How Will You Let this Easter Change Your Life?

05 Monday Apr 2021

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Bible Reflections, Easter

Tags

Acts 2:22-33, Confirmation, Easter, Fortitude, Pentecost, St. Vincent Ferrer

Happy Easter to you! I hope it was a day filled with joy.

Yesterday, we proclaimed, “Christ is risen!” For the faithful it is the day that brings eternal hope to our lives. It’s the day that reassures us there is a purpose to this life we live and all the struggles that accompany it so that one day we may be resurrected like Jesus and live with Him for eternity.

But, how do you feel today? Do you feel different than yesterday.? Or are you the same person you were a week, a month or a year ago? For many, you’ve returned to work or, in some way, returned to your daily habits. And, I’ll venture a guess, not all of those habits are completely virtuous. I know, I’m there with you.

This morning I set my alarm and arose an hour earlier than I have been the last couple weeks. A contractor was scheduled to show up early and begin remodeling the first floor of my house, and I wanted to make sure I had time for my morning prayer and meditation before they arrived. As I read the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2: 14, 22-33) about Peter’s speech at Pentecost to the Jews of Jerusalem, my attention was brought to the contrast between the Peter of today and the Peter of last week, who, out of fear, denied Jesus three times.

After the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter changed. He found courage to proclaim the name of Jesus and His death, and profess His resurrection to all of Jerusalem, even to those who were responsible for His crucifixion. I’m sure Peter was still the same in many ways – gruff and impetuous – but his timidity had been replaced with fortitude. He spoke boldly and with authority. He was no longer afraid to be associated with Jesus, rather, he rejoiced in the opportunity.

So I wondered how my life might change. Do I have what it takes to “proclaim Your death, O Lord, and profess Your resurrection” as I say every time I go to Mass? And, then I realized I do have what it takes. I was given the grace to be courageous in my faith when I received the Sacrament of Confirmation. If you’re a confirmed Catholic, then you were given that grace, too.

Well, it’s one thing to say I’m going to be more courageous, but it’s a whole ‘nuther thing to do it. Unsure exactly how I would do this today, I resolved to pray for the Lord to present me with an opportunity and, when He did, that I would rise to the occasion.

In the meantime, I decided to read about the saints of the day. Today is the feast day of St. Vincent Ferrer, a Dominican friar from the 14th Century. St. Vincent was a tremendous preacher who converted thousands throughout Europe. His efforts so built up the Church that he became the patron saint of those in the building trades.

As I finished reading about this great saint, there came a knock on my door. It was the contractor’s crew arriving to start work. We had a walk-around to show everyone the scope of the project and, then, as they were fetching their tools from their truck, it hit me: God had just presented me with the opportunity for which I had prayed. It was no mere coincidence that a crew of building tradesmen were beginning to work in my house on the feast day of their patron saint. And, so, as they all gathered back inside I asked them if they would mind if I prayed for their safety and to a successful project. I explained the connection with St. Vincent Ferrer, and they bowed their heads with me. I prayed, “Heavenly Father, thank You for the opportunity to praise You and for the virtues of patience and perseverance that have brought us to begin this project. I pray for the intercession of St. Vincent Ferrer, that he watch over these workers and keep them safe from harm, and that this project goes smoothly and successfully. I pray in the name of Jesus Christ our risen Lord. Amen.” And, then, in my mind I also prayed, “And, please, let their be no cost overruns!”

I love how God works for us when we love and trust in Him. Don’t let this Easter go to waste. Through prayer, place your love and trust in Him, and accept, realize and act on the grace of fortitude given to you in your Confirmation to proclaim the name of His Son, Jesus, to the rest of the world.

“Lord Jesus, thank You for this blessing today. I pray that, in our fallen society, this Easter season will bring a resurgence of hope to all Your faithful. Through the intercession of St. Vincent Ferrer, may a fortress of strength be built in our hearts such that we may all proudly and courageously proclaim Your death and resurrection. Amen.”

