tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67555518782629099542024-03-05T13:05:34.073-08:00Mustang MusingsReflections from staff, faculty, and students of Mount Mercy UniversityMustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-13692160026044249982021-05-03T09:52:00.004-07:002021-05-03T09:52:46.921-07:00Remain by Going<div>A short reflection this week.</div><div><br /></div>We have arrived at the last week of classes of the Spring Semester. We have also (finally) arrived in True Spring here in Iowa, with legitimately sunny and warm days, trees springing into leaf and blossom, the verdant hue making a proud return to the area. <div><br /></div><div>In the midst of these signs of life coming into full swing, and as we wrap up the school year, this past Sunday we heard Jesus telling us that he is the True Vine, and we, the branches. Along with his admonition that apart from him, we can do nothing, he gives the promise that remaining in him will yield much fruit. Liturgically, we are ramping up for Jesus' Ascension into Heaven and the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This is known as the Church's Birthday, when God equipped those tasked with proclaiming the Gospel with the grace to do so fruitfully. In the liturgical year, we're not there yet, but the ramping up hopefully also serves as a reminder that this event happened in history; The Spirit is with us, and we live in its age.</div><div><br /></div><div>Pentecost's Jewish origins stem from a celebration of the firstfruits of the wheat harvest (Shavuot), then combined with a celebration of God's giving Moses the Law. Fitting, then, that graduation traditionally comes around this time of the liturgical year: after a lifetime of schooling, years of formation, graduates are sent out into the world to bear fruit through their labor and relationships. Perhaps this is why we refer to it as "Commencement": the beginning of a new chapter, of a commissioning, of being sent forth.</div><div><br /></div><div>There's a parallel to the Catholic Mass in that, actually: "Mass" comes from the Latin "Missa," the second to last word the celebrant utters in the liturgy (in Latin): "Ite, Missa est." (Go, Mass is/Go, has been sent). We derive our name for the Divine Liturgy from the command to go forth and leave it. An important part of Remaining in Christ is, in fact, going forth. Having had the encounter with him in Word, in Sacrament, and in Community, we are called to go out into our world and bear fruit. </div><div><br /></div><div>While we should be mindful every time we leave a church/chapel of that commission and of our call to communicate the Good News, the end of the semester offers another opportunity for reflection.</div><div><br /></div><div>What have I learned this year, both academically and more generally? How can I put it to use for the betterment of my community and those I encounter this summer?</div><div><br /></div><div>How am I called to show love and mercy in my job, in my friendships, back home, whatever I'm doing this summer?</div><div><br /></div><div>And, before I head out for the summer, how am I called to be loving and merciful in this time of busyness and stress both for me and for others? How can I be attentive to my responsibilities and aware of others' needs?</div>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-38020934602876093212021-04-19T08:31:00.003-07:002021-04-19T08:31:37.048-07:00Recognizing Jesus in Our Midst<p> <i>This blog comes to us by way of Liza McGrane, a 1st-year student here at the Mount.</i></p><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-size: 12px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW121282705" paraeid="{2ed27a18-6ef0-4b28-96d2-b95107b829f3}{183}" paraid="1840158808" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Recently I read through John’s Gospel for the first time. I was shocked to see how many times Jesus literally tells them exactly who he </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">is,</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> and they still didn’t believe him. This made me ask myself the question, “How often is </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;); background-position-x: left; background-position-y: bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Jesus</span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> right in front of me and I don’t see him?” So, I ask you the question, “How many times has Jesus been right in front of you and you don’t see him?” It’s hard to say, isn’t it? There are basic answers we could give</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">, like</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">, “Oh, I’m sure there have been plenty, but I can’t think of anything specific</span><span class="TrackChangeTextInsertion TrackedChange BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #d13438; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" xml:lang="EN-US">,</span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">” </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">w</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">hich</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> would be correct</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. Similarly, there</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> were plenty of times Jesus revealed himself t</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">o </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">many individuals and groups in the Jewish community. </span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-size: 12px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW121282705" paraeid="{2ed27a18-6ef0-4b28-96d2-b95107b829f3}{221}" paraid="718358071" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">One of the very first examples of Jesus revealing himself is the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. This is significant because A: Jews weren’t supposed to talk to Samaritans and B: because men didn’t talk to women in public places in those times. After talking for a little while, in John 4:25-26 they have this exchange. “The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Anointed, when he </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">comes,</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> he will tell us everything.” Jesus said to her, “I am he the one who is speaking with you.”” And that’s it</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">, t</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">hat’s all it took</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">:</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> she believed him, that he was the Messiah. It really is that easy. All we </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun AdvancedProofingIssueV2 BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;); background-position-x: left; background-position-y: bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">have to</span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> do is believe</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">--</span><span class="TrackChangeTextDeletion TrackedChange BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #d13438; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: line-through;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </span></span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">however, thi</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">s wasn’t as easy f</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">or many who spoke with and saw Jesus</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">, the same way it can be difficult to see Jesus when he’s staring right in front of us. </span><span class="LineBreakBlob BlobObject DragDrop BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: WordVisiCarriageReturn_MSFontService, Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; white-space: pre;"> </span><br class="BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; white-space: pre;" /></span><span class="TextRun EmptyTextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"></span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-size: 12px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW121282705" paraeid="{2ed27a18-6ef0-4b28-96d2-b95107b829f3}{255}" paraid="1764193040" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">In John 5, Jesus talks a lot about how “the one who sent him.” To us this seems obvious that he’s talking about God the Father, but t</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">he Jews </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">think he’s crazy. I’m paraphrasing, but Jesus says things like, “I came so you might believe in the one who sent me” and “There’s no way you’re going to believe in God if you don’t believe in me.” John 5:39-40 says, “You search the scriptures because you think you have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But you do not want to come to me to have life.” Jesus is basically saying to the Pharisees, “You think the scriptures will give you eternal life, but they literally tell you of me. They tell you exactly who to look for and now that I’m here you’re not paying attention. You’ll just keep looking in the scriptures when I’m right in front of you.” So now I ask the </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;); background-position-x: left; background-position-y: bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">question</span></span><span class="TrackChangeTextDeletion TrackedChange BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #d13438; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: line-through;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">,</span></span></span><span class="TrackChangeTextInsertion TrackedChange BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #d13438; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" xml:lang="EN-US">:</span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> In what are we searching for Jesus when he’s staring us in the face? Or is</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">our idea of what Jesus </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;); background-position-x: left; background-position-y: bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">is</span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> “supposed to” look </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;); background-position-x: left; background-position-y: bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">like</span></span><span class="TrackChangeTextDeletion TrackedChange BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #d13438; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: line-through;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </span></span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">that’s </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">getting in the way of us seeing </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;); background-position-x: left; background-position-y: bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">him?</span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="LineBreakBlob BlobObject DragDrop BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: WordVisiCarriageReturn_MSFontService, Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; white-space: pre;"> </span><br class="BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; white-space: pre;" /></span><span class="TextRun EmptyTextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"></span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-size: 12px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW121282705" paraeid="{5d0b3165-fbea-411b-ae0f-bcde167a71a2}{36}" paraid="151727772" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">There comes a point in Jesus’ ministry where the Jews start to argue over </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun AdvancedProofingIssueV2 BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;); background-position-x: left; background-position-y: bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">whether or not</span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Jesus is the Messiah. Some think he’s just a prophet, other’s do think he is the Messiah, and some don’t believe he’s the Messiah because, “The Messiah will not come from Galilee, will he” (John 7:41). This is an example of letting our notion of what Jesus should look like get in the way of allowing us to see him. There’s no “correct” way to see </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;); background-position-x: left; background-position-y: bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Jesus</span></span><span class="TrackChangeTextDeletion TrackedChange BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #d13438; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: line-through;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">,</span></span></span><span class="TrackChangeTextInsertion TrackedChange BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #d13438; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" xml:lang="EN-US">;</span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> either we see him, or we don’t. When a friend takes time out of their day to go on a walk with us or when the flowers start to bloom in the spring, we can see Jesus there through the kindness of that friend or the beauty of life. Not only can we fail to see Jesus in the world and those around us, </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;); background-position-x: left; background-position-y: bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">I</span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> think we can fail to see Jesus in ourselves. I think in today’s world we</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">'ve been</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> conditioned not to be confident or take pride in ourselves because we didn’t want to be seen as prideful or too vain. So instead of having the right amount of confidence or belief in ourselves, we decided we couldn’t have any at all and so it’s hard to see Jesus in ourselves then. But Jesus is in us</span><span class="TrackChangeTextInsertion TrackedChange BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #d13438; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" xml:lang="EN-US">,</span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> too. If we’re that friend who takes time out of our day to go on a walk with someone else, they can see Jesus in us,</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> and</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">we can see Jesus