Hebrews 12:1

"12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us"

I am a runner.

I just started running ehhhh about a couple months ago. This is quite an accomplishment for me, because I used to be vehemently against running. Not that I didn't like it, but that I felt I could never be a runner. It was too hard, took too much effort, and I was lazy. But one day I snapped, and I put on my tennis shoes, ran the 1/2 mile around my block, and thought I was going to die on the side of the road. But for whatever reason I kept going. Now 25 runs and 71.4 miles later, I am a runner. I run at least 3 times a week, and average about 4-5 miles per trip. [[Who would have ever thought I would be posting about running??]]

There is something in particular though that strikes me every time I run. Without fail, the first mile or two are torturous. Absolutely brutal. My body is cramping, my lungs are struggling to keep up with how much oxygen I need, and through the music in my headphones, I hear my mind telling me to give up, stop running, this is too hard, you can't do it, it's not worth it.  And oh man, do I want to stop running. But, being the crazy Catholic that I am, I spiritualize everything. And as I am running and fighting with myself, I think about our spiritual lives. How often on our paths to purification do we want to give up because it is too hard? How often do we want to just listen to our bodies and let them dictate our actions? Allowing the Lord to heal our brokenness can be scary and painful. Being a Christian is hard sometimes. It may seem easier to just give in to temptation. The devil is constantly whispering give up, stop trying, this is too hard, you can't do it, it's not worth it. But it is so worth it. Because once you get passed the initial hurdles, it is smooth sailing. The endorphins kick in, your breathing finally regulates itself, your muscles are no longer tense, and you are flying down the pavement with the wind hitting your face, and you feel free. Once you allow the Lord to begin healing you and taking control of your life, once you give everything over to Him, only then can freedom be found.

So when it gets tough, ask Jesus to run with you. Ask Him to hold your hand and pull you through. And if you need Him to, I bet He would be even willing to carry you. (Trust me, He has had a lot of practice). Yes it may be hard, yes it may hurt, but if life is a race and Heaven is the finish line, I want to be sprinting full speed ahead, not stopping, not giving up, keeping my eyes fixed on the prize set before me, throwing aside all sin that might hinder me, and running with perseverance the race that is marked out for us.

Fight the good fight always.

"Then come receive Me..."

I was in Adoration yesterday, and I was discussing  complaining to the Lord about how I haven't been feeling as passionate about my prayer and my love for Him. I know our prayer life can't be based off feelings, which is why I have been trying to push through this dry spell, but the feelings are definitely nice and helpful! Being the mental health major that I am, I was racking my brain trying to figure out the source of this, and why the passion has been sucked out of my relationship with the Lord. Not a second after I thought, Lord, I just can't figure out where this is coming from, I heard His reply in the depths of my heart:

 "Then come receive Me"  

I was floored. I couldn't believe that I hadn't realized it sooner. How can I expect there to be passion in my relationship with the Lord without the intimacy of receiving Him in the Eucharist? I went from going to daily mass at Franciscan to just going on Sundays since I have been adjusting to my full-time job for the past 3 months. It's no wonder that I have been feeling this lack. And oh, how I have been feeling it. Just as any relationship requires intimacy, our relationships with the Lord of our hearts requires the greatest intimacy. Receiving Him in the Eucharist is the most intimate encounter we can have with Him, as we receive Him into our bodies, hearts, and souls and become one with Him. Here in this place, we are vulnerable, exposed, open to having our hearts radically changed by His presence, His love, His very Being. I know everyone may be different, but I want that more than just one day a week. I want that every day of my life. I want that Love to transform me, to heal me, to live in me. Realistically there may be days where I just can't get it together, but I'm sure as heck going to get to that church as often as I can!

So without a second thought, my alarm rang at 5:40 this morning, and I pleasantly jumped out of bed, eager to attend this Heavenly banquet. Off I went at 6:20, and mass was beautiful magnificent  glorious. (As if it would be anything less!) And I even had time to go to my favorite coffee shop before hitting the road to get to work. And it's pay-day. And I'm going to the Pirate game tonight.

Thank's Lord :)

Why I love being Catholic

This past week, I've had many opportunities to reflect on my Catholic faith while being exposed to various other religions. I went to some prayer meetings with Baptists and different Protestant groups, and let me say, you guys know how to pray! It was such a powerful experience, and I love how the Holy Spirit is so present in your prayer groups! That being said, I can't imagine not being Catholic. While there is that power and zeal  unfortunately missing from a lot of Catholic's spirituality (that's a soap box for another day), there are those of us Catholics who do pray with that same fervor and zeal under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. During a prayer meeting at one of the Protestant churches, one of the ministers began explaining that they were "just speaking in tongues" as if we didn't know what they were doing ... And I'm like "Yea, we do that too!" The Charismatic movement is a relatively new movement in the Church... I never experienced anything like it since I came to college at Franciscan. But I honestly cannot imagine my faith without this aspect. We love to praise too! It's in the Bible that the Apostles were speaking in tongues, and people who witnessed them thought they were drunk because they were so on fire with the Holy Spirit and could not contain the joy they felt for the Lord.

