Our DAILY Bread

For fifteen years I’ve been a freelance writer. Before that I was a full-time artist. These are not the kind of professions with a guaranteed income! And lately, as the jobs and paychecks dwindle into meagerness, I find myself staring at the neighbor lady as she drives off to work every day. Suddenly, I find myself feeling jealous! Wow. That’s a shock!

As she comes out the door at exactly 7:15 a.m. everyday, the neighbor lady flips back her hair which is perfectly combed. She gets into her car and drives away, acknowledging me by raising a hand to her window as I stand with my kids at the bus stop.

But, I’m sure, as she’s driving away, she’s thinking, “There’s Judith. Standing there in grubby clothes and wild hair, ready to go and feed her horses and donkey. What a life she has. No job. No boss. I’m jealous.”

I’ve been praying about this odd turn of events and this is what I realize now:

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew people were tested by God. He sent them manna…bread from heaven! But He also gave a command along with it…no hoarding up for tomorrow. Instead, He said, “Collect only enough for your needs today. Trust me. Rely on me and leave tomorrow alone.”

Then in the New Testament, the Apostles asked Jesus to teach them to pray. I’ll bet they wanted to know how to list their requests so God would answer! I can image them secretly hoping Jesus would give them something really good to say! They were really asking, “Teach us how to pray so the Father in heaven will give us steady work and good pay so we will survive and even thrive during these economic hard times!”

Instead, Jesus told them to begin with words of praise and then to say, “Give us this day our daily bread…”

Just one day at a time! The Lord gives us enough for that. Why does He do this? Well, I guess Jesus gave St. Faustina the answer. He told her that we have a simple prayer to say. It is this…“Jesus, I trust in you.”

If I trust in Him, and offer thanksgiving, all will be well! One day at a time! No guarantees about what comes next. There is no looking glass. No comfortable cushion to rest on in this lifetime. But there is Someone we can trust.

Thank you Jesus!

Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II has been close to our family for the past year. My son did a research project about the Pope. And it continued all year! We had a huge biography sitting in the living room; pictures of the Pope stacked on the dining room table; YouTube videos of the Pope playing all evening. We listened to Peter practice speaking with a Polish accent and we watched his 10 minute performance "at least a thousand times" according to Peter's sister!

The amazing thing is that the Pope touched us all deeply. When we heard about a mother who was diagnosed with cancer, we offered to pray to blessed John Paul for her. We began asking for his intercession in many things.
From studying the pictures of the Pope, we see a handsome young man who slowly became stooped, gained weight and began to have slurred speech. You can see pain and frustration written on his face. Yet, he continued to appear in public. He didn't hide himself away, or even slow down all his travels, just because he was suffering from Parkinsons Disease.

I decided to create a painting in honor of this Suffering Servant. (Why not? It fits right in with the growing stacks of books on the man all over our house!) Here it is. I hope it will inspire you. This painting is partly 3D...the hands and crucifix come out from the canvas.

Also Peter's performance is now online here.

If you are interested in my artwork, send me an email. Thanks.

First Communion is Just the Beginning

It was a beautiful day. Sixteen nervous kids held out shaking hands to receive their First Communion last weekend. As a teacher preparing students for this day, I tell them they are becoming tabernacles for Jesus. They will receive Jesus in a way unlike any other.

Yes, Jesus is always with us and we receive his grace in the sacraments of Baptism and Reconciliation. We can hear his words in the Gospels and we can talk to him in prayer. But there is nothing like receiving him as the Bread of Life. There is nothing like becoming a tabernacle.

However, the sad reality is that some of the young people who receive the Eucharist for the first time, won’t receive Jesus again for a long time. Too many families see First Communion as the beginning and the end of their obligation for faith formation.

These young people who are so excited on this day, and feel the glow of love for Jesus, are like delicate new buds pushing up out of the ground of the secular world. Their experience is fragile and tentative. It needs to be nourished by weekly reception of the sacrament of the Eucharist. When parents make a big deal out of First Communion and then make excuses for not going to Mass on Sundays after that, they send a mixed message.

The message seems to be that “only the first time is important. Then, if you receive Jesus again once a year, that’s enough.” The bud doesn’t open. The flower wilts.

