Using ALL Our Gifts

 This entry comes to us from Ashlyn Harrington, a sophomore Education Major.

Something that I have been reflecting heavily on recently is using my gifts from God to serve those around me. Sometimes it can be difficult to have the bravery to put them on display for the world to see, but in 1 Peter 4:10 we read that as Christians we are called to use our gifts to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace. Now in that context, Peter was referring to spiritual gifts, such as healing or prophesy, but the idea that we should bless those around us can still be carried over into our individual talents and gifts. God does not give us anything for our own benefit, but instead to use our gifts to serve others and him.

If you thought that your talents were for you to be successful, you’ve missed the whole point. We are frequently told by society to not be boastful of our gifts, but remaining humble doesn’t mean that we should ignore our talents. If we weren’t meant to use them, they never would have been given to us in the first place. Rather, we are called to use our gifts to serve others and be served by them. We are all made for a unique purpose, with each person’s gifts varying significantly. This is a WONDERFUL thing! We were made uniquely, because together we make up the Body of Christ. Paul compares this to a human body, in which each of us plays a distinct but important role. Maybe you’re an arm, a vein, or a toe: All are important, but need a head (Jesus) to guide them. This means that everything we do directly points back to him, including the use of our gifts. Maybe you were given strength like Samson, beauty like Esther, or maybe you’re just really good at making frozen pizzas. The gift itself doesn’t really matter, but how we choose to use it does. So use you gifts, even if they don’t seem big or important!

With Easter right around the corner there are so many ways to start practicing. Paint a picture for your mom to give to her as an Easter present. Help your grandma cook the ham. Have an epic dance battle with your little cousins to keep them occupied so their parents can have a nap. Help your brother pick out an outfit to wear to church, because you know he’s not great at matching. Sing in the choir, or if you aren’t quite there yet, sing your heart out with the rest of the congregation (God doesn’t care if all the notes are right anyway). In Matthew 25 it says that if we strive to use our talent for the glory of the kingdom, we will be given many additional gifts to be shared, but those who do not use them will lose them, and they will be given to someone else to praise the Lord. There are so many opportunities coming up where you can share God’s glory, so take advantage of it, and continue to use your gifts to serve those around you not only in the Easter season, but throughout the entire year.

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On behalf of everyone at Mission and Ministry, have a blessed, fruitful, and prayerful Holy Week. May you find solace, hope, fortitude, joy, and strength in the mystery of Christ's Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

Messianic Entry

This week's reflection comes to us from Clare Heinrich. Clare is a senior here at the Mount studying Outdoor Conservation, English, and Music Performance.

Soon, we will be at the threshold of Holy Week, the most sacred time in the Church Year. It is a time when we, loaded with sorrow, remember and observe the Passion of Christ. The events of Holy Week bring us to the foot of the cross to listen to the last words of Jesus. I have always loved reading the scriptures depicting Jesus’ last days in Jerusalem. Let us look at the Messianic Entry. The word Messianic comes from Messiah, which means, “anointed one”. For hundreds of years, the prophets have prepared the people for the coming of the Messiah.

You may want to light a candle and read Luke 19:29-38

Jesus loved the city of Jerusalem and came to Jerusalem many times. Today, we read about the last time he came to Jerusalem. Many Jews were gathered there to celebrate the Passover. The people celebrated Jesus as he came forward on a colt. They had seen his power and miracles and had heard him preach. Now, they laid their coats down on the ground and treated him like a king. Conquering rulers would often ride through town on a white stallion, signaling to the people that the man on the white horse was the new ruler. In the Old Testament, the prophets foretold that the Messiah would ride in on a beast of burden. Jesus’ riding on a colt would have been a strong sign for the Jewish crowds that he was the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies.

The people cried out, “Hosanna!” Where else do we hear those words? We hear them at Mass. We proclaim them every week, acknowledging Jesus as our King. My mother says this proclamation is like a mini-Palm Sunday at every Mass. God has revealed himself to us throughout Salvation History. The Son of God became a man and entered Jerusalem on a colt. He came to us then and still does today in the form of Bread, which is his Body.

By his birth, Jesus became one of us in order to show us how to live. He was raised from the dead because he was first willing to suffer and die. Let us take comfort this Holy Week in recalling that Jesus kept the company of the poor, the sick, and the broken. In our own poverty of spirit, despite our own illnesses and pain, our Lord shows us how to live. We are bruised and weakened. May we walk with our dear Lord as we enter Holy Week and reflect on his sacrifice for us. Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna!

As you prepare for Holy Week, choose one of the reflections to help center your mind and heart on entering into these sacred days.

·         Spend time with the words of the prophets. Select a verse and ponder what this reveals to you about the Messiah?

Zechariah 9:9

Isaiah 9:1

Isaiah 9:6

Micah 5:2

·         We hear many titles or names of Jesus during Holy Week. Today we lifted up Messiah, but we also will hear other names, such as: Son of Man, Rabbi, Christ, Son of the Blessed One, Nazarene, King of the Jews, Son of God, Master, Lord. Is there a name or title you use most often when you pray? Choose one from this list that is not a habit for your prayer life and use that in prayer this week.