in ourselves too. </span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-size: 12px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW121282705" paraeid="{5d0b3165-fbea-411b-ae0f-bcde167a71a2}{72}" paraid="867260150" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span></span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-size: 12px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW121282705" paraeid="{5d0b3165-fbea-411b-ae0f-bcde167a71a2}{74}" paraid="1616248858" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">I am currently reading a scriptural devotional for women called, </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">I Choose the Sky</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> by Emily Wilson. Although this is a devotional geared towards women, I thought there was one message that was especially pertinent for everyone and related well towards this topic. One specific devotional tells the story of a crippled woman from the Bible, always forced to look at the ground</span><span class="TrackChangeTextInsertion TrackedChange BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #d13438; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" xml:lang="EN-US">:</span></span><span class="TrackChangeTextDeletion TrackedChange BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #d13438; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: line-through;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">, </span></span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">that was her physical perspective. </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun CommentStart ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,PD94bWwgdmVyc2lvbj0iMS4wIiBlbmNvZGluZz0iVVRGLTgiPz4KPHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iNXB4IiBoZWlnaHQ9IjNweCIgdmlld0JveD0iMCAwIDUgMyIgdmVyc2lvbj0iMS4xIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHhtbG5zOnhsaW5rPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8xOTk5L3hsaW5rIj4KICAgIDwhLS0gR2VuZXJhdG9yOiBTa2V0Y2ggNTUuMiAoNzgxODEpIC0gaHR0cHM6Ly9za2V0Y2hhcHAuY29tIC0tPgogICAgPHRpdGxlPmdyYW1tYXJfZG91YmxlX2xpbmU8L3RpdGxlPgogICAgPGRlc2M+Q3JlYXRlZCB3aXRoIFNrZXRjaC48L2Rlc2M+CiAgICA8ZyBpZD0iZ3JhbW1hcl9kb3VibGVfbGluZSIgc3Ryb2tlPSJub25lIiBzdHJva2Utd2lkdGg9IjEiIGZpbGw9Im5vbmUiIGZpbGwtcnVsZT0iZXZlbm9kZCIgc3Ryb2tlLWxpbmVjYXA9InJvdW5kIj4KICAgICAgICA8ZyBpZD0iR3JhbW1hci1UaWxlLUNvcHkiIHN0cm9rZT0iIzMzNTVGRiI+CiAgICAgICAgICAgIDxwYXRoIGQ9Ik0wLDAuNSBMNSwwLjUiIGlkPSJMaW5lLTItQ29weS0xMCI+PC9wYXRoPgogICAgICAgICAgICA8cGF0aCBkPSJNMCwyLjUgTDUsMi41IiBpZD0iTGluZS0yLUNvcHktMTEiPjwvcGF0aD4KICAgICAgICA8L2c+CiAgICA8L2c+Cjwvc3ZnPg==&quot;); background-position-x: left; background-position-y: bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">But,</span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">how often are our perspectives of our hearts like that of the women’s </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">physical</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> perspective. </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">what about the perspective of our hearts? </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Every time</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> we choose negativity and pessimism and complaining, we choose to look at the ground when we have every opportunity to choose to look at the sky. “When we choose pessimism, we place blocks in our hearts to seeing the goodness of God or even recognizing His presence before us” (p. 33). This is what negativity does to us. If we are always looking at the ground, we will be like the Pharisees trying to find Jesus in the scriptures when he was right in front of them. If we are only paying attention to the negativity in our </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">lives,</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> it’s going to be </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun AdvancedProofingIssueV2 BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,PD94bWwgdmVyc2lvbj0iMS4wIiBlbmNvZGluZz0iVVRGLTgiPz4KPHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMTBweCIgaGVpZ2h0PSIycHgiIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxMCAyIiB2ZXJzaW9uPSIxLjEiIHhtbG5zPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8yMDAwL3N2ZyIgeG1sbnM6eGxpbms9Imh0dHA6Ly93d3cudzMub3JnLzE5OTkveGxpbmsiPgogICAgPCEtLSBHZW5lcmF0b3I6IFNrZXRjaCA1Ny4xICg4MzA4OCkgLSBodHRwczovL3NrZXRjaC5jb20gLS0+CiAgICA8dGl0bGU+aW5zaWdodF90ZXh0dXJlPC90aXRsZT4KICAgIDxkZXNjPkNyZWF0ZWQgd2l0aCBTa2V0Y2guPC9kZXNjPgogICAgPGcgaWQ9Imluc2lnaHRfdGV4dHVyZSIgc3Ryb2tlPSJub25lIiBzdHJva2Utd2lkdGg9IjEiIGZpbGw9Im5vbmUiIGZpbGwtcnVsZT0iZXZlbm9kZCI+CiAgICAgICAgPGcgaWQ9Ikdyb3VwLTItQ29weSI+CiAgICAgICAgICAgIDxyZWN0IGlkPSJSZWN0YW5nbGUiIHg9IjAiIHk9IjAiIHdpZHRoPSIxMCIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyIj48L3JlY3Q+CiAgICAgICAgICAgIDxwYXRoIGQ9Ik0xLDEgTDUsMSIgaWQ9IkxpbmUtNCIgc3Ryb2tlPSIjNzE2MEU4IiBzdHJva2Utd2lkdGg9IjIiIHN0cm9rZS1saW5lY2FwPSJyb3VuZCI+PC9wYXRoPgogICAgICAgIDwvZz4KICAgIDwvZz4KPC9zdmc+&quot;); background-position-x: left; background-position-y: bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">real</span></span><span class="TrackChangeTextInsertion TrackedChange BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: #d13438; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: underline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun AdvancedProofingIssueV2 BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;); background-position-x: left; background-position-y: bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">ly</span></span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun AdvancedProofingIssueV2 BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;); background-position-x: left; background-position-y: bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> hard</span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> to see Jesus. It also goes back to being able to see Jesus in ourselves. If we are constantly bringing ourselves down that’s all we will be able to see. We won’t be able to see him present in ourselves and </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun AdvancedProofingIssueV2 BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; background-image: url(&quot;data:image/svg+xml;base64,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&quot;); background-position-x: left; background-position-y: bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">all of</span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> the gifts and talents he has given us as blessings to be Christ to others. </span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-size: 12px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW121282705" paraeid="{5d0b3165-fbea-411b-ae0f-bcde167a71a2}{124}" paraid="141760565" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"></span></span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-ms-touch-select: none; -ms-user-select: text; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW121282705" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-size: 12px; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW121282705" paraeid="{5d0b3165-fbea-411b-ae0f-bcde167a71a2}{126}" paraid="738692707" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; color: windowtext; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-contrast="none" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" xml:lang="EN-US">“A life spent in awe of God’s goodness, of speaking uplifting words, of sacrificing with joy for others - this is the life and perspective which allows us to look up at Christ before us in our lives” (p. 34). </span><span class="EOP CommentStart BCX1 SCXW121282705" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.58px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </span></p></div>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-48597881746428043902021-04-12T09:27:00.002-07:002021-04-12T09:27:20.485-07:00Eastertide: Word and Theology Nerd Struggles, and Then Something People Who Aren't Me Might Enjoy Reading<p>I'd promised another reflection on Easter, or at least, a small bit on why the name "Easter" is not my favorite. In order to make good on that and provide content that's a little less...niche?...this will be a longer post.</p><p>"Easter" is a term we in English-speaking countries have appropriated from one of our language's forebears. "Eostre," "Eastre, "Ostern," coming from various Germanic languages and Old English, has an association with dawn, spring, and a goddess in West Germanic religion. Their calendar has a month dedicated to her, and Easter prior to Christianity was a celebration of spring (among other things). Granted, we owe much of this knowledge (outside etymology) to one St. Bede the Venerable's records, without many (if any) other sources.</p><p>"Pascha" is the Latin and Greek (and Russian, for that matter) term for this great celebration, coming from "Paskha" in Aramaic ("Pesach" in Hebrew). This comes from the Jewish Passover feast, which in Christianity is seen as both its own tremendous demonstration of God's deliverance and care for the people <i>and </i>a prefiguring of Jesus' own deliverance of people from slavery of sin, condemnation, and final death. It might also be known as "Anastasis" or "Resurrection Day", unsurprisingly owing to this being the celebration of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. </p><p>I struggle with our English name for this holiday. Compared to "Easter", the term "Pascha" speaks a bit more directly to the miracle we celebrate and the cornerstone of our whole faith. It also connects us to the narrative of God's love and care that begins in the first words of the Old Testament and continues to the present day, making full use of the richness of our Jewish ancestry and the deposit of faith accumulated in the centuries following the Son's earthly time among us. In my kinder moments, I can see the welcoming of the spring is a wonderful natural educator or stepping stone to talking about the new life one finds in Christ through participation in his Paschal Mystery, hence the adherence to the usage of "Easter". For those of us in the northern hemisphere who actually experience a springtime around Easter, nature proves a good educator; sacramental (small "s," not one of the 7 Sacraments), if you will. Nature is able to point us to an inner reality that truly is cosmic in proportion, provided we have eyes to see it and a heart open. Being literate in the faith is also helpful for connecting the dots. I'm not advocating any hashtag campaigns for resurrecting (pun intended) "Paschal" in the English-speaking Catholic world; I am simply articulating some of the reasons I struggle with "Easter" as the title for this holy day and season.</p><p>But that's enough on that.</p><p>We just concluded the "Octave of Easter", the 8 day celebration of Easter as if each day were Easter Sunday proper. While out of the Octave, we're still in the season of Easter for another 41 days after today. Yesterday was the celebration of both The Second Sunday of Easter AND Divine Mercy Sunday. </p><p>It might seem a tired tune to reflect on forgiveness in particular and mercy more generally, but it's both necessary and, c'mon, expected; this is Mount Mercy University, after all.</p><p>Christ modeled mercy and forgiveness: from the cross he beseeched the Father to forgive those who carried out his torturous and humiliating execution. And afterward, he modeled reconciliation to his disciples who had abandoned and denied him: he wished them peace and entrusted the Holy Spirit to them. His pity moved him to nourish multitudes, heal a great many sick people, even raise one or two people from the dead. there's also the whole Paschal Mystery. So Christ gives us himself as the model of how to live, and that model is one of self-emptying, love, compassion, and mercy.</p><p>Prayer for those who persecute us, wishing peace to them and interceding on their behalf. Love our enemies. Give not only of our surplus, but from what we need to help others. Care for those who cannot give you recompense. These are not nice things to do when we feel so inclined or at our leisure; these are concrete manifestations of what it means for us to live the Christian life. And I suck at it. I'm far more comfortable in the mindset of the world, doing nice things in the narrow surplus of time, attention, and money I have left over after my own needs and privileges have been met. But this year, this message of Mercy is hitting me hard, and I'm left discerning how to live it out.</p><p>I don't imagine I can make <i>radical </i>changes in the sense of surrendering all of my family's possessions or inviting destitute persons into our home regularly, at least not at this moment. Rather, I feel called to be on the lookout for ways to infuse Mercy into my life in the everyday. If I pride myself on witty deprecation of others, perhaps I am called to redirect that impulse and give thanks for what others are doing with no strings of superiority attached. If I find myself nursing resentment toward someone, perhaps it might be better to genuinely pray for them and their well-being, then my own healing...and possibly make amends if the situation demands (after all, "resentment is drinking poison and waiting for the other to die"). Perhaps in the midst of my busy schedule, I make a point to send a card or to call a loved one who is lonely and/or sick. I make a point to interact with and socialize and be kind and approachable with those folks I think of as "uncool", "annoying", "tiresome". </p><p>What would happen if we lived our lives continually looking for and engaging with opportunities to give of ourselves and live as Christ modeled for us and bade us live? Surely it would be painful; there's a cross, and sacrifice, and self-emptying involved. But wouldn't we also find new live? Renewal? Joy? Peace? A yoke that is easy and a burden that is light? It might seem arduous or huge, but Christ has sent us the Spirit, as well, and does not leave us stranded. What would happen if we embraced compassion and mercy? What's the worst that would happen if we set aside our selfishness, our social or economic ambitions, our need to say something funny? </p><p>Here's another way of saying all this: working out so people say, "Wow, they work out," is pretty vain. It shouldn't be an end goal in itself. We train in order to stay healthy, to be good stewards of the physical body we've been given, to help our mental health, to be more proficient or stronger at certain tasks. Lenten penance is much the same way. We don't work the muscle to show off that we can do it; we miss the whole point of the season if we do that. Instead, what we have done in Lent is to help us to live, no longer us, but Christ in us, according to the Easter mystery we celebrate. Put the muscle to use; know God's Mercy and show God's Mercy.