This was Fr. Greg's homily from this past Sunday, which was the Solemnity of Christ the King. He sent it to me because he talked about me. God seriously works through Fr. Greg. It's amazing. He's such a man of God!
Here's the homily:
This Thursday is Thanksgiving Day. Every day should be a day of thanksgiving for each of us. Sociologists have found that people who are thankful on a regular basis live healthier and happier lives. We should be thankful to God and others every day. We should thank God in prayer every day for everything He has given us. The best prayer of thanksgiving is the Mass; the word “Eucharist” literally means “thanksgiving”. Also, we should make the habit of thanking others who are generous to us, whether it’s thanking them in person or through a thank-you note. Also, a good way to give thanks is by serving our neighbor. Thanksgiving should lead to community service. It is right to give thanks regularly but it is also very healthy to do so.
Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. We hear the intriguing conversation between our Lord and Pontius Pilate in today’s Gospel. Pilate has a sense that Jesus is a king and asks Him a couple times if He is a king. Pilate is talking to not only a king, but the King of Kings…the King of the Universe. Christ has more power than all of the kings of the world put together! Pilate senses this power. It is a power that we should all tap into.
As college students, you might be wondering how this feast of Christ the King relates to you. I have a story about a college student that might help. I met her this past January when she and about 40 others from her university came to stay at our parish for the annual March for Life. We put the students up in our school, fed them, and offered a Holy Hour and Confessions in the Church. At the end of the night, this young woman asked if she could speak with me.
She told me that she was having a lot of problems…serious problems. She was so bad off that she was worried that she would take her own life by way of cutting. I asked her if I could pray over her. She said OK. I laid my hands on her head and asked God to bless her in various ways. It was basically a prayer that God would bring healing to her heart, mind, and body. I think it was one of those times when I could actually feel the power of God go out through me. When we finished, she thanked but didn’t say a lot about the blessing.
Just recently, she told me that that night saved her life. Saved her life! Praise God, that is awesome. She is doing much better now. She’s not out of the woods and still struggles with cutting, but it is not in her mind at all to take her own life. She has really come a long way since that night in January. I believe and she has confirmed that it is because of the power of God. What she received through me - what she needed - was the power of Christ the King. Only Christ has the power to help her. Only Christ has the power to heal her. He has power over all things. He has great power to offer her and all of you to help you with your serious problems. Christ is her king and he is your king.
Christ’s power as King was not just offered to the people who lived 2000 years ago. It is still offered today, mainly through his priests. Not all priests are open to the healing ministry, but I am. I am totally open to offering you Christ’s healing power. Some of you are dealing with serious problems in your mind, heart, or body. Christ can help. I invite you to experience his healing power. His power is real. I have experienced it and others have been healed by it.
Finally, we are about to approach the throne of Christ the King in the Eucharist. And, we do take a royal approach to the Eucharist. We kneel in the King’s presence, we bow as we approach Him, and then make a throne either in our hands or on our tongue to receive our King. But, there is a great mystery involved here: the King of the Universe with all of his royal splendor and majesty gets so small for us. He gets so small for us so that He will be in us and we will be in Him. He gets so small for us so that we will share in his kingdom…in his life…in his love…in his power. and we will reign with Him in his kingdom forever.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Death
Well, death just sucks. Yesterday, one of my friends from grade school, who is a year younger than me, passed away from Leukemia. It's hard because I was thinking how short her life really was. It's not fair, ya know? She lived a great life and I know she's no longer in pain, but it still sucks. I cried a lot today and thought a lot about my own life. Natalie didn't deserve to get sick and die. She was 17 years old when she was diagnosed with Leukemia. Her brother was her bone marrow donor this past summer. I asked God today why her body had to reject the transplant. I know it's really taken a toll on T.J. I know he feels like it's kind of his fault, but what he needs to understand is that they've had these last few months of Natalie being alive because of him. She would have died a lot sooner without it.
