"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