Pass Me Not By

A reflection by Heidi Knofczynski

Whenever this Gospel is proclaimed at Mass, I always connect it with the hymn, Pass Me Not, Gentle Savior.  

Pass me not, O gentle Savior,

Hear my humble cry;

While on others Thou art calling,

Do not pass me by.

Oh, how Zacchaeus wanted to get a glimpse of Jesus,!  So much so that this man, who had a great deal of power within the community, was willing to cast aside his ill-gotten dignity and climb up a tree to do so.  An impulsive act perhaps, but Jesus, who knows what occurs in the depth of our hearts, was there at exactly the right moment.  He willingly entered this bully’s home to dine with him.  This caused much grumbling among those who had also gathered to see Jesus.

Many of those grumblers may have been scandalized by this because Zacchaeus so willingly took the side of oppression and dishonesty for his own personal gain.  But among those grumblers, there were some in that crowd who may have been deeply hurt by Zacchaeus’ unscrupulous actions.  Their honor has been stolen; stolen and misused by this little man in a tree!  Why would the healer pass by the victims in favor of the victimizer?

Let me at Thy throne of mercy

Find a sweet relief;

Kneeling there in deep contrition,

Help my unbelief.

I admit in my meditations, sometimes I find myself to be a major grumbler in the crowd.   I see myself standing in the crowd as someone wounded by that small person.  I am still struggling under the burden of the dishonor and humiliation that was heaped upon me.  I had hoped beyond hope that the Savior would reach out His hand and call me to Him, to restore what was taken.  But instead, He passed me by to get to Zaccheaus, did I deserve my dishonor?  Is there nothing about me or my sorrow that calls to His Heart?  I do not even have the strength to even want to forgive this little man you are calling on.   I start to fear my hopes; I start to doubt my Savior. Better to not hope than to be let down.

It is really hard to stay with a meditation like this, because it is so painful.  There is often so much fear that He will not respond to the pain.   And on top of that, in the background of these thoughts are the murmurings of our own guilt, because we know we have failed others.  It is easy to think: Maybe I don't deserve His attention.   Maybe I am selfish is desiring it. 

Trusting only in Thy merit,
Would I seek Thy face;
Heal my wounded, broken spirit,
Save me by Thy grace.

Listen carefully to what Jesus is saying when you start to waiver.   Allow the Lord to draw you out of your fears.  “Do you trust me?”   He speaks so softly you can miss it: “I have not passed you by.  Those who hurt you cannot truly pay their debt to you without Me. Fourfold you will be repaid. My justice surges like water and spreads its splendor like an unfailing stream. (Amos 5:24 ).

Thou the spring of all my comfort,

More than life to me,

Whom have I on earth beside Thee,

Whom in Heav’n but Thee.

Truly we should not begrudge Zacchaeus his joy at being singled out by Christ in this way; we all are a Zacchaeus to someone.  We have stolen someone’s honor, or made them feel insignificant or worse.   Mostly we do this blindly, but not always. In Him only is our hope for repaying our debts, and in Him is our only hope of recovering what has been taken from us.  Christ does not pass you by ever in indifference to your hurts!  He is always bringing you to a deeper level of healing with a stronger faith and a higher hope!

How do you relate to the story of Zacchaeus?  Are you ever worried that He might pass you by?

As Christ approaches you this Advent, let Him draw out your deepest fears and replace them with a hope that is deeper still.  Let your trust in His gentle ways cause your justice to surge like waters and flow like an unfailing stream!

Lyrics for Pass Me Not Gentle Savior  by Frances Crosby 1868 Public Domain

Do you trust in Something Greater?

A reflection by Heidi Knofczynski

Do you remember the trembling glasses of water in the movie Jurassic Park?  In this scene some park guests being treated to a grand tour are stranded just outside the now de-electrified T-rex paddock.  Then the sounds of thundering footsteps are heard off in the distance moving towards them.  The footsteps are so powerful that even from a distance they create a vibration that causes the water inside the glasses to ripple slightly.

BOOM!  Something great and terrible is coming this way… BOOM!  Something powerful….BOOM!  Something greater, and if you endure it you will never be the same!