Today is the one year anniversary of my grandmother's death. I can't believe it's been a year already. I miss my grandma a lot. 5 years ago, I made her a University of Kentucky fleece blanket for Christmas. When she died, I asked my mom if I could have it. After her funeral, I brought it home. I slept with it on my bed for a while, but then just stuck it in my closet. Today I pulled it out of my closet. It still smells like my grandma's perfume, even after an entire year of being stuck in a closet. I cried when I realized it still smelled like her.
So yeah, these last 2 days have been filled with a lot of death. It sucks that their both no longer here on earth, but I know both Natalie and my grandma are with the Lord, and there's no better place to be.
Today is the one year anniversary of my grandmother's death. I can't believe it's been a year already. I miss my grandma a lot. 5 years ago, I made her a University of Kentucky fleece blanket for Christmas. When she died, I asked my mom if I could have it. After her funeral, I brought it home. I slept with it on my bed for a while, but then just stuck it in my closet. Today I pulled it out of my closet. It still smells like my grandma's perfume, even after an entire year of being stuck in a closet. I cried when I realized it still smelled like her.
So yeah, these last 2 days have been filled with a lot of death. It sucks that their both no longer here on earth, but I know both Natalie and my grandma are with the Lord, and there's no better place to be.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Have Your Way - Britt Nicole
As my future's kind of uncertain, this song's given me a lot of peace.
Feels like I've been here forever,
Why can't you just intervene?
Do you see the tears are falling?
And I'm falling apart at the seams.
But you never said the road would be easy,
But you said that you would never leave.
And you never promised that this life wasn't hard,
But you promised you'd take care of me.
So I'll stop searching for the answers,
I'll stop praying for an escape.
I'll trust you God with where I am,
And believe you will have your way,
Just have your way,
Just have your way.
My friends and my family have left me
I feel so ashamed and so cold,
Remind you take broken things
and turn them into beautiful.
So I'll stop searching for the answers,
I'll stop praying for an escape,
I'll trust you God with where I am,
And believe you will have your way,
Just have your way,
Just have your way.
Even if my dreams have died,
Even if I don't survive,
I'll still worship you with all my life,
My life, yeah.
And I'll stop searching for the answers,
I'll stop praying for an escape,
And I'll trust you God with where I am,
And believe you will have your way,
Just have your way,
Just have your way, yeah.
I know you will,
Don't forget,
Whoa, oh, oh
You love me,
Have your way.
Yeah
Feels like I've been here forever,
Why can't you just intervene?
Do you see the tears are falling?
And I'm falling apart at the seams.
But you never said the road would be easy,
But you said that you would never leave.
And you never promised that this life wasn't hard,
But you promised you'd take care of me.
So I'll stop searching for the answers,
I'll stop praying for an escape.
I'll trust you God with where I am,
And believe you will have your way,
Just have your way,
Just have your way.
My friends and my family have left me
I feel so ashamed and so cold,
Remind you take broken things
and turn them into beautiful.
So I'll stop searching for the answers,
I'll stop praying for an escape,
I'll trust you God with where I am,
And believe you will have your way,
Just have your way,
Just have your way.
Even if my dreams have died,
Even if I don't survive,
I'll still worship you with all my life,
My life, yeah.
And I'll stop searching for the answers,
I'll stop praying for an escape,
And I'll trust you God with where I am,
And believe you will have your way,
Just have your way,
Just have your way, yeah.
I know you will,
Don't forget,
Whoa, oh, oh
You love me,
Have your way.
Yeah
Monday, November 16, 2009
"For I know well the plans I have in mind for you"
I moved out of my dorm at Xavier the other day. It was kinda sad, but to be honest, I'm glad I'm done with Xavier. I'm on to bigger and better things. I can't wait to start at Steubenville. That's such an amazing place and I'm so excited :) When I was starting to question my decision the other day, Patrick, the youth minister at my church, e-mailed me a Scripture passage. It gave me the confidence to know I made the right decision: "For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope. When you call me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you. When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart ... " - Jeremiah 29: 11-13.