·         Is there a verse or a “moment” of the Passion story that you most identify with? Journal about that verse and why it struck your heart.

The Prayer Thing

 This week's post comes from Elyse Keeffer. Elyse is a 1st year Religious Studies Major from Galena, IL.

As busy college students, our lives are often full of frantic running from class to class, meeting to meeting, and assignment to assignment. When we aren’t working to keep up with the pre-scheduled obligations of the day, there’s always something running through our minds. Upcoming deadlines, relationship struggles, social media posts, news updates, that random song from 2012 that your brain won’t stop playing from somewhere in the deepest depths of your mind, you name it. But when was the last time you let yourself stop running and opened your heart to silence? When was the last time you surrendered part of your day to God and only to God? When was the last time you let yourself be wrapped in His presence—in the love and peace that only He can provide? Maybe you’ve never experienced any of this before, or maybe you do it every day! Either way, making time for God can be a difficult task in the craziness of life, but the rewards go far beyond the price of our surrender and small “yes” to God.

The first step to praying is scheduling time for it. Sometimes the first step is to find just a few free minutes of your day and to work on spending more time in prayer from there. Do you have a period between classes that is too short to start homework but too long to go right to your next class? BAM! PRAYER TIME! Could you take 15 minutes of your usual lunch or dinner break to spend some time with God? KAPOW! PRAYER TIME! Need a homework break to refocus your thoughts? BADDA BING BADDA BOOM! PRAYER TIME! You don’t need to dedicate hours at a time to prayer for growing your relationship with God. Turning to Him for strength and comfort throughout the day is a great way to spend more time in prayer, even if it is a few minutes at a time.

However, if you do want to go hardcore prayer ninja and find longer periods of time to spend with God, it can be helpful to have someone or something to hold you accountable. Consider asking a friend to be your prayer partner, setting prayer goals for the week, or putting aside specific time in your day for prayer just like you would for going to class. Then, hold yourself to it and ask God to help you! Something that has been helpful in my own search for finding time for God has been praying for surrender: “God, I want to give this time to be with You. Help me to accomplish what I need to do in order to surrender myself in this time to You and only to You.”

Once you’ve found the time for it, it is important to find a way of praying that works for you. Simply sitting in the presence of Jesus in the tabernacle or at adoration can be a great starting point. Prayer is also a time to open your heart to have a conversation with God. Tell Him what’s heavy on your heart and the things that fill you with joy, tell Him about your day, or tell Him whatever you need to tell Him. This is your time with God, and He is listening. Just remember that conversations go two ways, so it is important to listen to God too. Pay attention to what is on your heart and mind, and open your heart to receive whatever God wants to give you. If you’re having a hard time focusing or sitting in the silence, it’s okay! Some other active prayer ideas include journaling, reading the Bible, praying the rosary, reading about the saints, or trying out Lectio Divina or Ignatian Meditation. Don’t be afraid to try out new things to find how you best communicate with God. Also, if you really can’t focus because you feel distracted by something, turn your distractions into prayers! Surrender them to God and let Him have everything on your heart.

At this point you may be thinking, this prayer thing sounds fabulous, but why should I do it? To be honest, there’s not one specific reason to pray or a thing that you are guaranteed to get out of praying. Rather, you should pray because God seeks you. He seeks your heart, and He wants to fill you with His love and peace in the way that you need it most. He wants your joys and your sorrows, your

talents and your faults. He is waiting for you to simply open your heart to Him; to receive Him and to be received by Him. So, the next time you are planning out your busy day, consider scheduling in some quiet time with God. He’s waiting to embrace you with loving and open arms.

God Bless,

Elyse Keeffer

Prayer and Study--Almost the Same Thing?

 This week's post comes to us from Professor Adam Myers, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at MMMU.

Prayer and Study 

Today, on 7 March, the Catholic Church remembers the day that St Thomas Aquinas, the Church’s pre-eminent teacher, died in 1274. You may not know much about St Thomas Aquinas. He was a member of the Order of Preachers, a religious order founded by St Dominic. For that reason, friars in this order are called Dominicans.  

There are two things Dominicans did then and do today quite a bit of: they pray and study in regular rhythm.  

Here at Mount Mercy, a Catholic liberal arts university, it seems fitting to take a moment today to think about those two things: prayer and study. 

It shouldn’t surprise us to think that these two activities go together. Then again, students can often be so busy with studying that they can’t imagine having time to pray, even if they wanted to.  

Or perhaps you have the idea that praying, while meaningful and worthwhile, is in the end not very productive and perhaps even a waste of time. 

But both prayer and study are about one fundamental thing: order. Let me say something about what I mean about order. 

Order 

Order is about priorities. It is about ranking. We rank the various things we love in our lives all the time. Sometimes we rank those loves well (when I prioritize students above my stamp collection), sometimes badly (as when I prioritize my work above my family).  