</p>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-32152802814437522132021-04-03T19:56:00.003-07:002021-04-03T19:56:31.248-07:00Holy Triduum: A Blog in Three Parts (Part 3)<p> <b><i>Holy Saturday</i></b></p><p>Holy Saturday is a difficult day. Do I write about the most solemn celebration of our liturgical year that is the Easter Vigil, or do I talk about the actual day of Holy Saturday, this time between Christ's Death and Resurrection; the tomb time?</p><p>There's so much I could talk about with the Vigil, but I'm going to refrain today. Let it suffice to say that if you have yet to attend an Easter Vigil, let next year be your year, if possible. Even if not done particularly well, the depth of what is done, said, professed, etc. is tremendous on its own merit. If you are a member of a parish that also does things aesthetically well, has good musical taste and talent, is welcoming several Elect and candidates into the Church, and has a knack for bringing liturgy to life in a way that is engaging without being self-celebratory--or truly, even one of those things--then you've hit a jackpot. </p><p>Perhaps unsurprisingly, I will be offering an Easter Sunday post as well (part 4 of 3). At that time, I will likely reflect on why I think 'Easter' is a stupid name for this holiday, among more important things (probably). For now, however, I simply reflect on the difficulty of Holy Saturday day.</p><p>It's a day of being in the tomb. Of things being still. Of life being numb. The Ancient Homily in today's Office of Readings posits that beneath this numb stillness and passivity on this plane, Christ is at work scouring Hell of its denizens, claiming them for Heaven, ushering them into new life.</p><p>When I read this Office reading, it evokes an image of things simmering beneath the surface without us having the resources to be aware. It's only when it reaches a rolling boil that we might take notice. Perhaps that is symbolically at the Vigil, or Easter Sunday.</p><p>In our own lives, the journey through grief, loss, and death is 99.999% likely to take longer than a weekend. The loss of a loved one, or a limb, or a job, or the life I once had, often takes weeks if not months to fully settle in (and will continue to settle in new ways for a long time after). It can take a while for us to realize just how hurt, damaged, or affected we are. And then it's usually much more time to come to a place where we find ourselves able to enjoy life again in a full manner, albeit modified. Sometimes we can see some of the work that goes into that; often we aren't aware that healing has been happening until one day we realize that we've recovered.</p><p>Holy Saturday is a day of hope for the Christian. It serves as a reminder that trials nor tribulations, principalities nor powers, etc. can keep us from the love of God. We celebrate the embodiment of that perfectly shown in the Paschal Mystery, of course. In my own life, it offers me hope that God's grace is at work in my heart, my mind, my soul...thought much of the time I am not aware of it. It bubbles over it moments of deepening conversion. I catch glimpses when I'm able to see how many wild elements of my life and relationships and events have worked together to achieve a certain outcome, and if even one thing were out of place, my life as it stands or some crucial event therein wouldn't have happened or been the same. I naturally see it in times of grief and loss, both of loved ones and of lost opportunities, as well as a few health moments and transitions into new phases of life.</p><p>Where in your life do you need assurance that God is at work, even if things seem completely at a standstill and things aren't where you want them? How can you nurture hope and trust in God in those places? Holy Saturday is a day of hope; Easter Sunday, God bringing new life from death, and the ultimate promise of new life after the end of the age...all this might still be far away on the horizon (or yet to be seen), but Good Friday is in the rearview mirror and shrinking away, even if imperceptably at times. Take heart; the battle may be far from over, but you are not alone, and the one who has conquered the world and death is with you and is not giving up any time soon.</p>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-39047004895078663472021-04-02T20:15:00.001-07:002021-04-02T20:15:17.385-07:00Holy Triduum: A Blog in Three Parts (Part 2)<p> <b><i>Good Friday - What have I done to you?</i></b></p><p><i>Note: This will be disjointed. I apologize, but hopefully you are able to glean something from my thoughts, scattered and poorly connected though they be here</i>.</p><p>Each year I come to a new parish, I look forward to Good Friday to see if they sing the Reproaches as part of the Triduum's observance of Our Lord's Passion, and if so, what setting they sing. As an fyi, "The Reproaches" refers to a series of antiphons that express God's...well, reproaching God's people. "O my people, what have I done to you? How have I offended you? Answer me!" is the refrain. As we reflect on the tremendous agony and affliction our Savior suffered, and that it was done for our sake, it is a harrowing and shaking remonstration. </p><p>Years ago, a choir in which I sang offered an arrangement by Damian Lundy, FSC. It is a simple arrangement that does not have the powerful thunder or celestial otherworldliness of the arrangements you might commonly encounter in a basilica. It does not offer an imposing voice from heaven; rather, its approachable melody speaks more of what I might imagine Christ crucified might ask from the cross. While the exact lyrics are under copyright, it basically lists the wonders the Lord has worked in salvation history...and our response to all of that is Christ's scourging, suffering, and crucifixion.</p><p>I have yet to hear it again. I hold the tune and lyrics in memory, relishing how their mournful reprimands pierce me and shake me to my core. It sounds an odd thing to say, but allow me a moment.</p><p>No celebration of the Resurrection is what I would call full-bodied without intentional reflection on our individual roles that led to Christ's Passion and Death. If we have been saved from the wages of Sin, i.e., death, it's probably important to know how we have followed Sin's path in our lives if the love of God, the gratuitous nature of the invitation to eternal life, are to hit us more immediately and personally rather than abstractly. It's far easier to shrug off the abstract. It's far more difficult to not be stricken by the personal.</p><p>How have I prepared a cross for the Lord? How do I spit in the Lord's face, mock Him, nail him to the cross? If whatever I do to the least is what I do to the Lord, what have I done to the person I love least? Dorothy Day once said, "I only love the Lord as much as the person I love the least." We do this in our concrete actions and in the myriad ways that we tacitly support our communities' failure to strive for (or sometimes outright neglect of) the common good and inalienable dignity of every human from conception to natural death. I am not exaggerating when I say "myriad". I always have the temptation to water this down. After all, that's a lot to bear. It's too much to bear, in fact. My own failings and shortcomings as a person are too much to bear on their own much of the time, let alone those greater sins of the community I with which I cooperate more remotely. It is impossible, save for the grace of God. We are too finite and limited to accomplish this on our own. We need God. Easter spoilers: God gives this grace to us abundantly. </p><p>The interchange between the Passion and Resurrection ought to be one we engage with every day. Each day we can reflect on ways in the past and present (both in concrete, one-off actions and in patterns of behavior and systems of sin) that necessitate what Christ has done for us on the cross, which in turn allows us to rejoice all the more intimately in the glory of the Resurrection, which in turn can help us take up our own crosses and deny ourselves as we live more deeply in God's love and share it with others. Some days this may well feel empowering and exhilirating. In other seasons it will feel more like dialysis: arduous, lengthy, painful.</p><p>The Triduum liturgy holds up what's at the center of our faith as if under a microscope: going intentionally through every little beat, recalling why we rejoice, why we need to be here, what we are called to do as we go forth. We live the truth of this Triduum every day, celebrate it at every Mass. </p><p>Give us the strength to more and more turn our eyes toward your cross, to not hide from that sin in our lives that nailed you there and scourged your back, Lord Jesus. Through the grace of your Resurrection, may our journey with you through your Passion shed ever-greater insight into how deeply we need you, how incomprehensibly much you love each of us, and how powerful your love can be in our lives if we let it. May we hear and hold onto your reproaches, may we know what <i>we </i>have done to <i>you</i>, and by your grace may we not come away from that encounter unmoved. </p>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-30584505196626941772021-04-01T21:27:00.004-07:002021-04-01T21:27:43.884-07:00Holy Triduum: A Blog in three parts (part 1)<p><i>There's so much to say about each part of the Easter Triduum. I left out many small reflections for each day, but would love to talk about any and every element of this time with you, should you so desire. Just let me know!</i></p><p><i><b>Part 1 - Holy Thursday</b></i></p><p>It's a predictable refrain this year: "This whole year has been Lent." I've written it here. Other contributors have articulated something similar, albeit better than I. I saw Holy Week and the Easter Triduum coming from miles away, it seemed, with planning and scheduling; I yearned for it, even; yet somehow I'm left reeling that this night I am suddenly here in the thick of it. Perhaps it's because were in this liminal space of not being totally in lockdown like last spring, but not being wholly "normal, either; this place of limbo can be distracting and tiring.</p><p>There are more pressing things, I suppose, than pondering how we got here, such as engaging and being present to it the best I can now that it's arrived. So I'll get to that, and I will offer reflections for these days of the Triduum as well. First, though, I want a minute to acknowledge the sadness of another very different celebration of these most holy days of our calendar. </p><p>I miss the richness of the liturgy. This year is better in many ways than last year, to be sure! But there was no real celebration with palms here; I saw no washing of feet; no transitus of the Blessed Sacrament to a tabernacle/altar of repose with the congregation in tow. I am sure I will see more in the next few days, such as not venerating the same cross as those with whom I have gathered to pray. I am grateful that I am still able to celebrate this Triduum Liturgy across these three days in person as opposed to last year, that even last year the truths they celebrate are true even if I can't be physically present at the liturgy. I grieve the temporary loss of these moments, though, that have engaged my senses as well as my heart and mind and assisted me in fully active and conscious participation.</p><p>And yet perhaps this time deprived of these smaller moments is one the Spirit might make an opportunity, should I be able to cooperate.</p><p>To be succinct for tonight, a Taize chant that has haunted me from the moment I first heard it is "Stay With Me". Just look it up on Youtube as "Stay with me taize" and you'll find it. This year, the impassioned, persistent plea of Christ comes to me all the more urgently through the words: "Stay with me. Remain here with me. Watch and pray!" In this unusual time when things are so clearly not ideal, what does it mean to stay with Christ? The chant refers to his charging his disciples to keep watch and pray while he prayed at Gethsemane. And yet I also hear in it Christ's exhortation from John's Last Supper discourse to remain in him, that we bear fruit. How do I stay with him? What does that look like particularly now in these holy days, but as the Easter season unwinds as well? I have no novel or ground-breaking reflection here; only the Lord's gentle, loving, but insistent reminder to me that apart from him I can do nothing. </p><p>Who do I need to forgive? Who do I need to serve? What does it mean to empty myself, to forget any pretense of status, to lovingly minister fully aware of others' ugliest tendencies?</p><p>May we stay with you and remain in you, Lord, watchful and alert. Help us to cling to you, especially when fear tempts us back to the ways of greed and self-interest, suspicion and uncharity, gossip and detraction, vanity and superficiality. Help us to bear great fruit.</p>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-56735135743959200942021-03-29T06:41:00.006-07:002021-03-29T06:41:54.809-07:00Using ALL Our Gifts<p> <i>This entry comes to us from Ashlyn Harrington, a sophomore Education Major.</i></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">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.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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. <o:p></o:p></p><i>-------</i><p></p><p><i>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.</i></p>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-58698247515701859812021-03-22T07:33:00.005-07:002021-03-22T07:33:37.899-07:00Messianic Entry<p><i>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.</i></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">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.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You may want to light a candle and
read </span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Luke
19:29-38</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">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.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">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. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">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.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">By his
birth, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">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!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As you prepare for Holy Week, choose
one of the reflections to help center your mind and heart on entering into
these sacred days.</span></i></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Spend time with the words of the
prophets. Select a verse and ponder what this reveals to you about the Messiah?