It is a terrifyingly effective scene.  Something like that feeling grips me as I read today's Gospel from Luke.   As Jesus speaks to the crowd His words fall with such portentous weight that, for me, it triggers a trembling inside.   His unfathomable reality exposes my fragmented, abstract, Christ-haunted spirituality.  He has come to take us beyond our superficial expectations into the unknown of eternity.  He has come to cast off all that we cling to to distract us from our nothingness.  Fear is a natural response to death.

BOOM!

In Ecclesiastes Solomon saw how we “chase the wind “in search of something greater, something that will help us outlast death.  Riches, pleasure and even wisdom may serve to distract us, but ultimately they only give the illusion that our life “under the sun” has meaning.  Solomon’s wisdom kept running into the same unavoidable obstacle:  Death means inevitable nothingness.  We are shadows that cannot overcome that darkness.  Until then, don't do evil and cast your bread upon the waters.  In other words, don't cling to stuff, rather enjoy life before nothingness of death absorbs you into its shadow.  Vanity of Vanities! 

But there is something greater than Solomon here.

BOOM!

 

Solomon’s wisdom goes to the brink of death, but there all he sees is darkness.  Jonah is taken further; he goes into the belly of a fish, which should have been a tomb, in order for God to bring an urgent warning to the notorious city of Nineveh.  This city, whose ruthless reputation filled all who heard of it with fear and loathing, listened to the man who came from a tomb bringing them a fearful message.  They listened and cast off their evil identity, through prayer and fasting and placed their hope in a power that overcame a tomb.

And there is something greater than Jonah here.

BOOM! 

We must cast everything upon the waters; our hopes, dreams, who we think we are and even (like the crowd that gathered around Jesus) who we think
that Jesus is.  What is only a shadow within us must be overcome. We will be left with an acute awareness of our nothingness,  But Something Greater has come to us, in all His earthshaking reality.  Endure it, do not run and hide.   Let His perfect love overtake you to cast out the fear of death to this world, because death cannot absorb Jesus into its darkness.  Jesus is no shadow. 

BOOM!  Something greater has arrived!

What are you clinging to today that needs to be cast off?

Update:  I forgot to add this Switchfoot song, BA55...."I believe you're the fire that could burn me clean"

Lord, I Just Want You!

A reflection on Psalm 131 by Heidi Knofczynski

"Lord, I do not puff myself up or stare about,
or walk among the great or seek wonders beyond me.
Truly calm and quiet I have made my spirit:
quiet as a weaned child in its mother’s arms –
like an infant is my soul.
Let Israel hope in the Lord, now and for all time."
Psalm 131

A while ago, in our usual mad rush to get out the door to school on time, my little preschool daughter had a meltdown over her socks. They did not feel right, and there was nothing I could do to make them feel right.

We were already running late for school, there were no socks that were an adequate replacement for the offensive pair she was wearing, so in frustrations I screamed, “I can’t help you!! I don’t know what you need!”

 Crouched on the floor with tears streaming and fists clenched she took a deep breath, and softly said: “I just want you!” 

Sigh! We were late for school.

She climbed up into my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck , sobbed a little more but very quickly relaxed. She was feeling rejected at school, and had no idea how to handle it.  In stead of seeking help, she held in her hurt and fear until she could not hold it in anymore.  In reality, she just needed a few words to reassure her of her worth and dispel the murmuring worries in her head about what the other girls thought of her. From there she was ready to go forth, quietly forgive them, and be friends again.

Her response epitomizes to me what this Psalm is getting at.

The world is filled with complex problems that we cannot always avoid.  We need to have the childlike humility that can cry out to the Lord in times when the murmuring voices confuse us and breed isolating, prideful self-sufficiency in our dealing with the very real hurts and problems that come our way.  "Lord, I just need you" should be a constant prayer that rises up out of our hearts.  Especially when we feel attacked and misunderstood and are tempted to justify ourselves with empty accomplishments, and puffed up self-justification.  We need to allow Him some quiet moments to reassure us of our infinite worth in His heart and to hush the murmuring voices that confuse and distract us.  Peace and forgiveness have a chance when we can become like a child resting confidantly in her mother's arms.

Peace and grace,
Heidi

Unclean! Unclean!

