We are never alone

This week we celebrate two great feasts, that of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael followed by the feast of our Guardian Angels. We’re never alone and God’s mighty hosts are always at our side to help us stay on the right path - the path to Heaven.

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Groaning Inwardly

Sometimes it seems that many people are focused more on their comfort here in time than in the hereafter. It pays to remember that life is indeed short and eternity long. And the prospect of Heaven’s rewards can be forgotten against the threat of the pains of hell. But thinking of redemption, a redemption that will one day include our resurrected bodies, is no small consolation amid the groans (both inward and outward) that accompany life and aging. In fact, staying focused on following the Lord as he guides us closer to himself for all eternity, makes offering up all our aches and pains not only easier but can transform the offering into an occasion of joy.

Be joyful whether your groans can be heard or not!

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WHY IS THE CAT JUST SITTING THERE?

Humans love to anthropomorphize animals. We can watch a cat staring and presume to know just what it’s thinking or wanting and discover we are altogether wrong in our guess. A cat can patiently wait on its prey for hours. Or sit close to its human for long periods of time.

Have you ever thought that God might enjoy having us give him that kind of attention habitually? We marvel that a cat stays close by our side, doing ‘nothing’ more than snooze perhaps, yet it gives us pleasure (especially if there is purring). Now think of a dry, difficult holy hour of adoration before the Eucharist. Perhaps we even fall asleep and feel we did ‘nothing’ for the Lord. Nothing more than ‘snoozing’. Is God displeased the holy hour didn’t go the way we wanted? Or is he delighted that one he loves is simply with him? Perhaps that’s just one reason he designed pets as animal companions...to remind us of his constant presence and of his desire that we also be present to him.

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Remember man, thou art dust and unto dust thou shall return

Thanks to COVID-19, receiving ashes on Ash Wednesday will, like many other customs we`ve grown familiar with, be done differently this year, according to safety protocols given by the Holy See.

This can be a good thing: a noticeably altered tangible act that puts us outside our `old familiar` comfort zone of how we mark the start of Lent. We notice more around us whenever we are uncomfortable. Pay attention. Perhaps, like the virus itself and the heartache and havoc it has wreaked across the globe, we will focus on the same words we will hear regardless of how the ashes are distributed. Dust. Dirt. We come from the earth...humus. Our bodies will return there when we too die. When we acknowledge this, remembering who and what we are, creatures of God and not gods, it humbles us. Then glancing ahead to Easter we also remember who we are, who we belong to, and what we were made for: God and Heaven.

Yes, we will return to dust. But a Loving God is also asking us, yearning for us, to live in such a way amid this earthly dust, that we will live forever in joy with him eternally.

Happy Lent! Repent and Rejoice! Our God is a Merciful God!

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