Our actions have a certain kind of order to them too. Take a simple example. I get in the car in order to go to the grocery store. I go to that store to buy food. I buy the food to prepare a meal. I prepare a meal to celebrate a feast with others. That’s order.  

Sometimes we forget what we are doing. Through highway hypnosis, I forget I was headed to the store. Once I recall the ultimate goal I was aiming for, order is restored to my actions. You cannot restore order to what you’re doing without remembering the goal of what you’re doing.  

It would be foolish if, when you forget your ultimate goal, you just to pick some new goal. For the fact is, I wouldn’t have headed to the store in the first place if I hadn’t wanted to make a meal. And I wouldn’t have intended to make a meal if I hadn’t wanted to feast with others. The feast is that for the sake of which I do those other, penultimate things. It is the thing I ultimately want. The thing I really want. 

Prayer and Order 

What has all this got to do with prayer? Here I follow St Thomas closely: prayer brings order to our desires. Sometimes we may think that prayer is just telling God what we want. But it is also, even more fundamentally, about the order of those desires. It’s about figuring out what it is we all truly want, deep down, and thereby bringing order to all the other desires we have.  

St Thomas has a name for the thing that each of us truly want, deep down: God. 

When I pray, I am remembering that Goal. Just as I remember that I am getting into the car to go to the store, to get food, but ultimately to prepare a meal for a feast: so also, when I pray, I remember the ultimate thing I am after—God.  

If I get distracted from my goal of getting to the store (so that I can get home to make a meal, so that I can prepare a feast for others…), remembering my ultimate goal helps me to remove obstacles and ignore distractions.  

Just so, when I pray, I can look at my whole life and figure out what distractions and obstacles are keeping me from the goal that I truly desire, deep down. 

There may be lots of reasons why your experience of prayer doesn’t have this effect. It is perfectly intelligible to ask, “And why exactly do I want to prepare a feast?” I have to see the desirability of the goal in order for it to bring order to my life. Similarly, you have to see the desirability of God in order for prayer to be the kind of thing that brings order to your life.  

The Life of a Student 

God may not appear very desirable when so many other desirable things jockey for our attention on a daily basis. And these goods are ever-present even at Mount Mercy. 

Think about it. By getting a degree from Mount Mercy, you increase your earning potential. You might garner a great reputation in your community for being a dedicated nurse, a committed teacher, or an entrepreneurial philanthropist. All those things aside, you may just think the four years of college are just about the sheer pleasure of it all.  

Money, reputation, pleasure—these things, in general, aren’t bad. But there’s one thing that St Thomas thought serious study should reveal about these goods—they’re penultimate, second-to-last at best.  

It’s pretty easy to tell that money, for instance, isn’t the ultimate thing. For one can always ask, “What do I want to make money for?” To fail to ask that question is like thinking that going to the grocery store is the real goal, when in fact the real goal is to get food there and then go home and prepare a feast. 

The goal of serious, liberal arts study is to make sure you keep asking that question—what is this desirable thing for?—until you hit paydirt and find the truly desirable thing.  

And here’s where study and prayer tie together. If prayer brings order to our desires, and if serious study is meant to help us find the ultimately desirable thing, then both activities work in harmony. 

They each point us towards a liberating awareness of what, deep down, is truly desirable. 

And that is why St Thomas, like all his Dominican confreres then and now, have tended to consummate their studying by going to the chapel and giving attention to God in prayer.  

Celebrate Creation's Beauty

 This week's reflection comes to us from Rachael Murtaugh, the Director of the Office of Sustainability at Mount Mercy.

Have you ever taken the time to look at a stained-glass window? I don’t mean a casual glance, but really look at it. The intricate pieces come together to form an image far beyond the potential of one, single piece. That is how we can look at the ecosystems of our planet too. Each species is unique like each piece of glass, and together they create an incredible system of interdependence and beauty. Just like that window, if you start to remove pieces, you eventually destroy the beautiful image.

Our planet has seen extinction before. It is a natural process where a species cannot adapt to changes in the environment. When this happens naturally, another species usually fills is role in the ecosystem. The glass pieces shift, but the overall picture does not change much. This is not what is happening now. Today we are experiencing a rate of extinction never before seen in the history of our home. It is also unprecedented that one species, one shard of glass, should be responsible for the shattering of so many others. Like rocks being hurled through our window; climate change, poaching, deforestation, habitat destruction, and pollution are punching holes in our beautiful picture faster than we ever imagined.

When was the last time you spent a moment to get out away from your screen and cozy walls? To get out in nature, even in the cold, silence your phone, and simply be still? Breathe in the quietude and listen. Only when we immerse ourselves in nature can we appreciate the intricacy of how each piece of glass fits together. Only then can we see the beauty of our world and desire to protect it. Why not celebrate the beauty of creation March 3^rd, and celebrate World Wildlife Day? Find ways to celebrate at Official website of UN World Wildlife Day or maybe schedule time to visit a local park or donate to a wildlife rehab center. Together, we can come together to care for Creation.