A Reflection on Mark 1:40-41

By Heidi Knofczynski

In biblical times the fate of a leper under the Law was dire.   It was a living death really, the leper was cast out of society as his illness slowly ate away his numbed flesh.  A more horrific or hopeless situation is hard to imagine.  This harsh fate is justified by the fact that leprosy was considered highly contagious, it was thought that a mere touch was all it took to spread the disease. The communtiy was quite helpless to cure it, or to stop its spread.   Who could have the power to heal and re-form such horrific disfigurement?

Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis (or Brother Simeon as he is now known to the Trappist Monks of Saint Joseph’s Abbey) so beautifully puts it in Fire of Mercy/ Heart of the Word: 

“Where men flee the leprous contagion, the divine compassion seeks it, is only at home on earth where its impulse to heal can go about its work.”

he shall cry out, ‘Unclean, unclean!’

The destruction caused by sin in our souls is beyond the conception of most of us, particularly us modern folk.  We are numb to the disfigurement of our divine image, and even if we have moments of awareness, there are too many superficial comforts that are easier to access, too many false identities that divert us from the integral healing that Christ has for us. But God never gives up on us. He allows us to go through times of desolation and darkness to prompt us to seek Him, and to show us how desperately we need Him.  I have spent miserable nights, days and even weeks when every sin, every failing, rises up to condemn me.  I feel the accusations so acutely that I cannot even formulate a prayer, I don't feel worthy.  I simply accept the debased image of myself that is presented to me.  Until I can't any longer.  Until the weight of His presence and His power calls out to me, and I know all the flaccid Jesus platitudes that are offered to sinners like me do not heal, even if they pretend to "accept" and "include" me, they only continue to allow the process of spiritual isolation to slowly overtake me.  Leprosy is an apt comparison to the progressive damage of sin.  And in our post Christian culture the spiritual leprosy of our time is growing.   It leads to false pride, and when that fails, to isolation and despair.   Who can save us?

 ***

A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.

The work of the divine Healer is always more amazing when we contemplate how deep it goes.  In healing this poor leper in the Gospels show us not only the Lord’s divine compassion, which He expressive with an intimacy of presence that only One with divine authority over creation could dare to have, but we also see how the Lord draws out fortitude, heroism and courage as part of the true healing that is sought.  These are virtues that each of us needs to have restored, because we are made in His image and likeness -- fallen though we may be.  Jesus does not just heal physically --  He does not just regenerate rotting flesh, but He heals integrally, restoring life to our soul and dignity to our humanity.

The leper had to break through the isolation of his station in life and endure whatever hostility he aroused as he breaks with convention and himself to be drawn to Jesus in a more profound and personal way.  This is what may be in store for us as we seek His healing.  Because we too must break through the hostility of a world that has isolated and wounded us.  We must struggle to resist the fleshly desires that have enticed and enslaved us.  We must let go of the resentments and fear that anchor us to our brokenness.  We must be wary of the deceits of the devil who uses every tactic possible to divert us from being drawn into His intimate healing touch.

Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, touched him, and said to him,
“I do will it. Be made clean.

   

 Yes ,the obstacles are formidable, but His divine power is greater -- submit to it.  His divine compassion is deeper-- seek it.  His divine healing is ultimately one that recreates our debased, disfigured souls. Hearken back to the power of the divine Word commanding the light to break forth at the dawn of time; the same divine command seperating the light from the darkness; the divine hand that formed man out of clay into His image and likeness and breathed His life into him. That same power that hovered over the waters in the beginning now stretches out his hand over the leper and commands  "Be made clean.”

Give one area of sin to the Lord this Lent. and don't give up no matter how many times you fail.  When fears arise or when self-condemnation or self-pity overwhelm you with the accusation that you are “unclean” don’t shrink back,.  Go to Him in prayer, in sacramental confession, in the Mass and submit yourself to Him saying “if you will it”  and trust.  Because from the depth of His divine love He does will it.  He said so.

“I do will it. Be made clean.”

Glory to God!  Heidi

Even As We Sleep

Merry Christmas!

I have been trying all Advent to post something for Journey to Wisdom, but time is not on my side! So here it is Chirstmas Eve, all four candle are lit and if it is not done now, it didn't need to get done, right?  So I may as well write!

