Being Welcoming

Being Welcoming

In a day or two our Church will be gloriously filled as we celebrate the coming of our Savior. There will be visitors from out of town visiting relatives as well as people who may live just down the street from us who haven’t been with us for a while. I was brought up to always put company first. I was to take their coats, smile warmly and offer them the best seat in the house. The goal being to make them feel as if they were in their own home. Our Church is very much like a home. We come together to worship, share a meal, and socialize before and after Mass. We are family.

Think back to last Christmas… Did you put on your “company best”? Did you welcome a newcomer to our family? Or… did you think to yourself, “that stranger took my pew!” Or ask… “whose car is in my usual parking space?” And then go grumbling and finding a new space to sit or park in. At Christmas-time we all have to shift from our usual seats at the dining room table to accommodate our guests. We open our hearts and pocketbooks to those in need. This is the spirit of Christmas. Should it be any different in our Church home?

This Christmas let us put on our “company best.” Today, before leaving, let us pick up any stray bulletins, gum wrappers and Cheerios to prepare for our guests. Let us at Christmas Mass give up our usual seats and let our company have the best seats in the house. Let us park further away so that those who are visiting will feel welcomed.

Let us welcome our company with open arms and warm hearts. You may never know the impact of a smile or a simple Merry Christmas will have on someone. Who knows? Perhaps instead of feeling like “company” they will begin to feel like family and a part of our home.

God Bless, Holly Clark

How was Your Day?

Praying Through Advent

How Was Your Day?

If you are like me you probably go over the events of the day and think about the things that went wrong and how to correct them or maybe you make a mental list of what you need to do tomorrow. Your mind is often racing in a million directions. All you want to do is quiet your mind and get a good night’s sleep.

A lot of us “say” prayers before going to bed or maybe read some scripture but have you ever actually shared your day with Jesus? Have you ever thought of conversing with Jesus about your daily worries and problems? Have you thanked God for the graces you have received during the day. Have you ever shared your hopes and dreams with Him?

St. Ignatius suggests that you take a few minutes every evening and look back over your day and examine how and where Christ was with you during the day:

Get comfortable and close your eyes

Let Christ show you this day as you lived it.

The people you met

The circumstances you encountered

The activities you engaged in

In Christ these things are God’s gifts to you, revealing His presence in a new way.

Recall the feelings and moods that were evoked:

Love, hope, contentment, joy, anger, fear, shame

These feelings can reveal your movement toward God or away from God

Sit with Christ and tell Him how you feel.

Listen to what Christ is telling you.

Thank God for the blessings of the day.

End with an Our Father…

 

This form of prayer will be challenging at first. We have a lot of “noise” in our heads and staying focused will require much practice… but always remember… Christ is with us until the end of time… God Bless… --Holly Clark

Advent: A Song in My Heart

Praying Through Advent

A Song in My Heart…

How often have you had a song floating around in your head that you cannot get rid of? You try humming a different song, or try to think about something else but your mind keeps returning to one song. This happens to me often and I never gave it much thought until I noticed it happening more frequently. I began to think that perhaps the Holy Spirit is speaking to me through music. I began to pay more attention to the lyrics and notes in my head and have realized the Spirit is indeed communicating things I need to hear. Praying with music can be a very spiritual and enriching experience. Advent is a time of prayer and this is an easy form of prayer that can be done in a car, at home, at Mass, etc. Here is one method of praying with music:

Choose a piece of music. It does not need to be a hymn or a particular genre or style. Settle down. Take a few minutes to become comfortable and still your mind Pray to the Holy Spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you pray and to hear what the Lord is saying to you.

Play the song you have chosen. Pay attention to the feelings and images the songs stir up for you. After the song, reflect on it. Ask: What is this song saying? How does it speak to my life right now? How can I apply its meaning to my life? What might God be saying to me through this song? Thank God for these moments of insights you received. Record your experiences in a prayer journal for future reflection.

As we attend Mass this Advent let us sing out with strong voices and pay attention to the Spirit moving within us through song.

The faith of countless believers has been nourished by melodies flowing from the hearts of other believers,…In song, faith is experienced as vibrant joy, love, and confident expectation of the saving intervention of God.

