Who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink’?

Remembering Japan

In today’s Gospel (John 4), Jesus is thirsty and asks the first person he sees for water. This woman is a Samaritan and in those days certain cultural groups just did not mix. Jesus was Jewish and she was a Samaritan, two groups that did not mix or dwell together. Jesus replied to her that if she only knew who He was (Son of God) that she herself would never thirst again. The woman had some sense that she was talking to a very special man, one who was willing to share water, conversation, and friendship with her, putting aside all cultural and religious differences. Jesus was in need of water to quench His human thirst and she was in need of “water” (living water) to quench her spiritual thirst.

As I read this Gospel I find myself thinking of the Japanese people. A proud nation facing unthinkable devastation and unbearable suffering. Looking into their faces on the tv news reports I see a terrible sadness but yet also resilience and hope. They may be too proud to verbally ask us for “a drink” but their eyes say it all. They are “thirsty” and need “living water.”

During Lent, we are asked to pray, fast and give alms. I ask you today to pause and reflect upon people in your life who may be thirsty, thirsty for basic needs, company, and spiritual fulfillment. I ask you to think of ways to provide the living water of Jesus to those who need Him so desperately. Remember those in Japan who need your prayers and alms. Perhaps you could dedicate a personal fast as well to show solidarity with those in Japan who may be starving and dehydrated. Let us open our hearts and give them drink as Jesus would. By sharing the Living Water Jesus quells our thirst as well. So… pause and look around… who is asking you for a drink?
God Bless, Holly Clark

Transfigure Us, O Lord...

And he was transfigured before them; his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light.
Mt 17:3

Oh how don’t wish you could climb up a mountain, feel God’s presence and look to the sky and be transfigured by God into the person you were meant to be? Wouldn’t it be joyous? Doesn’t this sound a bit dreamlike and not within the reach of reality? So often in our society we look to instant gratification, joy, communications. Nothing seems to take any time at all. We look to self help books, Google, Facebook, advice from friends in search of instant answers. We don’t want to wait for solutions to our problems and we lose patience with ourselves.

During Lent we are asked to be patient. Answers to our faith longings cannot be instantly obtained as easily we would like (i.e. receiving a text message from God!) Jesus spent 40 days in the desert while His faith was being tested and tempted by Satan. During Lent we are asked to walk with Jesus in the desert. We are asked to reflect upon our lives and examine where Satan is tempting us in our lives. We need to be patient with ourselves and to not expect instant answers to our faith.

Each one of us will walk a different path in the desert. One of us will see nothing but dirt and dust, another will see small signs of life in the cracks and still another will see nothing but joy in the challenge of walking in a desolate landscape. No one will find instant answers to life and after our 40 day journey we may find ourselves with more questions than answers. Our desert journey is just the beginning to our own transfiguration. We are fortunate to have Jesus as our guide and companion. As we travel our road to Easter and the joy of new life, let us remember that our transfiguration will come, in time… be still… and you will someday wake up, look in a mirror and see your face shining like the sun… transfigured in joy and love.
God Bless, Holly Clark

Become What You Think and Do?

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Lent. Lent is a time for reflection upon our lives and our relationship with the Father and Son. As we begin Lent I would ask you to take some time to quietly sit and reflect upon your life. Ask yourself what takes up the most time in your lives and what occupies your thoughts. Family, careers, worries? Then ask yourselves where does God fit in… is He even there?

Back in the eighties, with my first career in the medical sciences, I tended to look at life in terms of science. Looking at a flower, I would think of my botany class. Looking at the ocean I’d think of ecosystems. Later when I tried my hand at graphic design I looked at life with the eye of an artist. I saw everything in terms of shapes and colors. Getting a job in graphic design was very difficult and my life seemed to be a bit empty. I started volunteering my graphic design skills here at Sacred Heart and suddenly my life seemed much fuller! I was being exposed to new thoughts and ideas. I started reading Scripture and finally started understanding what our faith is all about. I started looking at my life and the world around me with a new lens. Now as I look around me I still see things in terms of science and art but now I thank God for giving us the beauty of science and nature. I still see life surrounded by color and shapes and I thank God for His paintbrush of Nature.

