Sacred Heart of Jesus and Divine Mercy

I've been on a roll recently with reviewing my notes from great talks that I've had an opportunity to hear and then typing them up to share here on this blog.  This is the last of my notes and it's very fitting reading for the Feast of The Sacred Heart of Jesus.  Not only is the topic on The Sacred Heart, but the source is well known for his own personal devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and for sharing and encouraging that devotion in others.  What follows are the notes taken from Fr. James Kubicki's Lenten Day of Reflection for Catholics United for the Faith (CUF).

Sacred Heart of Jesus and Divine Mercy by Fr. James Kubicki, SJ, National Director of the Apostleship of Prayer

Some people may wonder if the Divine Mercy image replaces the Sacred Heart image.  The Heart of Jesus is both merciful and loving.  The two devotions go together.  Saint John Paul II said, “Between the first and second world wars Christ entrusted the message of mercy to St. Faustina.  Those who remember know how necessary was the message of mercy.”  “During the most merciless century Jesus appeared with this message:  Jesus told Faustina that humanity will not find peace until it turns trustingly to Divine Mercy.”  How true those words are today and how much more do we need to hear them!

Saint John Paul continues: “Divine Mercy reaches human beings through the Heart of Christ crucified.  On Easter Sunday when Jesus appeared to the apostles he showed his hands and side.  He points to the wounds of passion, especially the wound of his Heart.”

In the image of Divine Mercy, the two rays represent blood and water-this comes right from scripture as the eye witness observed the soldier pierce the side of Christ and out came blood and water.  The water is the clear pericardial fluid of the heart.

St. Faustina had a deep devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  In her diary she quotes Jesus as saying, “I have opened my heart as a living fountain of mercy.  My mercy is greater than your sins and those of the entire world.  For you I allowed myself to be nailed to a cross.  For you I allowed my Sacred Heart to be pierced.”

His Sacred Heart is present in the tabernacle; he remains present to us.  The Divine Mercy and Sacred Heart are so closely bound up and are inseparable because Jesus has only one heart.  When we approach these devotions the differences between these are ones of emphasis springing from the same heart.  If you’re devoted to Divine Mercy you are also devoted to the Sacred Heart. 

Jesus told St. Faustina, “My divine heart is so passionately fond of the human race that it cannot keep back its charity.  It must be released through you.”

Jesus has indescribable wonders of his pure love for humanity.  Again he tells St. Faustina, “All my eager efforts of their welfare meet with coldness.  Tell aching humanity to snuggle close to my heart and I will fill it with peace.  Oh how painful it is to me that souls so seldom unite themselves to me in Holy Communion.” 

Statistics show that Mass attendance has gone down.  People say, “I don’t get anything out of Mass,” but they don’t know what the Mass is all about.  We need to pray that our faith will increase.

The Holy Trinity is the great mystery of our faith.  The nature of love is to want to share love.  God created human beings in his own image and likeness.  Love has to be free.  You can’t put a gun to someone’s head and say, “Now love me.”  God never does that.  He always invites our love and tries to attract our love.  We have at times rejected God’s loving plan and that’s sin.  So God sent his son to save us.

In Saint Pope John Paul’s Mercy Encyclical he says, “The Church seems in a particular way to profess the mercy of God when she directs herself to the heart of Christ.  Mercy is the most stupendous attribute of the creator and the redeemer.”

His heart is also present in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  God is infinite, there is no limit to his love and mercy.  No human sin can prevail over the power of his mercy.  When we don’t go to confession or carry our old sins long after they’ve been forgiven, we limit God’s mercy. 

There’s nothing we can do to make God love us less.  Saint Francis de Sales reminds us that the sun shines on the flowers in the garden with equal intensity.  Saint Pope John Paul tells us that “only a lack of readiness to be converted and to repent on our part can limit God’s mercy.”  We may come to him with a thimble or with our whole self.  God is always ready to give us his love and mercy but we have to admit that we need it.

Mercy is like a good river-it’s only pure as long as it flows.  When the Jordan River meets the Dead Sea it stops and stagnates.  We are called to let mercy flow through us into the world.

When we sin we make an Act of Contrition and then go through the Church for Sacraments.  Christ is the head and we are the body-we can’t have a body without a head.  The two go together.  Jesus is present in the Church forgiving sins.  We need to hear and accept God’s forgiveness.  The only way our sins are retained is if we don’t give them to the Lord.  James writes, “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another.”

