Embracing the cross means embracing...

Vulnerability. This means letting go of pride/ego; the things that you are using to protect yourself from hurt keep away love until all you have is pride which results in a hardened heart that is not able to give or receive love and keeps God at arms length.  Being vulnerable means being naked, helpless, open to hurt, abandoned, letting go of everything, giving up everything like Christ on the Cross.  When you are vulnerable your heart remains open and soft...physically your body is open for an embrace--a hug--or a punch in the gut. Your body and heart are open like Christ's were on the cross to pain and love.  "Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do."  "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Lord Help Us Sell the Condo

"Lord, we have planted the seed, tended the shoots and watered the leaves. Now it is up to you to grant us the yield of our labors." --Living Prayer: Daily Catholic Devotions July August September 2009

This is the line from a prayer I found in the back of the cited devotional booklet yesterday. It made me think of the work we are doing on our condo in order to sell it. Our realtor tells us that now is the time to be aggressive. So we are "tweaking" and making improvements that we were putting off until a possible offer was made. After we've done all we can do it is really up to God to bring us the right person to buy this place.

This quote shows that it is up to us to do all we can before we expect God to take over. We have our part and God has his. It is at the same time wonderful and terrifying that God gives allows us part of the responsibility for the outcome of our own lives. I guess this is what is called free will.

I'm so Proud

Today my 13 year old son was enrolled in the brown scapular. He took the initiative to ask Father before mass if he would enroll him. I did not know he was going to do this. He was watching a Mother Angelica Episode about the brown scapular. I think this is what got him excited about it.

Wanting to Change Others

Yesterday I visited a friend who I have recently become in touch with again. She is a Christian. She was baptized Catholic and received first communion but shortly after that her family stopped going to mass. I think she started going to church again about around the time she met her husband over four years ago. She goes to Protestant churches but she believes in infant baptism and she seems drawn to liturgical churches such as Lutheranism. It seems that her and her husband are continually trying to find the right church for them. She was telling me that she thinks Evangelicals miss out on a lot by not celebrating different liturgical seasons like Lent. They are currently attending a Lutheran church after having previously attended a Baptist church for a period of time.

She also seems to prefer churches that offer communion on a regular basis. I want to say to her why not just go for the real deal and become Catholic. She was asking me how often Catholic churches receive communion. Catholics not only believe that the Eucharist is the body of Christ but also that priests have the authority to make this miracle happen because of apostolic succession. The bishops have come down to us from the apostles who were ordained by Christ himself. By what authority do Lutherans and other churches who believe in the Eucharist in their own way claim that their pastors can make this happen?

Any way at this point it seems that we are a little fearful of going into any depth about our religious differences. At least I am. I pray that she comes back to the Catholic Church and brings her husband along. I am sure we will learn a lot from each other as we become better acquainted. I suppose it is good just to have a Christian friend with some solid theology behind her beliefs in this day and age. Heck its just good to have a friend.