This is our final nod to St. Catherine of Siena who the church celebrates this week. Her quotes are relevant to us today and Meredith Frediani shares her perspective on this final quote.
We are of such value to God that he came to live among us … and to guide us home. He will go to any length to seek us, even to being lifted high upon the cross to draw us back to himself. We can only respond by loving God for his love.
When I think about a person who hurt me, Would I be willing to suffer torture and death so that I could be with him forever? Probably not. I prefer that we not have any contact. I have hurt Jesus many times and he was willing to endure unimaginable horror so that I can be forgiven and be with him for eternity in heaven. By human standards, I would not blame him for giving up on me. He does not. He loves us so much. He has a well of forgiveness that never runs dry. He thinks we are awesome. How can I respond to this love? As St. Catherine said, I can respond by loving him. He has abundant, extravagant love for me and I can love him back.
Thank you Lord for loving us first so we can know how to love. Amen
The Church celebrates St. Catherine of Siena this week and quotes from her writings are relevant to us today. Meredith Frediani shares her perspective on one of her popular quotes.
“These tiny ants have proceeded from his thoughts just as much as I. It caused him just as much trouble to create the angels as these animals and the flowers on the trees.”
When I wake up at night for no good reason, I reflect on God’s creation. When I look up at the stars I don’t feel small. I feel awe. I feel amazed that I get to be part of all of this.
God had a big pile of nothing and from it he created everything. All of it fits together perfectly. Everything has a purpose and it is vast beyond our ability to comprehend. There are giant planets and huge rocks flying through space. And if I imagine a big funnel I can think about that enormity gradually becoming smaller: our planet, the oceans, the land, the animals, the people, the ants.
The same God who made Jupiter made bugs, and both are necessary and needed in his plan. I don’t understand why it is important for there to be centipedes. They only serve to startle me as they dash across my bathroom floor but God made them. The oceans are miles deep and contain creatures we do not even know about yet. The forests are full of flora and fauna of an endless variety. There is weather! Why? Why can’t it always be sunny and 75 degrees? I don’t know, but that’s what God wanted.
And we get to live here with all of it because he created us too.
Lord, I am wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) and I praise You for that. I praise You for Your generosity in giving us this beautiful place to live. Amen
The Church celebrates St. Catherine of Siena this week and quotes from her writings are relevant to us today. Meredith Frediani shares her perspective on one of her popular quotes about achieving greatness.
“Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring.”
We often tell our kids this. When they grouse about going to school or the amount of homework they get, we remind them we value that which we work for. St. Catherine knew this. All of us have endured. Not one of us has skated through life with constant joy and sunshine. It’s comforting to know that God is with us in our enduring. Whether it is slogging through a chemistry class or working a job we don’t like, he is a constant presence.
Sometimes it becomes demoralizing when challenges come up as we work toward our goals. It would be nice if it were easy all the time. But when I look back, I feel best about accomplishments that I worked at. I value that song I learned to play with several measures that seemed impossible and the project I undertook that seemed it might do me in. Living a life of witness to Christ is not easy but in the end it will lead to something great.
Lord, let us draw upon Your strength to run the race of this life. Help us endure the challenges before us and see them as an opportunity for growth. Let our hearts know that You are always with us to carry the current cross we bear and let our eyes rest in Your loving gaze filling our hearts with Your hope. Amen
We all need great role models. The Saints provide us with holy examples of how we can live today. St. Catherine of Siena was born in 1347 in Italy. She became a third order Dominican, learned to read and write, and was known for her service to the poor and her involvement in politics. She worked for the unity of the Church and was loyal to the pope. She died April 29, 1380 at the age of thirty-three and was later proclaimed a Doctor of the Church. Her best known spiritual writing is The Dialogue. Her quotes, though over six hundred years old, are still relevant today and can be a launching pad for our personal prayer. The Church celebrates her this week, we will explore several quotes from St. Catherine of Siena by Meredith Frediani and we will start with one of my favorites.
“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”
We all have to discern our path in life. For some it is easier than others. When I see what others get to do in order to be part of building God’s kingdom and compare it to my task, I feel like maybe what I am doing does not matter. I have not published a bestseller that inspires people to pray, and I am not on the speaking circuit revving up young adults. I am here, doing my thing. I have faith that it is what God desires from me and for that reason alone it is important. St. Catherine reminds me that even though it may seem insignificant, it is helping set the world on fire for God.
Lord, Help me today to be who you created me to be so I can set the world on fire with Your love. Amen
Our mind is a powerful source of what becomes our reality. Ultimately, the sum of our choices create our life. Through awareness of our weaknesses, we can take a sacred pause and do things differently rather than keep perpetuating the reactions that are ingrained deeply within. We can fast from our brokenness and feast on Gods goodness. The choice is ours, whether we fast or feast. During this easter season, let’s consciously choose to feast!
HOLY – WHOLLY – HOLEY Three words that sound alike, are spelled differently, have their own distinct meaning and yet are connected one with the other.
The third is HOLEY – H-O-L-E-Y.