There is a communal dimension to our lives.  We are part of a body.  We can’t just say it’s enough for me to go to God.  We go through the Church.  We meet Jesus through the priest.  I think the greatest joy that Jesus had was in forgiving sins even more than physical healing.  Jesus’ priority was that it was more important to heal a man deep down.  Physical healings are nice but they don’t last.  Ultimately our bodies weaken and die.  Try to see confession from Jesus’ perspective.  We approach the Sacrament ashamed and afraid but we give Jesus the opportunity to forgive us and heal us spiritually.

Jesus told St. Faustina that confession is a fountain of his mercy.  Blood and water flow from his soul and ennobles the Sacrament.  Pope Francis says that confession is not like going to the dry cleaners.  Our sins are more than stains; they are wounds that need healing.  When you go to confession, think of the great joy you give to Jesus as you give him your sins and allow him to heal you.

Some people say, “What’s the point?  I only confess the same sins over and over again.”  Our sins are just like any habit that we fall into.  Jesus isn’t looking for you to get new sins.  He knows our habits but he wants to take those sins off our conscience and heal us.

Other people say, “Why am I here?  I don’t have any sins.  I don’t know what to confess.” When people go to confession frequently it’s not because they are bigger sinners than the rest of us but because they are more in love with the Lord.  All great saints seem to have so many sins not because they are great sinners but because they are great lovers.  They are sin-sensitive.

Love doesn’t ask for the minimum requirement.  The measure of our love depends on how deeply aware we are of God’s love for us.  Having received mercy in confession we go forth and live our faith.  One of the great works of mercy is to pray for the conversion of sinners, to pray for people who are dead in their sins, who don’t know the mercy of God.  God’s mercy is always there ready to be given.

Last year on Divine Mercy Sunday Pope Francis talked about the need for mercy.  We can feel crushed asking ourselves why humanity’s evil can appear as an abyss empty of life.  How can we fill it?  For us, it’s impossible.  Only God can do it.  When Jesus died on the cross he filled the abyss with the depth of his mercy.  But to receive mercy there has to be conversion.

St. Leopold, a renowned confessor along with St. Pio, was once criticized for being too easy in the confessional.  He replied, “Is it I who is too generous?  I didn’t die for you.  Jesus is the one who is too generous in dying for you.  I am just giving you the mercy he won for you!”

Pope Francis says “May the message of mercy reach everyone and may no one be indifferent to this call.  It is given even more fervently to those whose behavior distances them from God’s grace.  Sooner or later everyone will be subjected to God’s judgment from which no one can escape.  Are we ready?  We pray that all people will be ready.”  God doesn’t send people to hell, people choose it.  It’s their own decision.  The world has to freely accept God’s love.  Eternal damnation is not God’s initiative because God only desires our salvation.  In reality it’s the creature who closes himself to God’s love.

We are called to pray for the conversion of sinners.  This was Mary’s message at Lourdes and Fatima.  It’s Jesus message to St. Faustina as well.  “Pray for souls that they be not afraid to approach the tribunal of my mercy.  You always console me when you pray for sinners.”

What are the greatest obstacles to holiness?  Jesus told St. Faustina, “My child, know that the greatest are discouragement and an exaggerated anxiety.  Have confidence; do not lose heart in coming for pardon because I am always ready to forgive you.”

Jesus desires that we trust in his love and mercy and then we can better share that mercy with the world.  Jesus showed St. Faustina that we can help repair the damage of sin.  We can use our sufferings to offer reparation to God.  As members of the Body of Christ stay close and united to the Heart of Jesus.  We need our hearts to be transformed.

St. Faustina’s diary says: “When a soul approaches me with trust I fill it with such an abundance of mercy that radiates to others. And St. Faustina prayed:  “Most sweet Jesus, set on fire my love for you and transform me into yourself. Divinize me that my deeds may be pleasing to you.  May this be accomplished by the Holy Communion I receive daily.  I want to be transformed into you.”  This is very much like Galatians:  “Now I live not I but Christ lives in me.”

 

Extending forgiveness begins in the heart.  Fr. Lawrence Jenco, a Servite priest who was the director of Catholic Relief Services in Beirut in 1985 was held hostage for 594 days.  He wrote a book called, Bound to Forgive in which he writes about a man that tortured him: “Toward the end of my captivity one of my guards, a man named Sayeed who had at times brutalized me, sat down on my mat with me. He had recently started calling me 'Abouna,' an Arabic name meaning 'dear father.' At first I was Jenco, then Lawrence, then Abouna, indicating by the choice of names and tone of voice that a change of heart was taking place. He asked me if I remembered the first six months of my captivity. I responded 'Yes, Sayeed. I remember all the pain and suffering you caused me and my brothers.' Then he asked 'Abouna, do you forgive me?'