This has been a good Advent, though I would not have said so even a few days ago.

Because even though I thought I had all things under control as we lit the first candle; our Magnificat in hand with it's beautiful prayers and our children's nativity Advent calendar ready to go. (It usually comes out after we are past day 5 and we have to catch up with our readings!)  But then everything spun out of control!  The crazyness of the December activities had something to do with it, a new grandson living with us took up some time and energy, plus, as if those were not enough, a brief, but still burdensome, stint on Federal Jury Duty.  That was all it took!  We fell behind and our evenings got late so our prayer felt hasty--  when we had time to say them! When we did, I was always scolding (yelling at) the kids who never seemed to be listening, or much interested at all! So yeah, I was all like this:

Which always tells me that I am focusing on the exterior appearence of devotion rather than simply opening my heart up to God's intiative and allowing Him to pour out His  grace on us just as we are.  Instead, in my fear of not being good enough, or that I have to do something to catch His eye, I grasp and clutch at spiritual feelings, even though I know that when I grasp and clutch I lose more than I retain! As a result there is much anxiety that goes along with this type of spritual rapacity.

Unless the LORD build the house,
they labor in vain who build.
Unless the LORD guard the city,
in vain does the guard keep watch. (Psalm 127;1)

Of course this isnt to say that we need not keep Advent devotions;  they nurture our desire for the Lord, and we need to desire the Lord more, much more!  But even in our deficient, but growing desire we need to trust that He is pouring out what we need:

God gives to his beloved in sleep (Psalm 127;2)

Which is the gift He gave me this year, He calmed me down and let me know that my desire for Him is all He needs; I do not need to let anxiety overcome me, but yeild the deepeining desire He draws from me even as I sleep, or bumble thorugh my prayers.  

So as I tuck my children to bed this Christmas Eve; as I bless them and help nurture their desire for Him, and as I myself go to sleep, I will not allow my desire to be turned into fear and anxiety. Rather, I will know and believe, that Christ is being born in my soul, because He desires to be and He is deepening my desire for Him!  No matter what!

In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace. Luke 1: 78-79

Know today that the Lord will come!  In the morning you will see His glory!
Merry Christmas!
Heidi

Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence

Today is Halloween.  I have always loved Halloween.  And, since becoming Catholic many years ago, I have come to love it more. In what often seems like such a mundane life, Halloween reminds us of our dramatic struggle between good and evil; between life and death.  Celebrating Halloween can help us strip away the false sentimentality of our culture's religiousity because on display before us is the horrifying disfigurement that our humanity incurs when we pay homage to anything other than the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The haunting stories that we hear often relate what easy prey we are to the evil that inhabits the world.

Let all mortal flesh keep silence, 

and with fear and trembling stand; 

ponder nothing earthly-minded, 

for with blessing in his hand, 

Christ our God to earth descendeth,

our full homage to demand.

What gets lost in so many modern Halloween celebrations is hope.  Hope that can penetrate the darkness of this world; hope that there is a power that can break the chains that bind us; hope that the disfiguring effects of sin and suffering can be healed and reformed. Hope that we can endure in the midst of a depraved and darkened world without being consumed by it. That hope is Jesus Christ, who took on our human flesh, faced evil in all its ferocity and defeated it!

King of Kings, yet born of Mary, 

as of old on earth he stood, Lord of lords, 

in human vesture, in the body and the blood; 

he will give to all the faithful his own self for heavenly food.

The struggle is real, the enemy is real and there is real danger, but we are not alone.  Christ is in us and He is victorious, and His Light penetrates every darkness -- yes, even yours, even mine --every darkness.  Without that hope, without Christ, Halloween becomes a celebration of evil, and that, my friends, is hell!

Rank on rank the host of heaven spreads its vanguard on the way, 

as the Light of light descendeth from the realms of endless day, 

that the powers of hell may vanish, 

as the darkness clears away.

But no, it is not so!!  We know there is hope for all those zombies walking dead in sin; hope for those who keep finding themselves opening windows and inviting in the vampires of temptation to bind them under their evil authority; hope for those who have had their identities as children of the Father debased and diverted and used against them and others!

At His feet the six-winged seraph,

cherubim, with sleepless eye,

veil their faces to the presence, as with ceaseless voice they cry:

 Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Lord Most High!