Letter to Artists #12, Pope John Paul II, 1999

 

– God Bless, Holly Clark

Imaginative Prayer in Advent

Praying through Advent:
 Imaginative Prayer

A few weeks ago we were expecting Hurricane Sandy to hit our region hard. I prepared myself by stocking up on flashlights, batteries, and some spiritual reading. I was very prepared to be sitting in the dark with a little reading light and found myself actually wanting the electricity to go out! I was craving the stillness and peace darkness can bring. I was going to use the time to pray, to be with God, to contemplate my life and where God is in my life. Unfortunately my electricity stayed on and I never got to sit with God that day. Lucky for me Advent is here! Advent is a time of waiting in darkness for the light of Christ to come to pierce the darkness. It is a time of praying and watching. How do you pray?

            Today’s Gospel reading lends itself easily to a form of Contemplative prayer known as Imaginative Prayer: Read over Luke 21:25-28, 34-36. Imagine yourself part of the scene… Imagine you are at Jesus’ side, one of His disciples, and He is telling you about the signs in the sun, moon and stars- the signs that will come before He comes again in Glory… You may be frightened but Jesus tells you to be vigilant and to pray for strength.to overcome fear and anxiety. Is there anything in your life right now that makes you fearful? Are you facing troubled times and need strength? Read over the text a few times… still your mind and ask Jesus for what you need to get through until He comes again.

Take advantage of the Holy Season of Advent. Stay away from the Malls and busyness of the season. Look forward to the darkness of early winter to be with God. Look forward to the Light that will pierce the darkness.      God Bless, Holly Clark

Advent is Coming

Advent is Coming… Are You Ready?
Praying Through Advent

The season of holy Advent begins on December 2. Are you ready to prepare the way for our Lord? The season of Advent is a time of expectation, we are reminded of the coming of Christ not only at Christmas, but of His second coming in glory at the end of time. This is a time to welcome grace into our lives, and a time for a new “advent” of Christ into our lives.

            We begin December, in the Northern Hemisphere in darkness and so too Advent. We await and seek out the light that will bring brightness to the darkest places of our lives. We long for Christ, whom we know will lead us out of the darkness and will shine his face upon us lifting us up in love and hope. Our liturgical celebrations echo that feeling of hope and expectation of Christ’s return. Christ’s return may seem to be something that won’t happen anytime soon but the reality is the time of His return is NOW! Are you ready?

            For some Advent is a time of rushing around, Christmas shopping, cooking, cleaning, etc. There seems to be very little time to even think about Christ’s coming to meet us. We already have the darkness illuminated by all the Christmas lights and décor (before Thanksgiving no less!). But this year, let us try to add prayer to our lives. Look forward to the darkness, stillness and peacefulness that the nights bring. Let us add prayer to the top of our Christmas todo lists. Over the next several weeks We will explore many types of prayer... prayer can be done by everyone at any time in a multitude of ways…

Giving Thanks

Setting Our Hearts Aflame

Giving Thanks

Every year around Thanksgiving time I like to reflect on the past year, sometimes even years back. Last month I celebrated my fifth year of breast cancer survivorship. As I reflect back to where I was five years ago, before the diagnosis, I was lost career-wise, questioning my purpose in life… I was clueless. The diagnosis of cancer threw me into a whirlwind and my life was turned upside down. I turned to the Holy Trinity and gave each of them a job to do. God’s job was to give me strength, Jesus was to hold my hand and carry me when necessary, and the Holy Spirit was to give me wisdom and guidance. With this team in place how could I despair?
            My treatment progressed and I found myself growing closer and closer to God. God was with me and one day, while I was in the middle of radiation treatment and working at a church function the Holy Spirit came to me. I was filled with warmth and joy. A voice said to me “You are where you are supposed to be, doing what you are doing.” I suddenly found myself with a purpose in life! I received a calling from God! A few days later I started the process of enrolling into a Masters of Arts in Ministry program to put into action my calling.
            This coming May, I will be graduating from that program. I think back to five years ago and realize that cancer came into my life for a reason. And that reason was to bring me closer to God and to bring me to your service. In some very real ways I am thankful to cancer for putting God into my life. I look forward to serving you all in the months and years to come.