These quietly spoken words overwhelmed me. As I sat blindfolded, unable to see the man who had been my enemy, I understood I was called to forgive, to let go of revenge, retaliation, and vindictiveness.

And I was challenged to forgive him unconditionally. I could not forgive him on the condition that he change his behavior to conform to my wishes or values. I had no control over his response. I understood I was to say yes.

I said: 'Sayeed, there were times I hated you. I was filled with anger and revenge for what you did to me and my brothers. But Jesus said on the mountain top that I was not to hate you. I was to love you. Sayeed, I need to ask God's forgiveness and yours.'”*

There are many people we won’t like or we’ll disagree with but we’ll have to love and forgive them.  In Mass, Jesus offers himself to the Father for the salvation of souls.  What the head has done, we are now called to join.  When we leave Mass we are empowered to live that mercy in our daily lives.  When we meet our judge face to face nothing will hold us back.  

*The full quote from Fr. Jenko was taken from Fr. Jim's Offer It Up blog.

St. Maria Goretti

This relic of St. Maria Goretti was a gift to me from a Sister of St. Benedict Center.
I have since given it to one of my sisters but was so blessed to have her in my home for a short time.

The relics of St. Maria Goretti, the eleven year old Italian girl who lost her life to save her purity and the purity of her attacker, and then forgave her murderer before she died, have been on a tour in the United States while the church where they are normally kept is being restored.  The tour has been called "The Pilgrimage of Mercy."  The remarkable story of the conversion of Alessandro Serenelli, St. Maria Goretti's murderer, was highlighted during the tour as well.

I was anxiously anticipating this visit from St. Maria Goretti as the reports coming from her visit in Chicago were amazing. She was escorted by Homeland Security and many of Chicago's finest police officers.  Her story was covered by several secular news outlets and we were told that people would leave her presence with tears in their eyes and a sense of deep love and respect for the saint even if they didn't know anything about her before coming to venerate her relics.

My family was blessed to visit the relics of the youngest saint while she was at St. Mary's Visitation Parish in Elm Grove, Wisconsin.  I had never before witnessed such a long line to enter a church!  It was a beautiful sight!

The line waiting to venerate the relics of St. Maria Goretti at St. Mary's Visitation Parish
in Elm Grove, Wisconsin while we were visiting.  We were told that the lines were long and constant
during the entire time that St. Maria's relics were there.

Each visitor was allowed 15 seconds to venerate St. Maria's relics in the glass case before moving on for silent, private prayer for as long as desired within the church.  While it appears that Maria's body is incorrupt, this is not so.  Maria's skeleton is encased within a wax body.

We were fortunate to find a place in the front row of the church to pray
following our 15-second veneration of the relics.
This photo was taken from that vantage point.

It was deeply moving for my family to pray before the relics of this mighty young girl, perhaps mostly so for my daughter who is very near to the same age as Maria was at the time of her death. Even more moving was the report of a Wisconsin woman who was healed from the degeneration of a ball joint in her arm upon touching the case that contained St. Maria Goretti's relics.

In this upcoming Year of Mercy beginning on December 8th, I pray that I will learn to forgive like the beautiful and remarkable St. Maria Goretti.

If you don't already know her fascinating story, you will want to read about St. Maria Goretti and the Pilgrimage of Mercy and will learn a great deal when you visit this link.

These are the items that I brought to touch to St. Maria Goretti's coffin.
The artwork was purchased at Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
The charms and the small, second-class relic were gifts to my daughter from a
 Handmaid of the Precious Blood.

Love Thy Neighbor

"...love thy neighbor as thyself. There is no commandment greater..." Mark 12:31

Finding a balance between standing strong for what is right, and gentle acceptance and love for others is always a challenge, isn't it?  I often waver back and forth between being a completely obtuse and angry woman and a weak and wimpy door mat.  Learning to forgive and let go of a grudge can be a never-ending challenge.  I'd much rather prefer to be everyone's best friend and just play nice 24/7 instead of dealing with challenges that come my way. Unfortunately, life isn't always a pleasant place and sometimes I've just got to pull my head out of the sand and deal with the difficulties of life.