Surgery was 3 weeks ago and I've been left here with my thoughts. I had an impulse to cut last night. That was the first one since John made me pick between him and the blade. I texted him tonight and he responded with some encouragement as well as "Catherine, I want you to pick again. Me or the blade?" Of course I picked John. Renewing the promise to John has made things easier today.
Surgery was 3 weeks ago and I've been left here with my thoughts. I had an impulse to cut last night. That was the first one since John made me pick between him and the blade. I texted him tonight and he responded with some encouragement as well as "Catherine, I want you to pick again. Me or the blade?" Of course I picked John. Renewing the promise to John has made things easier today.
Friday, November 13, 2009
TWLOHA Day
Since I am a recovering self-injurer, today, I've got the word LOVE written on my arm. Here's a blog post written by the founder of To Write Love On Her Arms about the unofficial TWLOHA day.
Hey Guys.
Each week, Lindsay from our team sends an email to the entire TWLOHA team. When we open this email, it's a time to reflect on some of the messages and emails that have come in over the last few days. Some of the messages are heavy and hard to read. Others are full of hope and encouragement. Life is both and everything in between.
Lindsay sends these messages to remind us of our mission, the heart of the matter. Each week, as we read the messages she includes, we're reminded where this started and we're reminded why we do what we do.
Today, "TWLOHA Day", is one that our team didn't come up with. We don't know a lot about it, to be honest - not sure where it came from or how it spread to so many people. But perhaps that's been true for much of our story - we've seen the best of passion and communication. We've seen people share and build something beautiful together.
With today in mind, i want to share one of the messages that Lindsay sent to us yesterday:
"My name is Taylor and I am 22 years old. I have been an addict for the past six years of my life and have been looking at getting into rehab for awhile now. I should be checking in sometime this week I am just waiting for my federal aid to come in. I wanted to thank you guys for doing what you do and being there. I haven't personally ever talked to anyone with your organization but my sister heard about it somehow. My sister is 18 years old and has never used a day in her life. Ever since I started using I haven't been there for her and we kind of live two completely seperate lives. We haven't gotten along. Today my sister picked me up from my house and said she had a surprise for me. We went and got love tattooed on our arms. She has never had a tattoo so this was a big step for her. She started crying, I haven't seen real emotion from my sister in a long long time. She told me what you guys were about and expressed what she has felt about my use and the way I have made her feel. I made a promise to her to stay clean, something I have never said to anyone. Every time I look down at my arm it will remind me of what a commitment my sister has made to me and to helping me stay clean. I just wanted to thank you guys for helping her understand and helping her accept me and not frown upon me. Your organization has really made an impact on both of our lives and I really wanted to express my gratitude.
Thank you so much for what you guys do everyday and what your organization will continue to do for so many people, you guys really do save lifes.
Thank you so much.
All the love and respect in the world."
If you decide to write the word "love" on your arm today, please remember the heart of the matter. The goals were never "cute" or "fashion". Our title, "to write love on her arms", was born as a goal and it remains a goal. We're inviting people to fight for their lives and for the lives of their friends. We're inviting people to believe better things.
If you want to help us spread the word about hope and help, we would be honored. If you want to tell people that they need other people, that every story matters - again, we would be honored. We say these things because we believe them to be true, and because too many people live alone under other lies.
Let's continue to fight to figure out what this word "love" means. Let's aim for how it looks and how it sounds - maybe something like humility and confidence and kindness, maybe honesty and compassion...
We're in all these things together. It's bigger than cute and it's louder than fashion.
Thanks always for your support.
You matter very much.
jamie and the entire TWLOHA team
Hey Guys.
Each week, Lindsay from our team sends an email to the entire TWLOHA team. When we open this email, it's a time to reflect on some of the messages and emails that have come in over the last few days. Some of the messages are heavy and hard to read. Others are full of hope and encouragement. Life is both and everything in between.