It is so important that our children see a love, respect and hunger for the Eucharist in their parents. Then their curiosity leads them to desire. And desire leads to deeper prayer and understanding.

One time is not enough. Tabernacle literally means “temporary dwelling place.” If we are to keep Jesus close to us, we need to invite him into the tabernacle of our bodies on a weekly basis.

Then, the tabernacle will glow with his presence. And the flowers unfold in loveliness!

(The photo is my daughter Brigit, at her First Communion in 2008.)

KNOW HIM!

I tell my Sunday School students, “”If your grandma lived 2000 miles away, would you only call her once a year and begin the conversation by begging for birthday gifts?” They usually say, “no” and tell me stories about how often they talk to Grandma. They have some awareness that it’s not polite or respectful to beg. (I guess they make an exception to that rule when the person they are talking to is Mom!)

So they begin to get the idea that prayer is not about sharing a list of demands, couched as requests, for help. But I also want them to understand that whole idea of “distance.” If we don’t see someone very often, we don’t really know them. We may say, “Hi Grandpa. I love you.” But do we really? Knowing someone requires frequent contact and watching them to understand who they really are. Who is Grandpa? What kind of person is he? How does he think?

In a similar way, it may seem as if God is far away. And it may seem impossible to really know God. But we really can get to KNOW Him. It is possible. It requires several things.

God reveals Himself to us if we read the Bible. He reveals Himself to us if we study the life of Jesus and comments of the saints. He reveals Himself to us mostly especially during prayer. But prayer requires talking, listening and trusting.

St. Teresa of Avila was a great teacher about prayer. In a book called Conversations with Christ, the author, Peter Thomas Rohrback, summarizes Teresa’s practice for deeper prayer.

1. Beginning- Be aware of Jesus. He is here. Now.
2. Selection--Read a short passage about Jesus or visualize a picture of Him. Teresa often referred to the image of Jesus in the Garden or the Scourging at the Pillar. I find it helpful to SEE Him in my mind based on images I have seen.
3. Consider the Love of Jesus--Reflect on this image or the words to go deeper into the mystery and love of Jesus. Why is Jesus in the Garden, dripping with blood? What does it mean?
4. Conversation--Converse with Our Lord. Offer adoration, praise, express sorrow, love, thanksgiving. Then be quiet to LISTEN.
5. Conclusion—Reflect on this time of prayer. Offer thanks. Dedicate yourself to greater focus and attention.

The author describes a process of coming back to Jesus frequently throughout the day. This can be done by short repeated phrases or prayers. O my Jesus, help me. Our priest says often, “God is good.” A friend says, “Thank you Jesus.”
My young Sunday School students may not really grasp all of this. But I hope to get them thinking about HOW they talk to God. And HOW will they get to KNOW HIM. We don’t have to rely only on formalized prayers.

My neighbor told a story about being hospitalized. She asked if they would give her a thicker gown, so the nurse found a heavy green one. Lillian went down the hallway to stretch her legs. A man in another room thought she was a nurse and called out, “Could you pray with me?” He was a tough, working class fellow. Lillian talked out loud to God on the man’s behalf. She used her own words and talked to God as a trusted friend.

Awhile later the hospital chaplain tracked her down. He said the man in that room told him, “The lady in green prays better than you.” He wanted to know what she did.

Lillian said, “I just talked to God in my own words. You don’t need to open up a book and read. That man just wants you to give him permission to talk to God from his heart.”

Be Alone with The ALONE

I came across this phrase and it seemed to shoot an arrow in my heart. “Be alone with the Alone.”

God alone created everything.

God made everything in heaven and earth out of nothing, and “He saw that it was good.” Yet He was still alone.

He made man in His won image and yet humans turn away in their arrogance. He is still alone.

When Jesus left His Power and Glory in heaven, in order to come to us and be like us, we still left Him...In the Garden, He was alone.

When He hung on the cross, He carried the whole weight of the world’s sin. Alone.

When we pray to Him and wait with Him in the Silence of the Alone…then and only then, do we join Him.

No one can do this for us. It is our task…alone.

So now is the time to be alone with The Alone.