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">Zechariah
9:9<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Isaiah 9:1<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Isaiah 9:6<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Micah 5:2<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We hear many titles or names of
Jesus during Holy Week. Today we lifted up <i>Messiah</i>, 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. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p><i></i><p></p>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-2083334376214850712021-03-15T13:43:00.000-07:002021-03-15T13:43:04.164-07:00The Prayer Thing<p> <i>This week's post comes from Elyse Keeffer. Elyse is a 1st year Religious Studies Major from Galena, IL.</i></p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p>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.”</p><p>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.</p><p>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</p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>God Bless,</p><p>Elyse Keeffer</p>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-13845382739782298462021-03-08T07:01:00.004-08:002021-03-08T07:01:59.637-08:00Prayer and Study--Almost the Same Thing?<p> <i>This week's post comes to us from Professor Adam Myers, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at MMMU.</i></p><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{e36dcc29-ae51-4918-a1f3-99d98d76c5b9}{175}" paraid="189300512" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Prayer and Study</span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{e36dcc29-ae51-4918-a1f3-99d98d76c5b9}{183}" paraid="740462349" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">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. </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">For that reason, f</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">riars in this order are called Dominicans. </span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{e36dcc29-ae51-4918-a1f3-99d98d76c5b9}{193}" paraid="2035448087" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">There are two things Dominicans did then and do </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">today </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">quite a bit of: they pray and study in regular rhythm. </span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{e36dcc29-ae51-4918-a1f3-99d98d76c5b9}{203}" paraid="1288891919" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Here at Mount Mercy, </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">a Catholic liberal arts university, </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">it seems fitting to take a moment today </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">to think about those two things: prayer and study.</span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{e36dcc29-ae51-4918-a1f3-99d98d76c5b9}{215}" paraid="1248402914" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">It shouldn’t surprise us to think that </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">these </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">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. </span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{e36dcc29-ae51-4918-a1f3-99d98d76c5b9}{225}" paraid="332477542" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Or perhaps </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">you have the idea that praying, while meaningful and worthwhile, is in the end not very productive and perhaps even a waste of time.</span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{e36dcc29-ae51-4918-a1f3-99d98d76c5b9}{233}" paraid="1811759154" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">But both prayer and study are about one fundamental thing: </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">order</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. Let me say something about what I mean about order.</span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{e36dcc29-ae51-4918-a1f3-99d98d76c5b9}{243}" paraid="2052627439" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Order</span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{e36dcc29-ae51-4918-a1f3-99d98d76c5b9}{251}" paraid="1450321174" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Order is about priorities. It is about ranking. We rank the various things we love in our lives all the time. </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">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). </span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{55b0e781-ac82-461c-aea6-935fb0e0c0a0}{4}" paraid="398442701" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Our actions have a certain kind of order to them</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> too. Take a simple example</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. I get in the car </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">in order </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">to go to the </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">grocery store. I go to that </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">store to buy food. I buy the food to prepare a meal. I prepare a meal to celebrate a feast</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> with others</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. That’s order. </span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{55b0e781-ac82-461c-aea6-935fb0e0c0a0}{26}" paraid="1664421578" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Sometimes we forget what we are doing</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">T</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">hrough highway hypnosis, </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">I forget </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">I was headed to the store. Once I recall the ultimate </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">goal </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">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. </span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{55b0e781-ac82-461c-aea6-935fb0e0c0a0}{46}" paraid="1735811687" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">It would be foolish if, when you forget your ultimate goal, </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">you </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">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 </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">really</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> want.</span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{55b0e781-ac82-461c-aea6-935fb0e0c0a0}{60}" paraid="1833282092" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Prayer and Order</span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{55b0e781-ac82-461c-aea6-935fb0e0c0a0}{68}" paraid="1755923503" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">What has all this got to do with prayer? Here </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">I follow St Thomas closely: </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">prayer </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">brings order to </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">our desires</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Sometimes we may think that prayer is just telling God what we want. But it is also</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">,</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> even more </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">fundamentally</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">,</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> about </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">the </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">order </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">of </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">those desires. </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">It’s </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">about figuring out what it is we all truly want, deep down</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">, and thereby bringing order to all the other desires we have</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. </span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{55b0e781-ac82-461c-aea6-935fb0e0c0a0}{112}" paraid="1224511720" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">St Thomas has a name for the thing that each of us </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">truly </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">want, deep down: </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">God</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">.</span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{55b0e781-ac82-461c-aea6-935fb0e0c0a0}{126}" paraid="1125857706" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">When I pray, I am remembering </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">that Goal</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. Just as I remember that I am getting </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">into </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">the car </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">to go to the store, to get food, but </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">ultimately</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> to prepare a meal for a feast</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">:</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> so also, when I pray, I remember the ultimate thing I am after</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">—God</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. </span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{55b0e781-ac82-461c-aea6-935fb0e0c0a0}{154}" paraid="2025637994" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">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. </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{55b0e781-ac82-461c-aea6-935fb0e0c0a0}{160}" paraid="567352516" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">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.</span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{55b0e781-ac82-461c-aea6-935fb0e0c0a0}{166}" paraid="228379742" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">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 </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span class="TextRun Highlight BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733">to prepare</span></span><span class="TextRun Highlight BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733"> a </span></span><span class="TextRun Highlight BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733">feast?” I ha</span></span></span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: white;">v</span>e 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.</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{55b0e781-ac82-461c-aea6-935fb0e0c0a0}{182}" paraid="308090009" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">The Life of a Student</span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{55b0e781-ac82-461c-aea6-935fb0e0c0a0}{190}" paraid="1492430285" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">God may not appear very desirable </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">when</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> so many other </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">desirable things </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">jockey for our attention</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> on a daily basis. </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">And these goods are ever-present even at Mount Mercy.</span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{55b0e781-ac82-461c-aea6-935fb0e0c0a0}{208}" paraid="1314198122" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Think about it. </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">By getting a degree from Mount Mercy, you increase your earning potential. You might </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">garner a </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">great </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">reputation </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">in your community </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">for being </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">a dedicated nurse, a </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">committed teacher, or a</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">n</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> entrepreneur</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">ial </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">philanthropist</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">. </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">All those things aside, </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">you may </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">just </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">think the four years of college are </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">just </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">about the sheer pleasure of it all. </span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{55b0e781-ac82-461c-aea6-935fb0e0c0a0}{252}" paraid="1445720572" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">Money, </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">reputation</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">, pleasure—these things, in general, aren’t bad. </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">But there’s one thing that St Thomas </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">thought serious study should reveal about these goods—they’re </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">penultimate</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">, second-to-last at best.</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{e048dc46-c382-4f52-b119-a2312eef1858}{17}" paraid="1018836370" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">It’s pretty easy to tell that money, for instance, isn’t the ultimate thing. For o</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">ne can always ask, “What do I want to make money </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">for</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">?” </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">To fail to ask that question is </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">like thinking that going to the grocery store is the </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">real </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">goal</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">,</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> when in fact </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">the real </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">goal is to get food there and then go home and prepare a </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">feast</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">.</span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{e048dc46-c382-4f52-b119-a2312eef1858}{49}" paraid="1296523326" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">The goal of serious, liberal arts study is to make sure you keep asking that question</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">—what is this desirable thing </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">for</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">?—</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">until you </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">hit </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">paydirt and find the truly desirable thing. </span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{e048dc46-c382-4f52-b119-a2312eef1858}{67}" paraid="987066507" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">And here’s </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">where </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">study and prayer tie together. </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">If prayer brings order to our desires</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">, and if serious study is meant to help us find the </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">ultimately desirable </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">thing, then </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">both activities work in harmony.</span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{e048dc46-c382-4f52-b119-a2312eef1858}{85}" paraid="1256513823" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">They each point us towards a liberating awareness of what</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">, deep down, </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">is </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">truly desirable.</span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX1 SCXW212875733" style="direction: ltr;"><p class="Paragraph BCX1 SCXW212875733" paraeid="{e048dc46-c382-4f52-b119-a2312eef1858}{97}" paraid="820787596" style="color: windowtext; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">And that is why St Thomas, like all his Dominican confreres then and now, have tended to </span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US">consummate</span><span class="TextRun BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;" xml:lang="EN-US"> their studying by going to the chapel and giving attention to God in prayer. </span><span class="EOP BCX1 SCXW212875733" data-ccp-props="{}" style="font-family: Calibri,Calibri_EmbeddedFont,Calibri_MSFontService,Sans-Serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.42px;"> </span></p></div>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-67859077236576321362021-03-02T06:27:00.002-08:002021-03-02T06:27:16.429-08:00Celebrate Creation's Beauty<p> <i>This week's reflection comes to us from Rachael Murtaugh, the Director of the Office of Sustainability at Mount Mercy</i>.</p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">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.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">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<sup>rd</sup>,
and celebrate World Wildlife Day? Find ways to celebrate at <a href="https://www.wildlifeday.org/"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Official website of UN World Wildlife Day</span></a><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> 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.</span></p><p></p>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-16788312333843133242021-02-22T06:17:00.001-08:002021-02-22T08:09:16.935-08:00Choose Hope<p><i><br /> This week's reflection comes to us from Professor Carol Cross. Carol is an Adjunct Professor of Chemistry at Mount Mercy University.</i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLNcM_M5gvXJtXT9hKevC8hG3SfKBkMdmdDsPZtPYET3yZW0B-0FzHvYneU-nFOv34e78fW44oSUBzj1KQzx2a5qOsgxUj720tvqCDI_nnPe9MHNuEbeJm1tKLefnAI9RH92NtaA3k6bKa/s1768/keephope.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1206" data-original-width="1768" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLNcM_M5gvXJtXT9hKevC8hG3SfKBkMdmdDsPZtPYET3yZW0B-0FzHvYneU-nFOv34e78fW44oSUBzj1KQzx2a5qOsgxUj720tvqCDI_nnPe9MHNuEbeJm1tKLefnAI9RH92NtaA3k6bKa/s320/keephope.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">As we head into Lent this year the thought came to me that
it has never felt like Lent of 2020 ended. The past year, due to the pandemic
and derecho, has been a year filled with sacrifices and struggles – almost as
if Lenten practices were handed to us one after the other. Lent is good, and
good for us, but Lent is tied intimately and necessarily to Easter. Easter is a
time of feasting and celebration, a time of hope and happiness. Easter did come
in 2020 yet found us dealing with the overwhelming struggle of the pandemic. For
me, celebrating Easter was difficult while facing our strange new world.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">During Lent of 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, my
daughter and I did what a lot of people did and cut out dozens of paper hearts
to put up on a front window. This started as a game, “heart hunting,” for
people who were out on walks. These hearts were intended to be a sign of
solidarity with our neighbors, with essential workers, with doctors and nurses,
with anyone who was struggling through the pandemic. To our hearts we added the
words, “keep HOPE in your heart.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Eleven
months later, the hearts and words on my daughter’s bedroom window are very
faded and a bit tattered, but still up. We decided we won’t take them down
until there are no Covid related deaths in Iowa for at least one week.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Along with teaching at Mount Mercy, I am the primary
caregiver of my youngest daughter who has significant physical disabilities. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My day fully kicks in with a call from her
that she is awake. The first thing I do when entering her room is open the
curtains to the big window in her room – the window that has hearts taped all
over and big letters spelling out the message, “keep HOPE in your heart.”