(How Will You Let this Easter Change Your Life? was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)

©2013-2021 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.

You Are Mine

23 Tuesday May 2017

Posted by Jerry Robinson in Bible Reflections, Confirmation, Fear

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

Confirmation, Faith, Holy Spirit, John 14:15-21, Prayer, silence, the Advocate

I’ve been trying to improve my prayer life by making more time to read sacred scripture and meditate on what the Word of God is trying to tell me in relation to my life. I have to admit there are many days when, no matter how hard I try, I simply cannot make a connection. But, at other times, His message is loud and clear. Or, at least, I think it is.

Such was the case this last Sunday. The Gospel reading was from John 14:15-21, regarding the “Advocate”, the Holy Spirit:

“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept because it neither sees nor knows it. But, you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you….On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.”

As I listened to this, I thought, “This is one of the problems in our faith today. People forget that Jesus is with us always by the Holy Spirit that He placed within us. It’s like we forget the whole point of our Sacrament of Confirmation. We remember the meaning of Baptism, we experience Communion every week, and, we are reminded, reluctantly for many, of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. But, we forget that the Holy Spirit was poured out upon us at our Confirmation. Imagine the difference we could make if we only remembered this!”

A few minutes later, I joined the congregation of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Shell Knob, Missouri in singing one of my favorite hymns, You Are Mine. The first verse and refrain simply reinforced my earlier thought:

“I will come to you in the silence, I will lift you from all your fears,
“You will hear my voice, I claim you as my choice,
“Be still and know I am here.
“Do not be afraid, I am with you. I have called you each by name.
“Come and follow me, I will bring you home,  “I love you and you are mine.”

Fast forward to last night, Monday evening. I arrived in Kansas City, Kansas to attend my first, in-residence week of formation, study and practice in the Spiritual Mentorship Program offered by the Apostles of the Interior Life, and the School of Faith of the Archdiocese of Kansas City. I’ve been studying for and looking forward to this week since January. As I knelt in the chapel after night prayers, I felt my nervousness grow. I was afraid – afraid that I won’t have what it takes to become a good spiritual mentor, and afraid that my faith was too new and poorly grounded. I feared not being able to remember everything I will need to remember, and, consequently, be inadequate in the example I set for others.

I prayed for God to open my mind and my heart to what I will be learning this week. I prayed that my detailed and analytical mind won’t blind me from understanding the concepts which will be presented (not seeing the forest for the trees has always been a struggle for me). And, I prayed for the ability to internalize the message so that I will easily be able to relate it to others. I simply prayed, “God, help me do this!”

As I took a breather from my verbal prayer, I became distracted and lost my train of thought. Normally, I get frustrated with distractions while I pray, but this time the distraction – the tune for You Are Mine that was running through my head – was a blessing. As I tried to remember the words to the song, not only it but the Gospel and my thoughts about it from Sunday’s mass came flooding back to me. And, in a moment of humiliation in front of the Lord, I saw that, through my self-righteousness, I was the one guilty of not remembering the point of my own Confirmation. I realized I was asking God to help me do this and help me do that, as if I was in this alone and the burden was all on me.

In that moment I lost the slump in my posture and knelt more upright. I felt a surge of adrenaline. My prayer changed from fear and despair to anticipation and new hope! I prayed, “Oh God, it is You Who led me to discern this opportunity and Who brought me here. I know that, through Your Holy Spirit, You are with me and You won’t leave me hanging. You have ‘come to me in silence’ and You have lifted my fears; I am not afraid because You are with me. I trust in You. I love You and I am Yours.”

“Oh, loving and forgiving God, You teach me in many ways, often uncomfortable ways. You know what I need and You set the stage in advance so that when the moment comes I may learn from the experience. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for living within me. Help me to always feel your presence. Amen.”

(You Are Mine was first published on the blog Reflections of a Lay Catholic)
©2013-2017 Reflections of a Lay Catholic. Reposting and sharing of material in its full and original content is permitted, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author(s) and Reflections of a Lay Catholic.