wind, darkness and sin
Your welcoming from us all

Lord, lead us to know
You lay like a beggar, so humble, so low
No place for your head
And straw for a bed
The glory of God to show

Emmanuel, Emmanuel
What are we that You have loved us so well?
A song on high, a Saviour's nigh
Angel hosts rejoice Thy glory to tell

The overarching theme that resonates with me here is that of humility.

First, Jesus's humble beginnings are highlighted. He was born in a stable, amid animals, dirt, and straw, rather than in some extravagant location befitting a king. It was nighttime and weather was unpleasant, and sin was abounding in the world. For the glorious Son of the all-knowing, all-powerful God to be born in a setting like this is very significant. What a remarkable image and example of humility for us!

Further, the call to be humble is especially exemplified in the line "What are we that You have loved us so well?"

That is, this song recognizes the immensity of God's love for us, despite the fact that we may not always be or feel worthy of it. That is, God's love is not necessarily a right; we cannot necessarily say that we deserve God's love. Rather, it is a beautiful gift.

In what ways has God shown His love for us? They really are countless. He has given each of us life, for starters! He has provided us with a planet on which to live, with the beauty of nature all around us. He has given us many special people, such as family, friends, spouses, and so on, who enrich our lives in so many ways. God has also blessed us all with a unique set of gifts and talents, with which we can in turn strive to enrich the lives of those around us. Most importantly, He gave us the gift of His Son. He sent us Jesus as the most wonderful example of how we should live our lives, and then He made the ultimate sacrifice by enduring the painful crucifixion and death of Jesus in order to bring about salvation for our widespread sins. The enormity of this gift is hard to even fully comprehend! 

God's love for us is immense, and it is also unconditional. Regardless of what we do wrong (and let's face it, being human, we make mistakes all the time), He is always waiting with open arms to take us back, willing to grant us forgiveness when we truly and sincerely ask for it. He is always there to help us get back on the path to salvation.

How marvelous and wondrous indeed is God's love for us! It is a precious, priceless gift that we must never take for granted. Let us instead strive to revel in that love and reflect that love back to God. How can we do that?

Think of people that you love very much. How do we show it? For one, we spend time with them. We can certainly do this with God; we are called to be in His presence at least every Sunday at Mass! There is also the wonderful option of being in God's holy presence during Adoration of the Blessed Eucharist. My church, Corpus Christi, has this on Mondays during the day. I have been to Adoration a couple times and it is a lovely, uplifting experience. Perhaps your church or another one near you has regular Adoration. Why not try something new (if you haven't already gone) and look into it?

Another way we show love for others, especially those who are not nearby, is communicating with them via phone, email, social networking, and the like. Similarly, we can always communicate with God, at any time of day, through prayer. In prayer, we can share so many things with God - our joys, our thanks, our worries, our fears. God is always there to listen.

Further, we can show love by embracing and embodying Jesus's loving example in our own lives, and reflecting God's love to others. One way to show love and respect for our parents is to behave in a way that is in line with the values they lovingly taught to us, and the same is true for God. As we work to live in a Christlike way, we live out our loving with relationship with God beautifully. Although it is impossible to show love for others in such an enormous and complete way as God has shown for us, we are called to emulate it as best we can. Let us never take God's love for granted, but instead, make the most of it as we work to be "Christ for one another".

May God bless you, today and always!

Love, Karen

"A Very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year"

I am a bit belated in saying this, but I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish one and all a very Merry Christmas and a blessed and happy New Year!

2012 has been a year of astounding blessings for me. My heart has been filled with such gratitude and joy, and I can't help but want to share it with others. 

Taking time to reflect on and rejoice in the gifts God has given us in the many areas of our lives is always a wonderful exercise. For what and/or whom have you been most thankful this past year?

Likewise, what are you looking forward to in the new year?

I personally am unbelievably excited because this year, I will be marrying the man of my dreams! He is my soulmate and best friend and he makes me happy in so many ways. Perhaps the most important thing is that through his shining example and loving support, he has helped me to strengthen and deepen my relationship with God. What better gift could I ask for? I can't wait to share in the blessed Sacrament of Marriage with him, to be united together by God, in a bond that will last forever. Whenever I reflect on the profundity of this Sacrament, on the eternity and enormity of this union, I am absolutely overwhelmed with joy and gratitude.

When a new year comes around, many of us think about resolutions and goals; we want to better ourselves in some area or another. Let us consider which areas of our spiritual life can use some further development or "sprucing up". Perhaps we could stand to pray more. Maybe we could try to more actively and meaningfully participate in the Mass. Perhaps we could make an effort to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation more often. This is definitely one that I could stand to work on! What might you be able to work on, in order to rejuvenate yourself and your relationship with God?

When thinking about this commitment for spiritual growth, let us keep in mind a message we heard on Christmas - that Christmas is a time for Jesus to be re-born in our hearts. Let us take this a step further and commit ourselves to recognizing and rejoicing in the re-birth of Jesus's love, glory, and peace in our hearts not just on Christmas Day, but every day. Let us revel in it, and strive to emulate His spotless, loving example in all that we do. 

May God bless you, today and always!

Karen