Initially, as I mentioned above, this message was for anyone walking or driving
by our house. But after a few months, I knew that our neighbors, the mailman,
and anyone passing by probably didn’t even notice the window anymore. After a
few months, I started to get a bit irritated with the need to look around all
the hearts to see out the window.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But then, at some point, when I opened the curtains one
morning it occurred to me how much I needed this message – how much I needed to
be reminded to keep hope in my own heart. As the pandemic grew worse, as the
derecho devastated our city, and as protests, hatred, and division dominated the
news in our country, I struggled to continue hoping that things would get
better.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Reflecting on my struggle helped me better understand the two
different types of hope – natural hope and divine hope. Natural hope isn’t some
vague sense of optimism or a feeling that we create but is a disposition of our
will by which we desire a difficult, possible good. Natural hope has an end in
sight – an object that is good and valuable that we confidently look forward to
and seek to attain. When I say I am hopeful that the end of the pandemic will
come, I am saying this based on my rational evaluation of the reality of the
situation – we now have good vaccines and they are becoming more readily
available, we know what we need to do to keep each other safe (masks, hand
washing, social distancing, etc.) and it seems that more people are doing this,
and so on.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But what if the reality of a situation doesn’t give us a
rational basis for hope? Sometimes we must acknowledge that the object we wish
for is unattainable and so we can’t justify our hoping. Because this can happen,
we ought to be thoughtful about the object of our hope. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surely the end of the pandemic would make us
all happy! But if the pandemic stretched on for many years and the pandemic’s
end was our only hope for happiness, we may fall into despair and depression.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Our faith helps and guides us as we determine what will
bring us true happiness. And our faith gives us more than just things in the
natural world to choose from as the object of our hope. This distinguishes <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>divine hope from natural hope. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the object of our hope is to be with God,
then we have not only chosen an attainable end but also the highest and
greatest end. Our faith teaches us that, <span class="text">“Hope is the
theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as
our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our
own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.” (Catechism of
the Catholic Church, 1817). So natural hope and divine hope differ not only in
the object desired but also in the fact that divine hope is a gift of God’s
grace.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">By living lives of faith we surely have good reason to be persons
of hope. When the world around us is difficult and we are struggling, we can
still have hope in knowing that the object of our hope never changes or leaves
us or fails in His love for us. And continuing daily to live a life of faith in
a state of grace, we have good reason to hope that someday we will be with God,
the source of true happiness.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">And so divine hope gives us perspective, brings peace,
guides our activities, and sees us through difficult times. Lent is a good time
to practice divine hope. Here is a simple prayer of hope we can say each day.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="hgkelc"><b>Act of Hope</b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">O my God, relying on your infinite goodness and promises, I
hope to obtain pardon for my sins, the help of your grace and life everlasting,
through the merits of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Redeemer. Amen.<o:p></o:p></p><br /><p></p>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-13483172705064624692021-02-14T18:43:00.001-08:002021-02-17T12:24:25.402-08:00Open Your Heart: Lent 2021<p> <i>This post is by Michael Beard, Campus Minister at Mount Mercy University</i>.</p><p>For those looking for the resources they can be found halfway down the entry; for those unaware of the resources, there are resources and info to share, so heads up! This is a longer entry!</p><p>This Wednesday marks the formal beginning of this year's Lent. Before flooding you with opportunities for engaging the season, just a few simple thoughts around this theme Campus Ministry has adopted for Lent: Open Your Heart. In the Catholic cycle of liturgy readings, Ash Wednesday always has the same set of readings every year. Joel 2:12-18; Psalm 51: 3-6ab, 12-14, 17; 2 Corinthians 5:20--6:2; and Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18. You can read them <a href="https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021721.cfm">here</a>. </p><p>The second sentence of Joel's passage is a command: "Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God." In Joel's time and culture, tearing garments was a sign of mourning, loss, grief. However, God did not want a gesture that was all flash and no substance; God wanted them to open their hearts, acknowledging their sin, feeling genuine remorse for it, and a desire to walk with God once again. The act had become so removed from the internal disposition that was supposed to cause it! Joel's audience is a people who had suffered an agricultural crisis in the form of poor winter rain and a locust infestation. They were dealing with the logistical concerns of this without realizing that perhaps God was taking advantage of the moment to communicate a message to them: come back! Little by little, the community and the individuals had wandered away from God by degrees. </p><p>In our tradition, lament and contrition actually give way to hope. God calls the people (and us): tear your heart open that God may enter in. Have hope that God will heal you, sustain you, and lead you where you need to go. </p><p>Every year we ought to take time to examine how we've drifted off-course and prayerfully discern how to adjust back to where/how we're called to be. This year in particular, though, merits some real reflection. Uncertainty, stress, and deprivation of sources of renewal may not always be at the front of our mind, but they eat away at us, much like an app consuming battery life as it runs in the background. In stressful times, we may well start thinking in purely material, physical, logistical terms and not take a moment to discern how God might be speaking to us in the storm. Even those of us who are faring pretty well might not realize that we might not have taken a jump or a leap away, but rather some simple quiet steps away from God's lead. What blockades have we set up? What reasons have we used for shutting God's voice out? For shutting others out? The Christian heart is one that is striving to be open to others through God's means, not set up barricades of our own making. </p><p>This Lent, open your heart! Open it to God, be transparent and candid in conversation with God. Unpack your heart to Him. And in doing this, the hope is that you'll discover your heart is more able to be open to others.</p><p>Below you will find some concrete resources for those of you who are part of the MMU community. I hope they are of help to you. Prayers as we make our way through Lent; may your heart know God's healing and love, and may you share that with others sans reserve.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Resources for Lent
2021:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">Open Your Heart </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For Christians, Lent is a special season of repentance in
anticipation of the sorrow of Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday and the joy
of the Resurrection at Easter. Living in hope, we have the courage to examine
how we fall short of how we are called to live and love in this world,
acknowledge our sins, and take action to make amends and correct course. In the
Catholic tradition (as well as other Christian traditions, too!), there are
three main areas of focus for that examination, repentance, and action. These
are <b>Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving</b>. Whether you are well-traveled
through the Lenten journey or are a relative beginner, we hope these resources
will help you find ways to live out a meaningful and fruitful Lent.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><u>Prayer</u></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>-Communal Prayer</i>: All are welcome! Our Lenten Activities
sheet (found on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MountMercyMissionMinistry/photos/pcb.4109471355751636/4109467632418675">page</a>) has all the dates and times (except for small groups)!<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><u>Small Groups</u> – Our Residential Peer
Ministers each lead a small group throughout the semester. Contact Michael
(mbeard@mtmercy.edu) for more information.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><u>Stations of the Cross</u> (see our flier, linked above)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><u>Praise and Worship</u> (see our flier, linked above)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><u>Mass</u> – Mass continues at 7:30 PM on
Sundays and 11:30 AM on Wednesdays in the Chapel.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>-Personal Prayer</i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The Chapel is open at most times for your
personal prayer and reflection. Aside from your ID to get in the office door,
you don’t need to bring anything except yourself! <span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><u>Eucharistic Adoration</u> - on Tuesdays this
semester, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed from 9 AM to 1 PM. You are
welcome to come for as long or as little as you wish for silence, prayer, and
rest in Jesus’ presence.<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><u>Stations of the Cross</u> - There are opportunities
to pray the Stations on your own as well as in a group. Booklets are available
in the Chapel as you come in (look to the bookshelf). You can also check out
video versions of the Stations here:<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq7iceAQqfs">In the style of St. Francis
of Assisi</a><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEIvGC1WsbM">In the style of St.