Many years ago I got into a dispute with my next-door-neighbor over lot lines, fences and bushes.  It was a biggie which led to us not speaking to one another for several years.   It was so bad, that my husband and all of our children were also angry at her except for my daughter who was only two years old at the time. She thought that our neighbor was the loveliest person in the world and would run to her and hug her every time she saw her, which was, of course,  very awkward for me.  It was so bad that my next-door neighbor complained to some of the other neighbors about me telling them that I was a lousy Catholic who lacked the capacity to forgive.  I scoffed at that, thinking she had never asked for my forgiveness, but in my heart I knew she was right.  I was a lousy Catholic who struggled to forgive.  I still am.  But, after two years of battle, I finally dragged my lazy self to confession and spilled the beans about my bad behavior and the terrible example that I was setting for my children.

And for my efforts in the confessional I received the hardest penance I had ever been given in my life.

I was told that I must apologize to my neighbor and to keep on apologizing until she forgave me.  I was further told that if my words of repentance weren't enough, then I should bake her some cookies as a proof of my contrition.

I went home in pure grief thinking that I could never do that.  I complained to my sister who told me that I didn't have to perform my penance immediately.  She told me that I could take my time until I was really ready.  Since that confession occurred in early December I waited a few weeks until it was nearly Christmas and I placed a Christmas card in her mailbox with these few additional words:  "I'm sorry that I hurt you."

I received nothing.  No reply, no acknowledgement.  Nothing.

Darn,  I thought.  Now I have to make her cookies!  I wasn't quite ready to do that so I followed my sister's advice once again and decided to wait some more.

Spring arrived and I was outside doing yard work.  My neighbor came outside and called out to me from her porch.  She said, "I got your Christmas card and I want you to know that I am sorry, too.  And...I love your daughter."  Do you think my neighbor also has a sister who told her that she could wait a while before apologizing?  But I couldn't help but smile at the reality of that old saying "A child shall lead the way." (Isaiah 11:6)

My neighbor and I are friends once again, not as close as we once were, but we get along just fine.  That's why what happened last year really rattled me.

I had to work on the morning of my wedding anniversary but Paul was fortunate to have the day off.  He told me that he planned to spend the day putting up a new basketball hoop on our garage.  When I pulled up to the front of our house after a long and stressful morning at work, I was horrified to see that all of the bushes in our front yard between our house and my neighbor's had been cut down to the ground!

I rushed into the house and immediately laid into Paul, anniversary or not.  "You had nothing better to do today?" I accused.  What happened to putting up the basketball hoop?  How about mowing the lawn?  What on earth caused you to cut down all of our bushes?"  He looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face and asked "What are you talking about?  What bushes?"  I pointed to the front yard and he was as astonished as I was to see the destruction.  He said that our neighbor's daughter was there doing some yard work and she must have cut them.  Then he said that if I didn't go over there and say something, he would.  We both knew that I would be more diplomatic than he would, and so with my rage diffused after taking it out on my husband, and resignation settling in, I walked over to my neighbor's house and rang the doorbell, praying, "Please God, not again.  I just want to get along.  Please don't let us fight again!"

When she answered the door I surprised myself by remaining calm and kind.  She was equally calm and  I could tell that she didn't mean to upset me and that she had good intentions behind her actions.  I realized that she probably did me a big favor in cleaning up my front yard, and some lousy bushes were nothing to allow myself so much distress over.

So I went back home and hauled out the mixer.  Paul stared at me with a puzzled look upon his face so I explained to him that I was making cookies for our neighbor...and for him. After all, I hadn't exactly been the picture of kindness in blaming him unjustly, especially on our anniversary.  I figured a sweet little penance would be the perfect antidote to the anger and resentment that threatened to destroy my treasured relationships.  

Forgiveness is hard.  I don't know if I'll ever be any good at it.  But within a few months I noticed that my bushes had grown back and they look really nice, much nicer than they had looked before.  I think I should bake some more cookies for my neighbor to thank her for the kindness she showed me in cleaning out my weeds and in unwittingly softening my hard and unruly heart.  For God has shown me that if I can just hold the anger back from my tongue and believe the best of others, He will see to it that the prayer of intention that I whispered on my neighbor's front porch will be answered.   I will learn to get along with others without so much fighting.  Let there be peace on earth, and lots of cookies, too!

Soul Scrubbed

Loving Jesus,

My soul is dirty, 

filled with the clutter of old sins 

and the baggage of attachments 

that I have held on to 

for far too long. 

My inability to let go of the past 

has been weighing me down 

and keeping You at a distance. 

But now, 

I am willing to let You into 

all of the dark corners 

where the dust and cobwebs 

of my transgressions reside.  