This holey is porous, permeable, spacious, expansive. I think of a donut hole. The hole of the donut offers a space, a spaciousness. Without its hole, it would be a different pastry. For us, the holey space is a place of being. It is not for doing, it has no form for doing. It is a space, which allows inner stillness that fosters authentic connection. I think of the womb, a spaciousness where a child becomes. In the silence and spaciousness of this holey space, a song, a poem, or this reflection is born.
Rabbi Mosche Gersht says, “It is in this inner spaciousness that we monitor our inner dialogue. From this spaciousness, the true power of who we are will shine the way it was meant to be. Everything seems to emanate from this space, there is a source of being in truth.” This space is that deep knowing that we experience. A knowing that seems to be filled with goodness, with God-ness inside, a place where our creator God is guiding, directing and moving the world toward the highest good. This kind of holey is a space inside us that allows creativity, connection and love to expand. It seems to me that it is the spaciousness of the tomb in which Jesus becomes the Christ of Resurrection.
Hafiz, the Sufi mystic and Persian poet, writes, “I am a hole in a flute that Christ’s breath moves through…..listen to the music.”
To become holey we rest and stay in silence where there is a space where we can authentically engage with the Divine. Perhaps, this prayer by Christin Lore Weber is ours to consciously consider: The world needs the hollowness of you. At times, this hollowness will be a passage that people will find their way through you. Or your hollowness will be a bowl and people will eat from you and not know hunger. Your hollowness will be a cup for those who thirst from suffering, they will find wisdom and love as they drink from you.
I believe from this spaciousness we may discover our sameness and oneness as the human race, with all creatures and all subatomic atoms. From this spaciousness, we will believe all are equal, all is one, and all is love. We will know there is a difference, but not separation, only connectivity.
HOLY – WHOLLY – HOLEY
Lord, Weave these three ways of being into one and allow us to become the manifestation Your glory…the Glory of God. Allow us to become radiant and who we are born to be. May our Easter Season and long beyond be holy, wholly and holey!
Excerpt from Easter Vigil Reflection March 30, 2024 Sister Marie Therese “MT” Summers, OSB, Prioress, Benet Hill Monastery
HOLY – WHOLLY – HOLEY. Three words that sound alike, are spelled differently, have their own distinct meaning and yet are connected one with the other.
Holy, H-O-L-Y.
Repeatedly in the Hebrew Scripture in Leviticus, we hear: Be holy because I am holy. Be holy as I am holy. Be holy for I your God am Holy. Again in the Christian Scriptures in 1 Peter, it says: As God who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[a] This Holy means sacred, morally blameless, consecrated, saint. And though we know ourselves as both saint and sinner, each one of us is called to this holiness.
Lord, draw me to holiness today. Created in Your image, I grant You permission to make me Your instrument. Jesus, I trust in You! Amen
Excerpt for the Easter Vigil Reflection, March 30, 2024, Sister Marie Therese “MT” Summers, OSB, Prioress, Benet Hill Monastery
God is faithful. What has been promised, he has brought to fulfillment. Christ, our paschal lamb has been sacrificed and he has risen, just as he said. We are witnesses of these things, then and now. We revel in the same grace, by the same Christ through the same Church.
Easter confirms that salvation is real and present to us now, today and forever. Love now reigns. Death and sin are overcome. Christ’s resurrection is our resurrection, for he has opened for us, the gates of eternal life. It is on this truth, that we stake our whole lives. Filled with the glory of Christ Easter triumph, we cannot help but cry out Alleluia!
This is the day the Lord has made: let us be glad and rejoice in it! Fill our hearts with the joy of the resurrection and grant us abundant love so we can share the Good News. Through Christ our Lord. Amen
As I look back over my Lenten observance, how have I truly died to self in order to live for God in the service of my neighbor? What signs do I see of new life in my daily way of thinking and doing? How has Lent prepared me to live more fully in God’s house as a member of his household?
God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen
Today is a work of pure love, beyond our human understanding. The cross gives us a way out of the sin of our human nature. One God-man in Jesus Christ bears the weight of sin, and darkness of the world. Let’s venerate the cross he bore for us.
What were His thoughts as He took all the sins of mankind upon Himself? He forgives His enemies, forgives the penitent thief, cries out to God, and declares the end of His earthly life:
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34
“Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43
“Woman, behold your son. Son, behold your mother.” John 19:26–27
“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46 & Mark 15:34
“I thirst.” John 19:28
“It is finished.” Matthew 27:46 & Mark 15:34
“Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.” Luke 23:46
This message of forgiveness provides a way out and a path forward from the darkness of sin in our life. Christ’s love breaks the cycle of our natural human response where if you are cruel to me, I will be cruel to you. The power of love can change lives and societies. Actions speak louder than words – the cross is the purest example.
As we contemplate our Lord’s Passion on this Good Friday, I invite you to reflect upon how your daily actions reflect your love and gratitude for God’s goodness. Has your journey through Lent opened your heart to receive a deeper encounter with God’s love? Will you continue small sacrifices of self-denial, praying and serving others? Action speaks louder than words.