Alphonsus Liguori</a><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">o<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVM0Mn0AgHw">A shortened version if you
only have 10 minutes</a><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><u><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Scripture</span></u><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> – Praying with Scripture is a classic prayer form in
Christianity. If you are unsure how to begin, Fr. Mike Schmitz has a podcast that
offers reflections <i>and </i>gives an outline for Scripture reading every day.
To get the outline and a link to the podcast, click </span><a href="https://ascensionpress.com/pages/biy-registration"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">here</span></a><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><u><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Fasting</span></u></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There
are a couple of practices involving fasting in Lent:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>-Fasting: this is the reduction of
our food intake. On Wednesday and Good Friday, Catholics are called to fast,
that is, eat one meal and two smaller snacks that do not add up to a meal. It
is a recommended practice throughout this season, though, to remind us that we
don’t live on bread alone, but on God’s Word. It helps us put things back in
the proper tiers of priority.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>-Abstinence: This means avoiding
eating some particular thing. For Catholics in Lent, we give up meat on
Fridays. Many people also “give up” or try to reduce something: sweets, snacks,
swearing, Snapchat, fast food, etc. There will be meatless options on Fridays
during Lent in the MMU Dining Hall, as well.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Besides
Fridays, Ash Wednesday, and Good Friday, we encourage you to try practicing
both fasting and abstinence during Lent. Just remember: Lent is not meant to be
a dieting program; be open to fasting helping your relationship with God and
those who go without food; abstain from things/actions in such a way that they
connect you more richly with the Lord and with others.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><i><u><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Almsgiving</span></u></i></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">College
students aren’t exactly known for having lots of cash to spare, but here are a
few ways you might be able to give:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">-40 Days of Kindness: You can find this <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MountMercyMissionMinistry/photos/pcb.4109471355751636/4109470729085032">here</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MountMercyMissionMinistry/photos/pcb.4109471355751636/4109470755751696">here</a>. These are simple actions you can take each day to engage with Lent!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">-Fasting money. If giving something up this Lent
translates to having more spending money, consider giving that money to a good
cause:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">-Food for Mustang Market: Just drop off food donations
to Campus Ministry any weekday</span>-Give your new money to your favorite charity.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1in;"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">-Buy someone you know is struggling lunch or coffee.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>-Families Helping Families Clothing
Drive<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Check out how you can
help foster kids this Lent through <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MountMercyMissionMinistry/photos/pcb.4109471355751636/4109467622418676">this flier!</a></span></p><p></p>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-26652655867723021502021-02-08T06:35:00.002-08:002021-02-08T06:44:07.894-08:00Lessons Learned and Relearned<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Michael Beard is the author this week. Michael works as the Campus Minister at Mount Mercy University.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">I’ll get a bit personal this week. This Tuesday marks 10
years since I arrived back in the United States after 18 months of volunteering
in Lima, Peru. Every year around this time I reflect on the craziness of time
passing, but when it hit me that a decade has passed since this critical time
of my life, it hit me in the gut.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Since I got back to the States, people have asked, “How was
Peru?” A perfectly legitimate question. I’ve struggled to find responses that
are concise and sincere; too often I struggled to find ways to summarize the
experience in its totality. Often I simply responded, “Amazing,” “Really
great,” etc. I never quite figured it out.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Don’t worry: I’m not going to use this entry to try and find
the right way to answer.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I signed on to be a volunteer with Capuchin Franciscan
friars after graduating from college not knowing what I hoped to get out of it,
what I’d be able to do with it, or even what I was going to be doing. I arrived
in Lima with 2 other volunteers from the States to work at Ciudad de los Niños
de la Inmaculada, a residence for boys aged 3-18 whose families were in dire
economic straits. Ciudad offered education and formation in addition to
shelter, a fairly healthy community, and good nutrition, while also making sure
parents didn’t jump ship. I got assigned to work with the 13-15 year-old boys. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Come by my office sometime; I have many stories to share
with you from the absurd to the somber, profound to inane. I will wax with
(maybe) eloquence about the diverse and amazing cuisine, the raw aching beauty
of the geography, the complexity of marveling at colonial architecture and
influence. I can tell you the misadventures of being far taller than standard
Peruvian size (I hit my head a lot), of being a suburbs/city boy who’d never
killed livestock in his life having to kill chickens and manage a henhouse, of
playing, “Let’s eat something outside of our comfort zone” and getting a big
mouthful of what’s colloquially known as the “vomit fruit”. It was only 18
months, but what a vivid and full 18 months it was.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For the purpose of this blog, I’ll forego those and dive
into a different story. Before going to Peru, I usually knew what to say,
having a firm grasp of language and a variety of words to get the exact shade
of meaning I wanted. I was a very good student. Suddenly I was thrust into an
environment wherein I had rudimentary language skills, and my wanting the exact
right word suddenly became an impediment to communication: imagine talking to
somebody self-correcting every other word. I felt like an idiot. The kids would
good-naturedly laugh at some of my fumblings, which made me all the more
frustrated. I felt unable to be heard. And, as an added blow to the arrogance
of my ego, I felt unable to be recognized as intelligent. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The lessons learned from this experience came both internally
and externally. Externally, I encountered great love from a community of people
who didn’t know much about me. They didn’t know about my life as a student, or
any wit, and they certainly didn’t know about my linguistic skills. They knew I
was there. They knew I was trying. Both because of that and because of just how
magnanimous they all are, I was welcomed and loved. Without having “earned” it,
I received love. It was a true moment of encountering God’s love through
others’. So externally, I learned firsthand that God’s love is gratuitous, and
that is how I’m called to love. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I had to learn it in my heart, too. I had unwittingly placed
conditions on my worth: my goodness is connected to intelligence or to
measurable success. The blows to my ego made me re-examine that. The love
others showed me at a vulnerable and exposed time made me realize I derived my
self-worth (and probably others’, too) from the wrong places. For the
Christian, DesCartes’ famous “Cogito ergo sum” is more, “God loves me,
therefore I am.” My dignity and everyone else’s is not something we can dismiss
on the merit of wealth, race, sex, mental or physical wellness, attractiveness,
political position, nationality etc. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have to brush up on these lessons every now and again. How
do you evaluate your self-worth or the worth of others? Is it on merit?
Intellect? Opinions? Grades? Attractiveness or weight? They may not be the sole
metrics, but are they part of the calculation? Be loving to yourself and to
others; strive to set these aside. Let God’s love meet you where you are, and
rest assured it will not leave you there.</p><p></p>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-28631509945981195112021-02-01T08:09:00.002-08:002021-02-01T08:09:38.223-08:00Take Care of Yourself<p> <i>Cara Reilly is the author of this post. Cara serves as the Coordinator for Service and Volunteerism in the Office of Mission and Ministry here at Mount Mercy University.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">We live in a world where
information is literally at our fingertips all day, every day. Want to know
what beans Kim Kardashian had on her salad today? That’s easy, just look at
Instagram. Instant answers, instant gratification. Want to know where you can
get that fluffy red blanket you saw in Leonardo DiCaprio’s photo? No problem,
there is a link to the website in the comments. That website has the fluffy red
blanket, the striped blue one, and the extra-large blanket in 32 different
colors. Yes, information is at our fingertips, but not all that information is
helpful or easily understandable.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">An excess of information can be
overwhelming. It is not uncommon to be doing research and end up with
information overload, which can lead to information anxiety. There are millions
of terabytes of information on the internet. Some information in the form of
data, facts, statements, reports, opinions and feelings. Information overload
can make understanding and effectively making decisions extremely difficult. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Sometimes it is all just too much. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">This world isn’t just
informational, it is busy. I have found myself thinking that when I am busy, I
am helping; when I am busy, I am working hard; when I am busy, I am achieving.