So be not afraid to meet with all those scary zombies, vampires and werewolves!  Be sober and aware of those ghosts, goblins and demons!  Be calm and confidently  courageous in the face of death! Have faith and venture forth with adoration in your hearts for the One who conquers all evil! Allow His light to shine forth for all those who are too enmeshed in darkness to know how to be released!

Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Lord Most High!

Happy All Hallow's Eve!

Heidi

Happy Birthday Mary, Teach Me to be Lowly.

I am re-posting a reflection I wrote a couple years ago, May the Mother of God bless us all today with her motherly love and guidance into the heart of her Son Jesus!

Today is the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Mary, whose immaculate conception was celebrated 9 months ago, was born on this September day.  And as is the way of the Lord, this monumental day, this wondrous birth went quietly by in time, and still goes quietly by in our lives, we could easily miss it. In fact, we often do miss it.  Yet, this feast day invites us to ponder the woman whose life modeled most fully how to allow the word of the Lord to be conceived in us and born through us, in our own words and deeds.  Insignificance and lowliness are not barriers to these wonders, they are requirements.

Which is good, because  I do not have much to offer. I am a Catholic who fails a lot in living my faith.  I am a wife who fails a lot at being a wife.  I am a mother, who fails a lot with her children (I have two crying, fighting and whining in my presence right now - thankfully they are only mildly annoying me, so I am ignoring them...).  And, in a culture that is pragmatic, cliquey and materialistic, I am a stay-at-home mother of 8 who writes for an insignificant blog because I perceived a call to do it from Him, no money in it, no huge following, no "career" to validate me - nothing.  I am nothing.  And oh, how I have caused myself and others around me much pain in fighting that truth for most of my life.

When I was in high school, it got back to me that an acquaintance of mine had described me as a "cipher"....a nobody.  In her world, I was a quiet and fairly shy girl, who was not friends with her friends and who did not leave a huge impression on her friends.  Since I was not terribly concerned with her opinion of me at that time, I was able to brush off the insult fairly easily...or so I thought.  Because every once in awhile the words would come back to me, whispering to me that I was a cipher, a nobody.  And I would fight that identity with much ferocity!  I would deny it, offer proofs against it, but mostly I would fear it.  The label became heavier and heavier.

 But,  one day I finally heard the words of Our Blessed Mother.  My spiritual ears were opened.

Luke 1:46-56:The Canticle of Mary."My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior.  For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.  The Mighty One has done great things for me and holy is his name.  His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.  He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.  He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.  The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.  He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his prose to our father to Abraham and to his descendants forever."

Was I to accept that identity that was so thoughtlessly assigned to me? Instantly my spirit rebelled: "I am not a cipher! I am not a nobody, do not let that nasty girl be right!" The arrogant and prideful aspirations of my heart, which fed upon my fear of nothingness, did not yield easily. Yet a wave of grace washed over my heart as I thought of the words: "He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones; but lifted up the lowly." My pride was dispersed, I was thrown down, and lifted up. In a moment I was confronted with all that I wanted to be, thought I should be and was failing at, and yet I was given an overwhelming sense of gratitude. Because I was nothing.  I was nothing so that I could be lifted up; there is no other way.

That thoughtless comment of so many years before was instantly transformed, and the weight of it lifted. The Lord needed to show me I am nothing so I can be filled with His love, His Spirit, His life.  So that he can lift me up, out of my mediocrity and into His heart, and I do not have to grasp at earthly honors, or rewards or recognition. Without Jesus I am nothing, without Him I will cling to false egos and false identities, and be let down by them, or even worse, I will be blindly self-satisfied! The heavy burden of that word "cipher" gave way to tearful gratitude and awe. In a world where wealth, popularity and honors are seen as indicators of goodness and worthiness Mary has shown me that it is only lowliness, nothingness, that can acquire the interior vision and wisdom to give Him our fiat, with complete trust in His compassionate love that will lift us up.