God Bless, Holly Clark

For Veterans

For All Veterans…

Today I am remembering my grandfather who served in the army in the Phillipines in WWII and my father who served in the Navy during the Korean War. Both men volunteered to serve their country in different ways. My grandfather was a mortar man fighting in jungles and my Dad was an electrician aboard an aircraft carrier. Both men I admire for their willingness to travel across the world, leaving their families temporarily, and risk their lives to keep us and those around the world safe. Both my dad and grandfather were very proud of their military service and were buried in the last couple of years with military honors. As taps was played for them at their wakes I thought of all the veterans who never made it home; those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Veterans deserve a very special place in our hearts… please join me today in saying a prayer for veterans. God Bless, Holly Clark

 

Prayer for Veterans

Heavenly Father,

on this day, help us remember those

who gave of themselves to keep us safe and secure.

Enkindle in our consciences a desire

to serve those who served their country selflessly.

Give us the grace to aid those

who have given aid and protection to us and others

both here and overseas.

Let us never forget the causes for which they fought

or the bravery they showed on the battlefield.

May we be always be mindful of those

who paid the price for our freedom,

just as your Son gave his life

to free us from the bondage of sin.

Amen.

How Do You Treat Yourself?

How Do You Treat Yourself?

You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Mark 12:31

I have always looked upon this quote from Mark as a guide to how to treat others. We are to help our neighbors, feed our neighbors and love our neighbors. You will note however that Jesus does not come out and say this here directly. Do you treat your neighbor as yourself? If you said “of course I do,” I would next ask you how do you treat yourself? Do you take care of yourself? Do you worry too much? Do you take care of your soul? St. Bernard of Clairvaux in his Sermons on the Song of Songs (no. 18) suggests that we take some time to reflect on the care of our inner selves. If we reflect deeply and discover that our inner soul and mind are distressed and have been neglected then how can we possibly treat and love our neighbor as our self? St. Bernard says “If you discover this chaos in your own interior, what madness drives you to insinuate yourself into other people's business?”

            St. Bernard reminds us to not be over virtuous, to not be more generous than God. God would like us to take care of ourselves and to treat our body and souls well so that we are able to take care of our neighbor and love our neighbor as ourselves. St. Bernard suggests that we look at our inner energies and soul as a reservoir. If our inner being has been fed and we are overflowing with the Spirit then we can share with our neighbors but if we are empty and depleted we need to tend to our body and soul. We need to slow down, refill our reservoirs with prayer, energy and love. Only then will we be able to treat and love our neighbors as we do our self.

God Bless, Holly Clark

 

Do You See and Hear?

Do You See and Hear?

"Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you."

Take a moment now to put yourself into today’s Gospel. You are blind and sitting by the side of the road. You are totally dependent on the generosity of others. (Remember there was no Social Security, Braille, computers that speak, nor even guide dogs.) Animals were valued more than the lame and the blind in first century Palestine. You are sitting at the side of the road, begging for food and money. Suddenly you hear a crowd coming along. You remain still and listen. You hear the name Jesus. You think to yourself—could it be really the healer from Nazareth you have heard so much about? Your heart leaps with joy. But that joy is soon silenced as the crowd pushes you away. You have faith however and you determinedly find Jesus. Jesus tells the crowd to back off and let you through. Jesus asks you what you want. You might think to yourself isn’t it obvious what I want? To be healed! Jesus should know this, you think, He knows all. You do answer Jesus and you asked to be healed. You have the faith, Jesus saw your faith, and between your faith and Jesus’ healing power your eyes are opened and you can see! Glory be!

Have you ever wondered why so often in the Gospel when an ill, lame, blind or deaf person approaches Jesus and He asks them what they want of Him. I have often thought it was odd since Jesus knows all, then He should know what they wanted—to be whole and healed. Jesus knows, however, that often it is WE who do not know what we want of Jesus. By asking us to state what we want we have to think about what we are asking and what our intentions are. He is asking us to think about our faith, to reflect on our needs and wants and where faith fits in to our plans. Jesus could have easily read the blind man’s mind, snapped His fingers and healed the man’s eyes and the man would have been cured. But by asking the man “what did he want” Jesus also opened the man’s mind and heart to faith as well as his eyes and ears.

Today… reflect upon what you want or need and talk to Jesus. He already knows what is on your mind but He desires a conversation with you. Open your eyes, your ears, your mind and your heart and you will find peace in the Lord. "Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you."