I mean come on, haven’t you ever heard “the key to success is 1% genius and 99%
perspiration”? It can get exhausting! Technology makes it easy to answer the
work email that came in at 7:00pm. Or to continue the group project well into
the morning hours. It feels like being busy is just a part of life. Do you know
what is really scary? Feeling the need to stay busy during our free time! Have
you ever found yourself watching The Bachelor (your current favorite show on
Hulu) and reaching for your phone during the one-minute ad? Why sit still during
a one-minute ad when you can catch up with your friend’s Snap Chat Stories? It
isn’t enough to be streaming, you have to be scrolling as well. The need to
stay busy is powerful.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">Sometimes it is all just too much.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">So what do you do when you realize
you have been reading the same sentence over and over again? Your brain has
been busy for 16 hours straight. What do you do when your eyes start to hurt
from your screen light? You have been taking in information continuously for 14
hours. What do you do when you stand and your muscles ache, when you sit and
your muscles ache? <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">You recharge. You
reset. You concentrate on your needs. </b>Put your busyness aside, and take
care of yourself.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">You know your body better than
anyone else. Your body will tell you what it needs, listen to it! Sometimes you
have to put your needs first. Not convinced? Well, when you are on an airplane
and the oxygen masks drop down, what do you do?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">“First, place the mask over your
mouth and nose. Pull the straps to tighten. If you are traveling with others,
make sure that your mask is on first before assisting them.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">It is hard to help others if you
cannot function yourself. Matthew 7:5, “You hypocrite, first take the log out
of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your
brother’s eye.” Examining your own needs, and taking care of yourself first,
will aid you in helping others.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">What are some of the best ways to
recharge you ask? Well, that all depends on you. Recharging looks different to
everyone. Some people want consistency in their schedule or actions. Others
recharge by going out on a limb and trying something new. Sometimes it is
hanging out with friends, or sometimes it is being alone and rereading Little
Women for the 20th time. Will eating a Dairy Queen Blizzard at 9:00pm help you
recharge? If yes, then do it. Maybe it is time you finally take that vacation
to Ireland you have been planning on Pinterest for 4 years. Do what you need to
do. It is your body and your needs. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">It is ok if this busy and
informational world gets to be too much. You are not alone. Take the time to recharge
for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">your</i> mental health, for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">your</i> physical health, and for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">your</i> emotional health. Don’t let this crazy
world consume you. Recharge so you can be the best version of yourself.<o:p></o:p></p><i></i><p></p>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-57236967845705622052021-01-25T07:09:00.000-08:002021-01-25T07:09:05.245-08:00Going Out On a Limb<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>Sister Linda Bechen, RSM, authored this post. Sr. Linda is a Sister of Mercy and the Vice President for Mission and Ministry at Mount Mercy University.</i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Recently, Pope Francis declared this as the Year of Joseph. In announcing this year, Pope Francis wrote in his Apostolic letter, Patris Corde, mindful of the COVID – 19 pandemic, which, he says, “has helped us see more clearly the importance of ‘ordinary people’ who, though far from the limelight, exercise patience, and offer hope every day. In this, they resemble St. Joseph, the man who goes unnoticed, a daily, discreet, and hidden presence, who nonetheless played an incomparable role in the history of salvation.”<o:p> </o:p></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: start;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Based on our experience, I would venture that some of us might not have a lot of words to describe Joseph primarily because of the few and brief Scriptural references to him.<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>Father, carpenter, husband, servant, quiet, brave, faithful, faith-filled, and committed. might be some that come to mind. To paraphrase Catherine McAuley, he was one who did the ordinary extraordinary well.<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>In doing so, he responded to and could be an instrument of action and grace in God’s plan of salvation.<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: start;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>Joseph was a witness of discipleship; that is, he responded to the call to follow no matter the cost, circumstance, or challenge. This call is ours as well and manifested in lives which do not deviate very far from Joseph’s. Paying attention and being aware of what we are being called to as well as how our “yes” invites us to be stretched and deepened in new and often subtle ways. All is key in developing and growing our discipleship. Very simply, sometimes we are called to relinquish our “ordinariness”, our comfort zones to respond to the greatness that God’s desires to be revealed through us.<o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: start;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Recently during Advent, I read a reflection from Max Lucado’s book, God<i>Came Near,</i>in which he wrote about Joseph being a person whose life was secure as a carpenter in the village of Nazareth. There were several known’s in his life—he knew his occupation; he knew that as a young Jewish man that he would one day marry and through the grace of God that, hopefully, the blessing of children would be his; he knew that Nazareth would be his home. This security, however, was upended when several challenges were placed before him with the announcement of Mary’s pregnancy.<o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: start;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>In responding faithfully to his commitment to wed Mary, he opens himself further to what he is being called to. It doesn’t stop here. He is thrust out of the known to embrace other possibilities not only for him alone but for his family. With each step, he moves in faith to the next and the path is revealed through time and circumstance.<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span>Lucado states that Joseph was invited to go out on a limb and at times, nudged to go further in order that God’s salvation could be revealed and realized.<o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: start;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Ironically, a couple of days after reading this, I watched a squirrel gingerly on a limb of tree. I noted that it was easy for the squirrel to navigate the broad branches but it was a challenge the farther out the squirrel went or when the branches became thin. At one point, the squirrel clutched the limb and literally inched its way back to the security of the trunk. He continued his exploration always retreating to the trunk.<o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: inherit; font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-weight: inherit;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: start;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Much has transpired for each of us over the days and weeks of the pandemic which have unfolded into months and now reaching into a which are reaching into a year. The reading and watching the squirrel’s exploration have sparked me to ask: For whom…for what am I willing to go out on a limb? How far out on the limb am I willing to go? What are the securities in my life that I am willing to “put aside” to respond more deeply or more fully to God’s call or desire for me?<o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: start;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">During this year, let us look to Joseph as a model of faith and discipleship in responding to the greatness of God in our lives. Let us join with Lucado in praying:<span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt 0.5in; text-align: start;"><i><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Heavenly Father, I see in Joseph’s life the importance of responding to your call. Help me to be like him and to have the courage to go out on the limb you are calling me to. Strengthen my faith to believe you will always be there to support me. Amen.</span></i><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: start;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.6933px; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; text-align: start;"><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></p><div><span style="border: 0px; color: inherit; font-family: "Palatino Linotype"; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></div></div><p><br /><br /></p><i><br /><br /></i><p></p>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-66741353621597181292021-01-17T20:43:00.002-08:002021-01-17T20:43:14.982-08:001/17 Post #2 - Loving Our Enemies: How Jesus' Command Affects Our View of "Enemy"<p> <i>This is the second post for this week. This post is by Dr. Bryan Cross, Associate Professor of Philosophy in</i><i> the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Mount Mercy University.</i></p><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The imperative from Jesus to love our enemies is grounded on two premises: the premise that even those whose character is evil are loved by God, as shown by the daily benefits God gives such persons (e.g. physical life, breath, sunlight, rain), and the imperative to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect. Jesus says to his disciples that if we were to love only those who love us, or to greet only our brothers, we would be no better than "tax collectors" and "Gentiles." Thus to love only those who love us is to fall short of the ethical standard demonstrated in God's love for both the just and the unjust.<br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But when as at present love is so widely conceived not as a choice but primarily as a feeling, the imperative to love one's enemies becomes unintelligible. That is because the imperative seems to translate into a requirement to deny or suppress one's feelings toward those who have harmed oneself or others one loves, or who intend to do so. Yet even the Gentile, Plato, argued that just persons would not want to make their enemies less just. Only unjust persons would want such a thing. Rather, he argues, just persons seek to make unjust persons become just. And from the broader Catholic intellectual tradition we learn that love at the level of the will by its very nature seeks two things. Love seeks both the good for the one loved, and seeks to bring about with the one loved the fullest kind of virtuous union fitting for the respective stations in life of the person loving and the person loved. Therefore love for one's enemies seeks for their attainment of their true good, and ultimately, inasmuch as possible, reconciliation and virtuous friendship with them.<br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In this way Jesus's imperative to love our enemies contains within itself the implicit truth that those we think of as enemies are not in essence our enemies but rather are in essence our neighbors, whatever the magnitude of their opposition to our well-being. This imperative thereby broadens and redefines our conceptual paradigm of the arena of goods and evils, by reconceiving within it what is truly our enemy and what is at worst a kind of prisoner of war, in the conflict between good and evil. Just as the imperative to love our neighbor as we love ourselves teaches us to see our neighbor as another self, so the imperative to love our enemy teaches us to see our enemy as still in essence our neighbor, and thus as another self. Those fellow humans who seek our harm still share our human nature, but they seek our harm because at worst they lack moral or intellectual goods, i.e. virtues. Since this lack can potentially be rectified, and since love pursues the good for the one loved, the imperative to love our enemies obliges us to seek to benefit them by helping them obtain the goods they lack. Thus in the light of the ontological truth within this divine imperative, our wrestling is not ultimately against "flesh and blood," because every fellow human being is in essence our neighbor, not our enemy.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Of course we may need to defend ourselves and others from grave harm by fellow humans who by demonstrated disposition or intention are a threat to ourselves or to the common good. Certainly we have an ethical obligation to protect the common good, and to prevent actions that gravely harm the common good. And loving our enemies does not undermine or oppose our obligation to prevent injustice, to seek justice in our societies, including justice for victims of injustice. Nor are we capable of rectifying every privation of good. And in some unique cases our presence can be a cause of stumbling or distress, in which case love requires that our benevolence remain at a distance.<br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">But the divine imperative to love our enemies does not permit us to categorize, conceive, or scapegoat any human or group of humans as in essence our enemy. This divine imperative, so embraced, thereby perspectivally and necessarily transforms a social, political, religious, or ethnic polarization from that in which the other group is conceived as the essential or ultimate enemy, to one in which the other is seen as constituted by our brothers and sisters from whom we are now estranged. In this way embracing this divine imperative breaks down such dividing walls.<br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">We also have to keep in mind that the underlying reason why those we count as enemies seek to harm us may turn out to be that we are the ones lacking moral or intellectual goods. In such a case we may need to learn something from those we count as our enemies. So we cannot rightly assume a priori that those who oppose us do so because of an intellectual or moral flaw on their part. But whether my flaw is the cause of the conflict or my enemy's flaw is that cause, neither nullifies the truth that those who seek our harm are not in essence our enemies but are so only at most by contingent privations of goods.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; font-family: "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In the epistemic light of this divine imperative our goal cannot be to harm or destroy those who threaten our well-being, or in indifference exile them from our sight. Instead loving our enemies elevates our goal to one in which we seek to become a means of well-being to our enemies, and ultimately if possible to be reconciled with them. That remains true whatever the level of culpability our enemies bear for their own condition, whether moral or intellectual. It remains true even when they persecute us, as Jesus teaches. To love our enemies calls us first to see our enemies as at worst our neighbors ensnared, even if culpably ensnared, in ignorance, error, or vice. In such cases, loving our enemies requires seeking to benefit them insofar as is in our power by the patient effort needed to free them from such ignorance, error, and vice, as we would want others to do for us if we were in their condition. </div>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-39380311485255591142021-01-17T20:33:00.004-08:002021-01-17T20:33:52.223-08:001/17 Post #1 - St. Andrew, MLK, and Christian Humility<p><i>This is the first of two posts for this week. This post is by Michael Beard, MMU Campus Minister.</i></p><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW173584073" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW173584073 BCX0" paraeid="{2c39c10b-04a2-479d-9f6c-ea12cc4460bc}{154}" paraid="1000419801" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; text-indent: 48px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Humility has been on my mind frequently as of late. Someone once disabused me of the notion that humility was self-denigration denial of my gifts; rather, humility is quite simply the recognition of one’s own limitedness, and in the Christian context, that means recognizing one’s status as creature and God’s status as Creator. To quote the priest in the film </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Rudy</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, “There is a God, and I’m not Him.” To live in humility is to continuously uncover what that concretely means in our daily lives, both in how we interact with the world and how we think.