Cleanse my soul, 

sweet Savior. 

Scrub me clean with Your forgiveness, 

remove my hurt 

with the promise of Your tender mercy, 

haul away my wickedness 

and absolve me with Your fragrance of love. 

Polish my soul. 

Restore it to the beauty,

goodness and light 

for which it was created.  

Then, take off Your apron 

and make Yourself at home 

in my spotless soul.

Amen.

St. Photini

"Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,' you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” John 4:5-42






















In the Orthodox tradition the woman at the well is honored as St. Photini. After her interaction with Christ she converted to Christianity, was baptized by the apostles and given the name Photini which means "the enlightened one". She became a tireless evangelist drawing many others to faith in Christ. In the words of Fr. Dave Cooper, "Christ gave her the gift of faith and she in turn gave that gift back to Him."

My parish has a reputation for being "liberal." I am often asked why I belong to such a liberal parish and it makes me think of the classic pick-up line, "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" The truth is, like the sinful woman at the well, I too, am sinful, have met Christ and have been converted. My guess is that everyone of us can call that statement true for themselves, whether we are comfortable admitting our sinfulness or not. Like St. Photini, my parish has been judged and labeled as liberal without the benefit of anyone looking deep within to see the good and holy people who belong there and who do their best to turn from sin and follow the gospel.

According to Fr. Dave, "We don't even know for sure that the living arrangements and lifestyle of the woman at the well was sinful. Could it be that she outlived her previous husbands and now the man with whom she was living was scared to marry her for fear that he would suffer the same fate of death? Yet we are quick to judge her and label her a sinful woman."

In the same vein, people are often quick to judge my parish and everyone who belongs there as liberal, dissenting Catholics who only want to change the Church rather than obediently follow the Pope as we should. I think if people want to see that in my parish, they will, but in truth, there may be just as many dissenting Catholics in parishes that are labeled traditional.

Only Christ can see the truth in our individual hearts. Only Christ can offer us the gift of faith and ask us to return it to him by loving all of those in our midst-liberal or traditional. It is Christ who is coming to us on our mountainside whether we are Jew or Samaritan, traditional or liberal, it is Christ who is calling us to conversion, to a change of heart, to see Him in all things and all people and in turn to share Him with all who cross our path, to evangelize and share our faith with the world.

St. Photini, you were judged as a sinful woman. Whether this is true or not, we know that we all carry sin in our hearts and are in need of the forgiveness that only Christ can provide. Be an example for us of the joy that comes from abandoning our sinful pasts for a new life in the living waters of the Lord. Be with us as we strive to share our faith with others. Amen.

Casting Stones

“Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone at her.” John 8:7















When you cast a stone into a still lake and watch to see what happens, you notice that the ripples brought about by that one stone spread wider and wider until a large part of the lake has seen an effect from that one stone. It’s like an echo in the water; it spreads far beyond its source.

The same can be said of casting stones at others. It’s so easy to be self-righteous and put blame and criticism on others for not acting in ways that we believe are right and good. We can put that same blame and criticism on ourselves, as well, causing that ripple effect of hurt and pain to spread out to others around us. Everyone we encounter can feel the ripple effect, the echo of our finger pointing, even when we point the finger at ourselves. It’s impossible for the one person upon whom the stone is cast to bear that pain alone. Before you know it, our families, friends, co-workers, and parishes all feel a bit of that pain caused by injustice.

Jesus challenges us to look within. Are we innocent, without sin? If we’re truthful with ourselves, the answer will be no.

Unclench your heart. Drop your stone on the ground where it will cause no damage. Quiet that echo, those repercussions of blame. Turn to the one being condemned, even if it’s yourself, especially if it’s yourself, and offer your love and mercy. A gentle word, a kind touch, a firm reminder of their dignity in the eyes of God and their call to live lives worthy of that dignity can stop the ripple effect of pain and bring about the solid foundation of a holy life in the eyes of God and others.

Radiant Springtime

face burning with shame
I released my sins from my soul
and laid them at Your feet

they came forth from my mouth
slowly, stiltingly,
with quavering voice

fear held me in its grasp
as I held my breath and
awaited my condemnation

"I am not afraid of your sins,"
was the kind response,
and my heart was soothed

"Just place them gently
into My Sacred Heart
where all pain is transformed."

"I will carry you, and protect you
and forgive you. I will make
all things new."