As I reflect upon my life this Lent, I am finding myself enriched by the Living Word. I try to see the world as Jesus would. I look at seed and think of the Parable of the Sower; at a recent wedding, the miracle at Cana; at a blind man- I think of Jesus’ healings… This Lent break open the Sunday scriptures and see where Scripture fits in your life. Scripture is a living word, a glimpse into God’s world. This Lent, ask Jesus to be your guide to life. Your eyes will be opened and your heart will be filled. As I look around me I see God’s world, God’s handiwork… in the smile of child, in the change of seasons, in the sky, in my family and friends, and in each of you.
God Bless, Holly Clark

Where is your Heart and Mind?

Even now, says the LORD, return to me
with your whole heart… -Joel 2:12

The first reading for Ash Wednesday, from Joel, asks us to return to the LORD with our whole heart. As we begin Lent we are beginning a new program called “Catholics Come Home.” We are inviting those who have drifted away from the Catholic faith to come celebrate and share our faith once again. I ask you to examine your hearts and try to recall a time when you were separated from your faith and remember what it was that brought you back. Was it an invitation from a friend, a kindly welcoming smile from a parishioner or perhaps you were in a crisis and the Church helped you overcome grief or economic hardship? In my early adulthood (seems like eons ago) I had drifted away and what brought me back was my love of music. A new choir was forming and though I had no idea even if I could sing, I joined after hearing God’s invitation. From that point on, 19 years ago, I started an incredible journey, arm-in-arm with the Lord.

On Ash Wednesday, and throughout Lent and Triduum, we will meet many people who have drifted away from the faith. How will you welcome them home? Will we be upset because they “took my pew” or will we smile warmly and say a silent prayer for them. Will we welcome them with open hearts and minds? St. Paul tells us that “We are ambassadors for Christ…” (2 Cor 5:20). How will we carry out this awesome task? Open your hearts! Open your minds! Open up a highway to God that all may travel!

I am looking forward to this Lent and Triduum as opportunities arise to show our love for one another with the Lord. I look forward to seeing new people and welcoming them to the Sacred Heart and St. Rose faith communities. I look forward to shouting “Alleluia! He is risen!” at Easter-time with our new family members. Only together can we build our highway to God.
God Bless, Holly Clark

What, Me Worry?

Mad Magazine’s Alfred E. Neuman has asked this question with every issue of Mad Magazine since 1956. How often do you worry? How much time do you spend worrying and does it do any good? What do you worry about?

Today’s Gospel (Mt 6:24-34) asks “Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?” Take a moment now and reflect upon the things you tend to worry about and worrying affects you. To answer Jesus’ question we would have to say that worrying probably shortens our lives. Worry causes stress which in turn causes heart problems, high blood pressure, strokes, etc. But you may ask how can we stop worrying? (Worrying can be very addictive!) It is not easy, especially when we care so much but worrying only gets in our way to reason out solutions to our problems.

During this Lent let us try to fast on worry and feast on life instead! Take note of today’s Gospel and reread it and reflect upon it often. When you catch yourself worrying, ask yourself “Will this add to my lifespan?” Then take your worries and let them go. Give them over to our God… Look to God, Father for strength, to Jesus for support and healing and to the Holy Spirit for guidance. You may find your worries will lessen in time…and always remember:

Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. – Mt 6:34

God Bless, Holly Clark

Seeing Christ

Seeing Christ

Chaos and mayhem… floods, earthquakes… murder, starvation… war… sadness… Looking at the daily news everyday can be very depressing. You read world and local news everyday and it seems as if our world is falling apart. You may find yourself asking “Where is Joy? Where is God? Where is our Savior?” Sometimes I feel very overwhelmed by humanity’s state of affairs. When I get depressed I remember a quote I once heard from a nun: “We live in a time of Spirit-filled chaos?” Spirit-filled chaos? We need to remember that Christ is always with us in the middle of our chaotic world. Very often He is working silently and it is up to each of us to actively seek Christ working amongst us. The hard part is we are so often caught up in our own lives to see much beyond our own space.

Where do you find Christ working in your life and in the world? This past month I have tried to find Christ as we battle our winter woes. And… I have found Christ everywhere! He is often a silent, but efficient worker! I have found Christ in my neighbors who helped shovel and snow-blow our walkways, and in our parishioners who call in to make donations to the food pantry and in a group of kids who will be diving into icy waters to raise money and awareness for those in need. I see Christ in my friends and co-workers who sense when I need a hug or a shoulder to lean on. I see Christ in my family who are with me through the good times and bad.