</span><span class="EOP SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW173584073" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW173584073 BCX0" paraeid="{2c39c10b-04a2-479d-9f6c-ea12cc4460bc}{162}" paraid="838997317" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW173584073" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW173584073 BCX0" paraeid="{5bf179a8-71ca-4d7f-a3a7-c43bfbb57e6f}{162}" paraid="1402619864" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Andrew, brother of Peter, is</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> o</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">ne of my favorite non-Jesus</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> folks who helps me understand how a dope like me can live out how Jesus calls us to live</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> For Catholics, this Sunday (1/17) we hear from John’s Gospel account how Andrew met Jesus for the first time. John the Baptist (</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2 SCXW173584073 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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"); background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">JtB</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> for short) </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">points Jesus out to him and another disciple of </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2 SCXW173584073 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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"); background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">JtB</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">, and they go and seek Jesus out. When Jesus asks what they are looking for, Andrew does not answer</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> grandly</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">; h</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">e doesn’t even directly answer Jesus’ question. Instead, he simply asks, “Lord, where are you staying?” </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Andrew was probably intrigued and bewildered by John’s description of Jesus as God’s sacrificial lamb (“Behold, the Lamb of God”); I don’t know what all he made of it. Regardless, it compelled him to learn more</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> about this person</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">. Jesus invites him closer, and Andrew’s new encounter convinces him: he has found God’s anointed one.</span><span class="EOP SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW173584073" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW173584073 BCX0" paraeid="{2c39c10b-04a2-479d-9f6c-ea12cc4460bc}{218}" paraid="1154104392" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW173584073" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW173584073 BCX0" paraeid="{2c39c10b-04a2-479d-9f6c-ea12cc4460bc}{220}" paraid="2054247599" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 SCXW173584073 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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"); background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Often</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> we can’t put a finger on what we want, </span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">nor do we</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> have an arsenal of GRE and SAT words to most precisely and eloquently articulate what </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">is welling up within our hearts. Many folks who look to become Catholic don’t have a clear </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">or coherent reason at the beginning of their journey; they had some sort of encounter </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">that left them wanting to experience more. It could be a powerful </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">spiritual experience that motivates them, but it could easily be a small something—the tiniest blip on the radar—that made them do a double-take and left them curious. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Most ministers facilitating somebody’s journey into Catholicism wouldn’t expect elaborate essays on why somebody would want to become Catholic</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">; they’ll meet them where they are and journey with them as they discover what resonated in their heart. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">That’s how it is in our relationship with Jesus, too: Jesus will meet us wherever we are and journey with us</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> as we discover and fill the yearnings of our hearts. </span><span class="EOP SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW173584073" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW173584073 BCX0" paraeid="{2c39c10b-04a2-479d-9f6c-ea12cc4460bc}{244}" paraid="1187442932" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW173584073" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW173584073 BCX0" paraeid="{2c39c10b-04a2-479d-9f6c-ea12cc4460bc}{246}" paraid="850935894" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Andrew repeatedly </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">offers a model for how to approach life as a follower of Jesus and a believer in God. Rather than got caught up in the impossibility of a task, or his inability to formulate a perf</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">ect answer, he simply offers what he has and what’s available. He doesn’t have a precise answer to Jesus’ question; </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 SCXW173584073 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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"); background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">so</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> what? He offers what </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">words he can, and Jesus meets him and guides him to where he needs to go. They don’t have enough money or resources to feed thousands of people (John 6); </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 SCXW173584073 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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"); background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">so</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> what? Here’s what they do have, and maybe God can work wonders with it. </span><span class="EOP SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW173584073" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW173584073 BCX0" paraeid="{b741e003-0af3-4e60-9fd4-3db4657936e5}{9}" paraid="1855979765" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW173584073" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW173584073 BCX0" paraeid="{b741e003-0af3-4e60-9fd4-3db4657936e5}{11}" paraid="730343701" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">It’s the same for all of us. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">With</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Christian h</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">umility, the temptation to despair at limitation, mortality, humanity, sinfulness, etc. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">w</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">ill be far</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> more</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> possible to fight. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">The call to holiness, relationship with Jesus, and for going forward is simple: offer what </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">is </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">to God, knowing this is the same God who has worked wonders and </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">who loves more deeply than we can fathom. By Jesus’ grace, trusting in Him, we can rejoice in our littleness rather than </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">let it hinder us. As Paul says, we </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 SCXW173584073 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; background-image: url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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"); background-position: left bottom; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">can do all in</span></span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> Christ who strengthens us.</span><span class="EOP SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW173584073" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW173584073 BCX0" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{89b9279f-ee65-4e33-98a5-0561399a4c37}{12}" paraid="120320264" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW173584073" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW173584073 BCX0" paraeid="{b741e003-0af3-4e60-9fd4-3db4657936e5}{33}" paraid="1504172965" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">This takes on a particular salience this week</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">:</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> as we remember the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">; </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">after the killings and shootings of this summer (and many, many </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">year</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">s)</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">; </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">in the midst of events at the capitol building. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">In the face of hatred, evil, violence, etc., the temptation to despair might be strong. The temptation to pretend everything is fine is also strong. Humility helps us to engage </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">with the world, recognizing it for what it is, and engage in the concrete ways that we can. What can we commend to the Lord? What small things can be done with great love? </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">God puts us exactly where we need to be—what are the concrete circumstances of our life, of our day, of our relationships? </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Simply because we cannot individually in a single month or action dismantle structures of sin that have had generations of development and myriad people enforcing it does not mean we are without effect.</span><span class="EOP SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW173584073" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW173584073 BCX0" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e8476015-dc5c-475f-ad23-6eb2656679f6}{108}" paraid="2098243118" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":259}" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX0 SCXW173584073" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW173584073 BCX0" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{663106a3-acc5-4d52-a880-bd540e50c7a2}{145}" paraid="1225070429" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Similarly, w</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">hat weighs at you, nags at you, tempts you to despair? </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Is there a restlessness in your heart, a yearning, an ache, or something inexpressible in words? Place it in God’s hands in prayer</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">These are</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> not the grandest of actions, but the smallest of see</span><span class="TextRun SCXW173584073 BCX0" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Times New Roman", "Times New Roman_EmbeddedFont", "Times New Roman_MSFontService", serif; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-ligatures: none !important; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">ds can grow mightily. There are any number of saints (including Andrew) in whose lives and actions one might see this point illustrated. One might well see it in the life and fruits of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as well.</span></p></div>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6755551878262909954.post-28192113072259116192021-01-08T08:54:00.018-08:002021-01-08T08:59:39.016-08:00Inaugural Post<p><span style="font-family: arial;"> Welcome to the first post of the Mustang Musings blog. The hope is that this will serve as a place to find brief reflections week to week--and from a variety of voices across the campus! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">To get things started, I will offer a brief reflection for the week of January 10. "I", by the way, am Michael Beard, Campus Minister here at the Mount. As a fair warning and perhaps as a call to come back, I don't plan on all the entries here being as long as this one.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: arial;">Anybody who's tried to make any plans this semester knows that you need to plan for your initial plan to fall through. Have a backup. Call an audible, roll with the punches, etc. Naturally, such was the case for this reflection (and my week in general): this time it was not due to the pandemic as much as by the events of Wednesday, January 6. I don't plan on offering a reflection quite in the vein of more capable individuals vested with more authority. Instead, let me humbly offer something that has come to mind as the political divides in this country have grown ever wider and deeper.</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? <span><span style="background-color: white;">It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. </span><span style="background-color: white;">But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade." (Mark 4:30-32)</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;">Jesus doesn't liken the Kingdom to the mighty Lebanon Cedar or some other tree known in the region for its magnificence. Jesus likens the Kingdom to what was for any farmer except a mustard farmer, a weed. In fact, it was a weed that was unstoppable once it had been planted. The seeds are so tiny, resilient, and numerous. The plant is similarly resilient and well-adapted to inhospitable soil and growing conditions.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;">I spoke with the Catholic club Emmaus at the beginning of last semester and used this observation as the key for how to engage in faith at college: embrace the mustard seed planted in your heart, let it take over, and let it interrupt your manicured fields, your plans, etc. I think it's important in this time, too, for all people who profess belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior, to reflect on this parable. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;">As we recall Jesus' entry into the world with the Christmas season fresh in our rearview mirrors, let's remember that God, in fact, entered the world less like a majestic cedar and more like a mustard seed, being laid in a manger having been born in a stable. Jesus' message, both then and now, is like a mustard seed, too. When the exhortations to love and to forgive come head-to-head with our impulse to revile, resent, and hate, how easy it is to think of love and forgiveness as annoying weeds that we should ignore. How many rationalizations we can give for why our hatred, our tribalism, our pettiness, our resentment, our embrace of the wisdom of the sword are the right, the justified, the reasonable, even the noble course of action! How tempting it is to carve out the wisdom of the cross from Jesus' teachings and life to make our religious beliefs align with a candidate, a party, or how we're currently living. We don't generally like being challenged, called up short, being made uncomfortable, or compelled to examine what we're doing so as to change. To our baser instincts, to our vices, to our flawed view, the mustard seed is a weed: unwanted, invasive, overrunning the field. But for the Christian, the mustard seed is the crop we want. We curb the mustard's spread and emphasize the other growths at to our own detriment and peril.</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;">Is there a takeaway for our daily lives? Yes. Bishop Robert Barron and Sister Theresa Aletheia Noble, FSP put it better than I can. In short, Bishop Barron has called us as individuals and a nation to engage in an examination of conscience. To use my own imagery above, he's called us to see where we spurn the mustard and cultivate the bad plants. You can find his reflection <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve071iEHxxI">here</a>. Sr. Theresa, in turn, composed several questions to aid in that self-examination. I offer them to you below:</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">"1. Do I make an effort to inform myself in a way that is open to truth wherever it might be found or do I only read opinions and media with which I always agree?</span></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">2. Do I make an effort to find, understand, and read news sources that are objective and follow journalistic standards?</span></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">3. Do I regularly reduce complex issues to simplistic, partisan sound bites to avoid engaging honestly and vulnerably with people with whom I disagree?</span></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">4. Do I speak of my ideological opponents in a way that dehumanizes, stereotypes, or objectifies them? Do I speak scornfully or dismissively of those with whom I disagree rather than engaging with their ideas?</span></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">5. Do I allow feelings of rage, hatred, and bitterness toward those I see as political enemies grow in my heart? </span></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">6. Do I cultivate sin in my heart more than I cultivate virtue?</span></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">7. Do I read spiritual books as much as or more than I read the news?</span></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">8. Do I speak of and focus on political events more than the Church’s liturgical calendar?</span></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">9. Am I regularly distracted from my responsibilities by news, pundits, political arguments, and negative feelings toward those with whom I disagree? </span></span></div></div><div class="o9v6fnle cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql ii04i59q" style="margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">10. What are my highest priorities? Where do I direct most of my energies? Do I put living for God first in my life?</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For all those injured and who lost their lives recently, we pray they may rest in peace.</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">For an end to division in our nation, Lord hear our prayer.</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;">That peace, justice, and truth may reign in our hearts and in our nation, Lord hear our prayer."</span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><i>Michael Beard is Campus Minister at Mount Mercy University. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, he has made the Midwest his home for 9 of the last 10 years. He lives nearby with his wife and daughter.</i></span></span></div></div></div>Mustang Musingshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12436003123479277947noreply@blogger.com0