Another reason I love being Catholic: the saints. Great, holy, men and women who have gone before us as an example of faith. By their examples, we can learn how to be more faithful and to love Jesus better. We don't worship them. We ask for their intercession the same way you would ask for a friend to pray for you. We remember them, as much as you would remember loved ones who have profoundly impacted your faith journey. It is just more powerful that they are in Heaven and adoring the Lord and can intercede more completely in their holiness than we presently can. There is so much to be learned from the example of the saints: so much wisdom in their writings, so many beautiful prayers and lessons...perhaps we are too prideful to admit that we need to learn from them...

A third reason: Mary. Our beautiful Mother. No one loved her more than Jesus did, and He tells us as He is dying on the cross to "behold your Mother". He gives her to us as a gift. Now there are some who are in error and seem to hold her in higher standing than Jesus, but that is not true of the Catholic religion as a whole. Anywhere you go, no matter what religion, location, people, you are going to have some who take things to extreme, and unfortunately that is what the media seems to focus upon. But the Church does not put Mary higher than Jesus. We entrust ourselves to Her because Her only desire is to bring us to Christ. She directs us always to Her Son. She was the Lord's first tabernacle. She carried Him for 9 months in Her womb. I think we should give Her some credit for that and for raising Him and loving Him more than any of us ever could! She is the most perfect example of how to love and be obedient to the Father's will. There is so much that She wants to teach us, and She longs so much to wrap us in Her motherly embrace and carry us to Her Son.

And the best reason of all: The Eucharist. Our Source and Summit. Jesus says in the Bible "This IS My Body...This IS My Blood... Do this in memory of Me." Now, I know that non-Catholics believe that He was  speaking metaphorically when He said this, but why would you not want to believe in the true Eucharistic presence? In giving Himself to us in the Eucharist, He is giving us the best gift of love to keep us sustained while we are on this earth. He loves us soo much that He desires to dwell within us so intimately through this Sacrament of the Altar. Why would you not want to believe in that love? It is almost too good to be true. It just seems like such an oxymoron of His love to believe that it is just a symbol. It would be as if He was saying: "I only love you so much as to give you this symbol of myself for you to remember me by, because I am going off to Heaven and you will just have to physically reach me when you get here!" What kind of love would that be? That is not the love that I know, the Love that would give of His whole life for us on the cross, even if we don't return it or care, the Love that would be beaten and bruised for the sins that I would commit, the Love that would do it all again if He had to. No, the Love that I know would leave us that same Body that was broken for us and that same Precious Blood that was shed. That Love would want us to be with Him so intimately, so profoundly, so badly that He would give us His body again in the Eucharist, so that we could have Him physically with us always. The same Jesus that walked the hills of Nazareth preaching the Gospel is the same Jesus present in all the tabernacles around the world. Now that is love. He wants us to have Him. How can we look in the face of that Love and reject Him?





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Mary, Refuge of Sinners

 I just wanted to share this beautiful prayer by St. Alphonsus Liguori:

"O most holy and pure virgin! O my mother! You who are the mother of my Lord, the queen of the world, the advocate and refuge of sinners! I, a most wretched sinner, now come to you. I honor you, great queen, and give you humble thanks for the many favors which have come to me in the past through your intercession. I love you, Lady most worthy of all love, and by the love which I bear you, I promise ever in the future to honor you, and to do what lies in me to win others to your love. Receive me as your servant, and cover me with the mantle of your protection, you who are the mother of mercy! And since you have so much power with God, implore him to deliver me from all temptations, and to give me the grace ever to overcome them. Pray for me that I may love Christ in this world as you love him, and intercede for me that I may have the grace of a good death. O my mother! by your love for God I beseech you to be at all times my helper, but above all at the last moment of my life. Cease not your supplications until you see me safe in heaven, there for countless ages to bless you and, your holy company, to worship and adore your son, for ever and ever."
Amen.

What I love most about this, is that Jesus gives us His Mother to help us overcome our daily struggles and temptations. No matter what we do, She is always there to wrap us in her motherly embrace and lead us to Her Son's mercy. As any good mother, She comforts and consoles us in our times of despair. St. Anthony of Padua beautifully states:

"Now the Lord has established a refuge of mercy, Mary, even for those who deliberately commit evil. Mary provides shelter and strength for the sinner."

What a wonderful Mother we have!

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