So Happy Birthday Mary, Queen of Heaven, who so gently taught me about lowliness. I still have to submit my fears and insecurities to God, I still have to have Him disperse pride and arrogance with His mighty arm.  But I do not fear the nothingness as I once did, and I have come to see a little how God's kingdom conquers and transforms this world of shallowness and ugliness.   I now look upon that dismissive, and shallow description of me so long ago through Mary's eyes, without the shame and fear that the world attaches to it.  In those words came the might of His arm and revealed the true and eternal beauty of His Mother.

Blessed Be God, and Blessed Be His Most Holy Mother!

Blessings, Heidi

Persecuted, but not abandoned…

Brothers and sisters:
We hold this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.
We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained;
perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed;
always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.
For we who live are constantly being given up to death
for the sake of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
So death is at work in us, but life in you.
Since, then, we have the same spirit of faith,
according to what is written, I believed, therefore I spoke,
we too believe and therefore speak,
knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also with Jesus
and place us with you in his presence.
Everything indeed is for you,
so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people
may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God. 2 Cor 4:7-14

 
We pray, fast and give alms in solidarity with the Christians who are in great peril. We pray for their safety, we pray for the world to take notice and render aid.   May their witness strengthen us all “so that grace is bestowed in abundance on more and more people.”  


The Anchoress Elizabeth Scalia has more to say, links to read, things you can do:
Expelled Iraqi Christians Give Witness to Isis Fascism:
The Isis effect: "Flattened ; Everything is gone."
5 Things You Can Do Right Now

Solemnity of The Nativity Of Saint John the Baptist

Today is the Solemnity of The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist.  Today we celebrate the birth of the man who, as Saint Augustine tells us, “represents the boundaries between the two testaments, the old and the new.”  All of the events surrounding the birth of the Baptist suggest that the obscurity of the Old Testament prophesies are to be revealed and illuminated by the one who John is to proclaim, who John had already been proclaiming as he leaped in the womb of his mother Elizabeth at Mary’s arrival.  Leaping like David dancing before the Ark of the Covenant.  Even from the womb John points us past the signs to the ultimate realities.  This is why we celebrate his birth with a Solemnity!

John points us out of the wilderness, out of confusion, to the fulfillment of the words of Isaiah, Hosea, Jeremiah and the prophets.  Words that often were mysterious, and attain their deepest meaning only in the light of Christ’s salvific mission.  And us too, he points us past the mundane to Jesus, in whose light even the most obscure life is elevated and glorified.
 
Of course evil hates clarity and light.  The enemy of your soul will always try to confuse your vocation, obscure your accomplishments and highlight your failings. Even John the Baptist experienced moments of confusion and doubt as he faced down evil in his martyrdom (Matthew 11:2).  From his place of imprisonment John lived out what he had been preaching to all who would listen:   He turned to the Lord; he asked Him for reassurance and in the Lord’s response he was satisfied.  Even in his doubt he fulfilled his mission which is so beautifully portrayed in so many paintings;  in sending his messengers to Jesus, John was pointing to Him and showing us all the way out of our own confusion and self-doubt.
 
If your are tossed between self-condemnation and self-justification follow the pointing finger of the one who cries out in the wilderness.  Like John, go to the One who gives meaning to the obscure prophesies of the past, and the seeming vanities of this life.  Ask the Lord to show you how your life and your toil can be filled with His light and imbued with deep meaning and glory.

Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
that Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.  Isaiah 49:4-6and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,yet my reward is with the LORD,my recompense is with my God.For now the LORD has spokenwho formed me as his servant from the womb,that Jacob may be brought back to himand Israel gathered to him;and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,and my God is now my strength!It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,to raise up the tribes of Jacob,and restore the survivors of Israel;I will make you a light to the nations,that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.  Isaiah 49:4-6

Saint John the Baptist,  pray for us!
Heidi

Stretch Upward to the Son

"The truth is that the Son of Man was revealed as Son of God in a more perfect and transcendent way once he had entered into his Father’s glory; he now began to be indescribably more present in his divinity to those from whom he was further removed in his humanity. A more mature faith enabled their minds to stretch upward to the Son in his equality with the Father; it no longer needed contact with Christ’s tangible body, in which as man he is inferior to the Father. For while his glorified body retained the same nature, the faith of those who believed in him was now summoned to heights where, as the Father’s equal, the only-begotten Son is reached not by physical handling but by spiritual discernment." From a sermon by Saint Leo the Great, pope

Time to begin the Pentecost Novena!  Spiritual discernment is something that I pray for always, and it is a good intention for this Novena.  This is the discernment to follow the direction of the Spirit, and not my own -- or the worlds.  The disordered desires that we all have very often convince us that our comfort and our personal honor are enough to guide us to make decisions that are right for us.  These decisions cannot draw out of us great love for others, but imprison us to lesser loves.