More recently I found Christ at work in the three Generations of Faith Festivals I attended. I facilitate three of our adult groups and the time spent sharing my faith with other adults and aiding them in their own faith journey, has been priceless to me. Christ said “wherever two or more are gathered you will find Me.” How true! When I facilitate a GoF session I am so buoyed by the love of Christ I find in each of the adults! At GoF I also see the face of Christ in our children. They show such enthusiasm for the faith and learning about Jesus. At the end of our last session a little 6 year-old girl came up to me, hands still in a prayer position as we had just finished our Lord’s Prayer, looked straight into my eyes and said, “Thank you.” I didn’t quite know what specifically she was thanking me for but it really didn’t matter. I looked into her face and saw the face of Christ.

This week I challenge you to seek out Christ in others. Examine where Christ has been at work in your lives and lastly examine how you can be Christ to others. Spring is coming and it is time to come out of winter darkness and chaos and go seek the light of Christ.
God Bless, Holly Clark

Caregiver Advice from St. Francis de Sales

Caregiving for an aging parent or terminal loved one can be very draining spiritually, emotionally and physically. Always remember to take of yourself too. If you don't you will not be able to take of your loved one too. Remeber, Jesus is always at your side... God Bless...

What Do You Pray For?

What Do You Pray For?

Last Tuesday morning I woke up and looked out the window and saw that it was snowing, yet again, and the ground was slushy/icy/slippery. We had just been blessed with a couple of nice days with plenty of sunshine and blue skies and I prayed for a very early spring. As I trudged to my car, trying not to slip in slush, I wondered whether praying for an early spring was perhaps a selfish prayer on my part. I had a conversation with someone a few weeks ago whose family had come across some hard times, but…, they owned a snowplow. Because of all the snow they are able to keep afloat. So, of course, they are praying for a very late spring!

How often do we pray for something, which if granted, may cause hardship to someone else? My praying for early spring will help me, and others afraid of falling on ice, etc. but what about those who depend on the extra income: snow plowers, neighborhood kids shoveling, etc.? I pondered this for quite some time. How do I pray for what may be selfish but necessary needs? What do you think? After much thought, and more prayer (!) I decided to pray for an early spring for myself but added to that a prayer to God to watch over those who need extra income. We can pray for our needs and the needs of others and let God figure it out!

This month, let us examine our prayers and ask if God were to answer them, how would his decision affect others? Let us pray for our needs and remember others’ needs at the same time and know that God sent Jesus to be always at our side, in good times and bad.

God Bless, Holly Clark

Lenten Longings

Lenten Longings:
LET YOURSELF BE

Let us pray that our prayer and sharing lead us to greater self-understanding and to reverence anew God’s way of leading us to our deepest peace and truest potential through life’s rhythm of joy and struggle. – Lenten Longings

Last week I went to a workshop at the Archdiocese on “Lenten Longings”. Lenten Longings is a faith sharing program put out by Renew International, a company dedicated to renewing parish life and the faith of her parishioners. By rediscovering and sharing our faith we find that we renew ourselves and each other with Christ’s help.

During the six weeks of Lent we will gather in small groups to pray together, break open the Sunday scripture together and share our faith with one another. During Lent we are asked to reflect deeply into our faith and seek ways to becoming closer to Christ. We can only do that if we allow ourselves to just “let ourselves be.” We need to--we long to- allow Christ to take care of us and shape us into the people, or persons, we are meant to be. We need to be still and hear God’s voice in the quiet of our minds. Let us break open God’s Word this Lent and truly listen with our hearts as we are invited to “just be”…

… these reflections on the Sunday readings of Lent invite us to “let ourselves be so that together and alone we may be moved during this holy season by the Loving Presence who longs for us more than we long for life itself To this God of our longing, we entrust ourselves throughout this paschal journey, asking only that—little by little or in one great flaming of our hearts— we may let ourselves be set ablaze.
– Lenten Longings

We set our hearts ablaze when we come together to share our faith and our hearts with one another. We set our faith on fire when we join together in Christ’s name. And… we WILL set the world on fire with love. Please consider joining a Lenten Longings group (or leading one!). Details to come…
God Bless, Holly Clark