Ash Wednesday

The beginning of Lent draws us in, calls us to return to sanity, to a bit of austerity, to a change of heart and mind. It’s a second chance at our new year’s resolutions, long since broken and forgotten. It’s a second chance at making changes in our lives. For some people, it’s no less than a second chance at life. That something that draws us is God’s grace. And it’s drawing us back to God’s merciful embrace.

—from The Hope of Lent: Daily Reflections from Pope Francis by Diane M. Houdek

Thoughts on "Thoughts from Scott"

I have recently begun posting short articles and quotes from authors I like and people I follow through their blogs and websites.  People like Henri Nouwen, John Fischer, and Matthew Kelly.  When I see something they have written that really touches my heart, I like to share that with others.  People like you.  So thank you for reading my blog.  I will always try to share my thoughts, but sometimes the thoughts of others are more powerful than my words.  Peace be with you!

Thoughts on being your best

“When we focus our attention on becoming the-best-version-of-ourselves, our lives are flooded with energy, enthusiasm, and a real and sustainable joy.”

Matthew Kelly

Blessed Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

We celebrate today the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

honoring the anniversary of the first apparition at Lourdes

and the World Day of the Sick.

We pray this year brings you abundant 

blessings and graces through the intercession

of the Mother of God.

On February 11, 1858, the Mother of God came from Heaven and appeared to a young girl named Bernadette Soubirous of the town of Lourdes in the Pyrenees Mountains in France.

Accompanied by her sister and a friend, Bernadette went to the grotto of Massabielle on the banks of the river looking for driftwood to make a fire and sell some firewood to buy bread. Removing her socks to cross the little stream, she heard a great gust of wind in the stillness. She looked up towards the grotto:

"I SAW A LADY DRESSED IN WHITE, SHE WORE A WHITE DRESS, 

AN EQUALLY WHITE VEIL, A BLUE BELT AND A YELLOW ROSE ON EACH FOOT."

Bernadette made the Sign of the Cross with the lady and they prayed the Rosary together in silence. When the prayer ended, the most beautiful lady suddenly vanished.

Four years later, in 1862, the bishop of the diocese declared the faithful "justified in believing the reality of the apparition." Pope Leo XIII authorized a special office and a Mass, in commemoration of the apparition, and in 1907 Pope Pius X extended the observance of this feast to the entire Church.

Bernadette was later canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church for living a holy life. Let us join the Saint of Lourdes united in prayer in the presence of our Blessed Mother.

Thoughts on Lent

For many Christians it's often a challenge to determine what they should be doing special or different during Lent in appreciation of our Lord's passion and in preparation for the Sacred Triduum at Lent's conclusion .  A very learned and good teacher of mine, Richard Smith, S.J.  addressed this matter in one of his retreats to Jesuit seminarians.  In his retreats he included a question and answer session. In this retreat he was asked what kind of Lenten penance/sacrifice he would recommend. His response was, "Oh that's easy. Just eat everything that is put out on the table and don't complain."  How simple, and for us, so practical. But I can assure you that it was for many young Jesuits a very challenging recommendation to put into practice.

So what is the appropriate Lenten penance or sacrifice? I suspect there are thousands of good answers, but I suggest one general guideline. Consider what it is that's going on in your life right now that is hindering your relationship with the Lord and perhaps separating you from the Lord, or a person or persons who need your care and concern. If it is something you can address in a practical and simple manner, as was the case with Dick Smith's suggestion, then I recommend you consider the challenge of doing it.

Fr. Jim Blumeyer, S.J.

Thoughts on gentleness

Once in a while we meet a gentle person. Gentleness is a virtue hard to find in a society that admires toughness and roughness. We are encouraged to get things done and to get them done fast, even when people get hurt in the process. Success, accomplishment, and productivity count. But the cost is high. There is no place for gentleness in such a milieu.

Gentle is the one who does "not break the crushed reed, or snuff the faltering wick" (Matthew 12:20). Gentle is the one who is attentive to the strengths and weaknesses of the other and enjoys being together more than accomplishing something. A gentle person treads lightly, listens carefully, looks tenderly, and touches with reverence. A gentle person knows that true growth requires nurture, not force. Let's dress ourselves with gentleness. In our tough and often unbending world our gentleness can be a vivid reminder of the presence of God among us.

 

Henri Nouwen

Thoughts on kindness

Kindness is a beautiful human attribute. When we say, "She is a kind person" or "He surely was kind to me," we express a very warm feeling. In our competitive and often violent world, kindness is not the most frequent response. But when we encounter it we know that we are blessed. Is it possible to grow in kindness, to become a kind person? Yes, but it requires discipline. To be kind means to treat another person as your "kin," your intimate relative. We say, "We are kin" or "He is next of kin." To be kind is to reach out to someone as being of "kindred" spirit.

Here is the great challenge: All people, whatever their color, religion, or sex, belong to humankind and are called to be kind to one another, treating one another as brothers and sisters. There is hardly a day in our lives in which we are not called to this.

 

Henri Nouwen