Let the words of Saint Leo inspire us all to stretch our minds upward, and order our desires on what will draw each one of us into the heights of the Father's love.

Peace and many graces to all of you!
Heidi

Update:  Here is another site with a beautiful Pentecost Novena :  Discerning Hearts Pentecost Novena

Show us the Path of Life

That very day, the first day of the week, two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. 

Luke 24:13-16

The disciples on the road to Emmaus are discouraged and downcast, heading away from Jerusalem:  The site of the resurrection, the place where they are to go and await the Lord.  They have heard the rumors of resurrection, but they cannot believe after such a disastrous and seemingly definitive end to the life and mission of Jesus.  Their hope is crushed, their courage has failed them. Have you ever found yourself wandering away from the path set before you by the Lord in the wake of the sorrows, trails and sinfulness of this world?  Jesus, who will never abandon us, meets the disciples where they are and probes their hearts.  He gives them His mild rebuke: “Oh how foolish you are!  How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!”  He then gently instructs and redirects them with the power of His Word.

 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.  Psalm 16:11

If there is one thing that we spiritual sojourners constantly face it is the the disorientation of our own sinfulness.  Walking toward the Light can be discouraging, like driving into the sun, every spot on our windshield shows.  I often find myself tossed to and fro between despairing self-condemnation and blinding self-justification.  Both extremes will divert us from our journey into a deeper relationship with the Lord.  We fail to move with conviction, or sometimes without our complete awareness, we change our direction and move farther away from the Light at the slightest failure.  Like the two disciples, in times of discouragement and sorrow, sometimes we discover we are on a path heading away from our true destination.  

I bless the LORD who counsels me; even in the night my heart exhorts me. I set the LORD ever before me; with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.  Psalm 16:7-8

And where specifically does Jesus council and redirect the faltering steps of the disciples?  To the Mass! We see in the account of this encounter with Christ the power of the Mass in our growth as Christians.  When we go to Mass we first allow our hearts to be convicted of our individual tendencies to veer off the path of life in the penitential rite, the Word prepares us to see and believe not only with our eyes but also with our interior vision  The intimate fellowship with our Eucharistic Jesus is where our interior eyes are opened and our wounds are healed. And then, with this interior vision refreshed and strengthen, we are sent out redirected and with a mission to bring His light to those who we encounter in our daily lives.

So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem…Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.  Luke 24:33;35

The interior vision that we are to cultivate during our time of sojourning is so crucial to staying on the path that leads to resurrection.  It is also difficult to really abandon yourself to, because at some point you will have to see that you are in need of redirection!  Who wants to see that they have failed?  Yet, we are not created to be surface dwellers in the flesh, content with making things look nice and feel comfortable, we need to pierce the veneer and see the dead man’s bones that lie underneath.  If we do not push through the despair and pride and allow the light of the Lord to reveal our wounds, fears and failings, we will end up on the road leading away from Him.  When we encounter the Lord in our failures  -- and you do; He does not abandon you  -- we need to respond and ask Him to stay, to feed us and heal us.

you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, Psalm 16:10

Allow the Lord to redirect  you, lift up your despairing eyes, shed your prideful blinders.  Yes, when you walk toward the light your flaws become so visible, but rejoice!  He is Risen, and He comes to you now just as you are to be your strength, to be your righteousness, to feed you and fill you with His joy.

conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning, realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, 1 Peter 1:17-18

Easter Joy to all!
Heidi
Scripture passages from the Mass readings for the Third Sunday of Easter

Broken Hallelujahs

Maybe there’s a God above
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot at someone who outdrew you
It’s not a cry you can hear at night
It’s not somebody who has seen the light
It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

There are a couple of revisions of Leonard Cohen’s song Hallelujah floating around, one with a Christmas theme and one with an Easter theme.  I like them, and I guess if one must use the tune at Mass, it is better to revise the lyrics so they are appropriate for Mass.  But this is not a Mass song, this is a meditation on searching for God in darkness and suffering.  So I rather like the original.  I hear groping for meaning and love, I hear a yearning for Him, in our darkness, and I hear of outright failing Him; yet even so  one continues to grope for God, imperfectly and with great need for each of us in the Body to provide what guidance we can. These broken Hallelujahs are uttered from dark and painful places, where our spirit cries out "Eli Eli lama sabachthani?

