Regnum Christi

This July 22 will be a special day in the Catholic Church, and even more special for MAGDALA.  It will be a day to celebrate a woman’s role in evangelizing.  It is a day to celebrate the life-giving freedom of being made new in Christ and being sent to announce the good news: Jesus is alive!

After the Vatican’s decree that the feast day celebrating Mary Magdalene would be upgraded to the level of that of the apostles, I couldn’t help marvel at the gift of being able to celebrate it in her own hometown this year.

For the last two years I have studied and read much about this enigmatic historical figure, changing my own focus, from that of the prostitute to the passionate and faith-filled follower of Jesus that she became.  For years, what struck me most about Mary Magdalene was something that must be read between the lines of the gospel: her encounter with Jesus.  Luke 8:2 merely mentions her as the one “from whom seven demons were expelled”.  My own imagination and the grace of prayer permitted an elaboration on the experience of her heart: the depth of freedom, joy, gratitude and peace experienced in her encounter with the personal, unconditional and merciful love of Jesus.

In Magdala, we pray that all our visitors will have this experience in their own lives.  When it happens, one cannot remain silent.  One’s life becomes a voice that cries out, JESUS IS ALIVE!

“Therefore, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God. And whoever enters into God’s rest, rests from his own works as God did from his. Therefore, let us strive to enter into that rest, so that no one may fall after the same example of disobedience.” (Heb 4:9-11)

Vacation time has arrived. Thanks be to God! We all need some time to rest and it is important to do so. Even God rested. “On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation” (Gen 2:2-3). As we enter the summer months, I would like to take some time to reflect on the value God gave “resting” since the foundation of the world. Continue reading →

A few days before heading to Rome for the summer, I stopped through Hartville, Ohio to visit my family. Twelve-year-old Miriam and ten-year-old Isaiah had a piano concert Sunday afternoon, and we went as a family to see them perform.

I hadn’t realized that Miriam would also perform a solo, singing “Not About Angels” by Birdy. The past year she had been taking voice lessons, at the village church down the road.

We kids knew she was good…but we didn’t know Miriam was that good.

As she stood up there, it suddenly struck me how music had been a means for her blossoming as a person the past year and a half. Through it, she found her niche, something she was really good at, and that was uniquely her own talent. Being the second youngest of nine kids, that’s important. Continue reading →

The Sacred Heart for me is important for my own spirituality. The first reading tells us that, “They will look upon him whom they have pierced.” His Heart is pierced. Peter in the Gospel tells us that Christ is the Messiah. However, Christ doesn’t reveal Himself until the Pasqual events, His Passion and Resurrection. The piercing of His Heart is the way He opened to us the possibility of knowing Him. Christ reveals to us all the secrets of His Heart on the cross and in the Resurrection. In the Pasqual mystery, we are able to know God as He really is. He is Love. A heart pierced and open for us to come into, through the experience of our own wounded heart.

Every few weeks I get an email from my local public library.

It is a reminder that the library is one of the categories on my property-tax bill.  Like most of the other categories, I have a sense that I pay for more than I get in return.

Ah…I have such fond memories of my college library.  Many floors of row after row of books.  The musty scent of yellowing paper, old leather bindings, millions of pages with imprints created by lead type.

The library emails usually don’t mention books.  There are features about new online resources (most of which I can access from my home computer).  There are features about how to enjoy various video streaming services (I likely can learn more from the teenager working at the local electronics store).  And there are promotions for various library events and exhibits. Continue reading →

Lately, it seems this country has been saturated with confusion, anger and division.  We are a nation on edge, a people searching for meaning and security, and quick to blame each other for all of the problems we face or that seem to loom on the horizon, threatening what is important to us. And the threats are real, the problems are real.

The events of this past week added grief and fear to that confusion, and are difficult to understand without landing helplessly at the feet of Mercy.

The paradox is that in a week where fear and ideologies violently divided us, the Cross has a quiet triumph. Continue reading →

I was sitting on a chair outside one morning, praying my morning meditation, when I noticed an ant on the ground by my feet.

More than noticing the ant, I noticed the huge piece of smashed popcorn it was carrying…dragging along.

It was over 3 times its size. And it was definitely a struggle for the little ant to move it.

He managed to drag it, pausing every so often to re-grasp it and take a break, until something unexpected started to slow him down.

Another ant had approached, and at first, seemed like it would assist in carrying the burden. It became evident, however, that it was only along for the ride.

Literally. Continue reading →

Daisies are my favorite flower, because to me, they seem to smile out at the world.

Jesus has been giving me a lot of them recently, since they grow as wildflowers on our lawn. I was spoiled, though, when on the day before Pentecost I was asked to help make the flower arrangements for the chapel, and I had ten gorgeous Gerber daisies at my disposal. That day I helped prepare for the Vigil Mass of Pentecost, which was my first. In the evening Mass, we read the four readings and sang the four psalms, inserting songs in English, Portuguese, Italian, and German into our Spanish Mass. The Holy Spirit was palpably filling the hearts of his faithful and enkindling in us the fire of his love… Continue reading →

“Your community sends you forth!”

Although it’s partly now a community joke, I say it in all sincerity. Whenever I catch someone leaving home for an apostolic activity- a challenge meeting, a women’s morning of reflection, a retreat, etc- I make sure to let them know they’re sent forth.

I promise it’s not just something I made up. Back in formation, I read it in some Church document, and it stuck with me.

And it’s on our statutes too: “Consecrated women…live missionary communion with the profound awareness of being sent by Christ and from Him, by the Movement and by their own community” (31). Continue reading →

Christ’s mercy is so great. The devil is known as the accuser. He accuses us of our faults and wants us to get discouraged for our failures. Christ on the other hand in the gospel today defends the sinful woman in front of the Pharisee, who represents the law. Christ looked mercifully at the woman as he defended her. We should take those lines of the gospel today and let Christ say them to us and let His merciful gaze penetrate our hearts.

Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon,
“Do you see this woman?
When I entered your house, you did not give me water for my feet,
but she has bathed them with her tears
and wiped them with her hair.
You did not give me a kiss,
but she has not ceased kissing my feet since the time I entered.
You did not anoint my head with oil,
but she anointed my feet with ointment.
So I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven
because she has shown great love.
But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.”