Lindsay sends these messages to remind us of our mission, the heart of the matter. Each week, as we read the messages she includes, we're reminded where this started and we're reminded why we do what we do.
Today, "TWLOHA Day", is one that our team didn't come up with. We don't know a lot about it, to be honest - not sure where it came from or how it spread to so many people. But perhaps that's been true for much of our story - we've seen the best of passion and communication. We've seen people share and build something beautiful together.
With today in mind, i want to share one of the messages that Lindsay sent to us yesterday:
"My name is Taylor and I am 22 years old. I have been an addict for the past six years of my life and have been looking at getting into rehab for awhile now. I should be checking in sometime this week I am just waiting for my federal aid to come in. I wanted to thank you guys for doing what you do and being there. I haven't personally ever talked to anyone with your organization but my sister heard about it somehow. My sister is 18 years old and has never used a day in her life. Ever since I started using I haven't been there for her and we kind of live two completely seperate lives. We haven't gotten along. Today my sister picked me up from my house and said she had a surprise for me. We went and got love tattooed on our arms. She has never had a tattoo so this was a big step for her. She started crying, I haven't seen real emotion from my sister in a long long time. She told me what you guys were about and expressed what she has felt about my use and the way I have made her feel. I made a promise to her to stay clean, something I have never said to anyone. Every time I look down at my arm it will remind me of what a commitment my sister has made to me and to helping me stay clean. I just wanted to thank you guys for helping her understand and helping her accept me and not frown upon me. Your organization has really made an impact on both of our lives and I really wanted to express my gratitude.
Thank you so much for what you guys do everyday and what your organization will continue to do for so many people, you guys really do save lifes.
Thank you so much.
All the love and respect in the world."
If you decide to write the word "love" on your arm today, please remember the heart of the matter. The goals were never "cute" or "fashion". Our title, "to write love on her arms", was born as a goal and it remains a goal. We're inviting people to fight for their lives and for the lives of their friends. We're inviting people to believe better things.
If you want to help us spread the word about hope and help, we would be honored. If you want to tell people that they need other people, that every story matters - again, we would be honored. We say these things because we believe them to be true, and because too many people live alone under other lies.
Let's continue to fight to figure out what this word "love" means. Let's aim for how it looks and how it sounds - maybe something like humility and confidence and kindness, maybe honesty and compassion...
We're in all these things together. It's bigger than cute and it's louder than fashion.
Thanks always for your support.
You matter very much.
jamie and the entire TWLOHA team
Friday, November 6, 2009
Believe - Britt Nicole
Wait, wait, wait, there's somethin' that I gotta say
It'll take, take, take, just a minute so don't walk away
I search in circles for a remedy
To fight the poison that is killing me
It's like I'm falling fast head over feet
Is anybody listening?
I wanna believe
I wanna believe in love again
I wanna believe
I wanna believe in love again
Tired of living this way, tired of everyday
So will you help me
I wanna breakthrough
I wanna believe in You
Hey, hey, hey, why is everyday the same for me?
Fake, fake, fake, just pretend what I'm suppose to be
I need an answer for my remedy
I need a Savior 'cause I'm in too deep
I reach up,
Will You reach down here to me?
I wanna believe
I wanna believe in love again
I wanna believe
I wanna believe in love again
Tired of living this way, tired of everyday
So will you help me
I wanna breakthrough
I wanna believe in You
You found me, You were looking for me
You found me, You were looking for me
You found me, You were waiting for me
I can see Your love
You found me, You were waiting for me
I can see Your love
I believe in You, I believe in You, I believe in You
I believe in You, I believe in You, I believe in You
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Good News!
I got into Franciscan and will be transferring in January. I'm SOOOOOOOO excited!!!! God's plans for me are FINALLY becoming clear and I freakin' love it :) Oh, surgery last week went well. No worries. All I'm doing now is healing as fast as I can. I will be withdrawing from Xavier, so I'll only be going back to move out my stuff once I can walk again. Haha. Life's so good at the moment :)
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