And Spring grew in my heart then,
with its warmth and flowers
bursting through the hard ground

I am alive again, reborn
forever I will live in His love,
His peace and His joy

"Look to Him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces will not blush with shame."
Psalm 34

Torn to Shreds

In honor of the Feast Day of St. John Vianney, a story about forgiveness in remembrance of the Saint who spent countless hours in the confessional...

When my son Justin was preparing to make the Sacrament of First Reconciliation, he was quite nervous as most children are the first time they confess their sins, and as some people are every time they confess their sins. Part of Justin’s nerves were due to the fact that he thought he might freeze up in the confessional and forget the sins he needed to confess. His remedy for this fear was to write all of his sins down on a piece of paper, tuck it in his pocket, and pull it out if the need arose.

Sure enough, as nine-year-old Justin sat face to face with the priest, he drew a perfect blank about what he wanted to say. So, he pulled that paper from his pocket and “read” his sins to Father. After he received absolution, the priest asked to see the list of sins. As Justin handed the paper to the priest, Father immediately tore the paper to shreds. He told Justin, “This is what God has now done to your sins. God has torn your sins to shreds; they are gone forever. You should completely forget about them.” What a wonderful symbolic action on the part of this priest! Justin left the confessional just beaming!

I need to frequently remind myself of the lesson Justin learned that day, because although I know that my sins are permanently absolved in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, my good old Catholic guilt won’t let me forget them. I keep trying to pick up those scraps of paper and glue them back together again. I keep trying to tell myself that my sins are so bad I can never be redeemed. How that must hurt Jesus to know that I can’t seem to accept his forgiveness wholeheartedly, that part of me continues to hang on to my sin. I need to remind myself over and over again that God loves me, right here, right now, whether I am sinful or redeemed from the state of sin. He longs to pick up those scraps of paper that have been torn to shreds and burn them in the fire so there will be no way I can try to pick them up again.

Dear, sweet, forgiving Jesus, help me to remember that my sins, once confessed and forgiven with the blessing of absolution, are no longer mine to hold on to, they are now yours to do whatever it is you wish with them. It was a precious gift of love when you took my sins upon yourself through the suffering you endured on the cross. Help me to show my appreciation for that gift by forgiving myself as you forgive me. Amen.

Being Christ

“Each of us may be the only Christ that another person ever experiences. How vital it is that we live our faith well.”
Fr. Don Hying

Jesus,

There have been times when I’ve desperately needed someone to be You for me, but I couldn’t find anyone to fill Your shoes. How lonely that felt!

There have also been times when someone stepped in for You most magnificently and through them, I was renewed.

So I wonder, when have I been Christ for others? How well do I live my faith? Forgive me Jesus, for in this regard, I know that I fail miserably.

I need you Jesus. Come to life for me. Be resurrected in my soul today so that I can exist for You alone, and bring You to the world around me.

Amen.

Tree of Strength

Last fall, I was inspired the write a poem about a beautiful, lone tree on the Seminary grounds. Today, I saw that same tree bursting with the new life of spring. Here I share both of my reflections on life that were inspired by that same,wonderful tree.


Tree of Strength


The flaming tree stands alone,
on fire with autumn foliage.
It isn’t lonely to be alone.
It is proud to stand out and display its beauty in the middle of the field.
It is glorious and perfect in its solitary space.
The leaves fall and they lay at the foot of the tree.
This is their sign of worship for the mighty, strong, tree.
I am a leaf who has fallen in sin.
Now, I lay in worship at the foot
of the tree of life, the cross.
I will shrivel and decay into the earth,
and be taken back
into the tree as nourishment
to be reborn in spring.
I will be forgiven and brought to new life.

My worship,
my sorrow,
my penance
give strength and beauty to the tree.
The cycle of sin, sorrow and forgiveness
continues over and over again
making the tree stronger
and more beautiful
as it ages into eternity.

Tree of Strength-Reborn



The early morning spring mist
hovers lightly
around the mighty tree,
but it can’t conceal
the signs of new life.
Tiny, tender sprigs of
fresh green leaves
are beginning to grow
on the hard, wooden branches.

What a beautiful sign this new growth is!
All of those decayed leaves lying on the ground,
that symbolized sin only a few months ago,
have nourished the stark tree
throughout the cold winter months.

What was hidden inside the tree
was forgiveness and renewal.
I can now come forward
with my head held high
knowing that my Savior, God,
has accepted the sacrifice of my life
and brought forth something new and wonderful!

I am that new green leaf beginning to grow,
eager to become a pleasing sign
for the entire world to see.
I am reborn and ready to show
the Mercy of God to all
who pass by.