You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well, really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light in every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Tonight after Mass, we will meditate on the Lord’s Agony in the Garden.  An agony that took Him to some of the darkest, most desolate place our spirit can be imprisoned in.  As His friends slept, His sweat became as blood.  How many times do we sleep when someone needs us?  How many times do we run away because a situation is difficult and painful, broken and seeming hopeless?  To endure with someone in painful and spiritually dark situations is an agony that is hard to describe. The temptation to flee is often strong.  But the One who cried out from the cross never meant us to endure in our own strength, when our strength has utterly left us we can only rely on His.  And when He is raised up through us, in our compassionate endurance,  He will transform broken Hallelujahs to holy ones.

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah…..

In your hands I commend my Spirit
Triduum Blessings to all,
Heidi

Update:  Some of they lyrics quoted are not in the Rufus Wainwright version, but are in the Leonard Cohen original.

And it was Night

“So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.” John 13:30

John’s imagery is always so clear.   When we leave Him we enter into darkness, when we cling to Him we remain in the light. But what were Judas’ intentions?  Had he convinced himself that what he was doing was good? 

The movie Jesus of Nazareth portrays a Judas who wants to see Jesus’ ideas and philosophies advanced.  He knows he is going behind Jesus’ back, he knows there is treachery involved, but he has convinced himself this is the only way for Jesus’ message to get out.  It is a sympathetic portrayal, and one that should cause all of us to meditate on how we allow Jesus to shape us.  Do we cling to abstractions of Jesus and His message?  Do we reduce Him to an impersonal intellectual morsel?

Yes, the teachings of Christ are Truth, and we must always strive to live it and teach it.  But Jesus is more than just an idea, He is body, blood, soul and divinity.  His Word is not tidbits of wise sayings, it is living with power to transform you. We cannot evangelize the world if Jesus is just an abstract morsel of goodness, we must have a relationship with Him, then we remain in His light and let Him live in us and breath through us, to draw all mankind to Himself.

Close your eyes and lay your head on His chest and listen to His beating heart.  Remain in His light always!

Blessed Holy Week to you all!
Heidi

Into Your Hands I Commend My Spirit

“Though all may have their faith in you shaken,
mine will never be.” Matthew 26:33

It has been a tough Lent for me, a long dry spell in prayer has continued though, not completely without respite.  Along with that a family situation suddenly came upon us that will continue to demand much prayer, love and sacrifice into an uncertain future.  And here I am with nothing to offer, not a thing.  One day, as my husband and I were waiting on some news with our loved one, I reflected on how empty I felt, how impoverished I was in this particular situation.  How impoverished I had always been.  I stand at a crucial moment, like Peter at his denial of the Lord, relying on my own store of love and fidelity and I find am empty! In that emptiness, fear, resentment and bitterness were threatening to invade. “Lord!”  I cried, “I have no love!” 

The Lord GOD is my help,
therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.  Isaiah 50:7

It was a Thursday, so, since I had nothing to do but wait, I prayed the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary.  Oh, because of my dryness in prayer I tried to distract myself with other things, but in the end I relented to the call to pray.  I don’t think I ever finished it, because as I prayed the second Luminous mystery, The Wedding of Cana I began to realize that Our Blessed Mother was helping me to ask for His love to minister to this situation, and in fact to overflow into my past failures to endure in love and faithful patience.  In turn, I was being invited to wait on the Lord.  How can one trust such an intuition?  How can one cling to it with nothing to see as proof it will come to fruition?

He trusted in God;
let him deliver him now if he wants him.  Matthew 27:43

But as I have journeyed through this Lent the meditation of waiting on the Lord has kept coming back.  I went to a day of reflection given by the Institute of Priestly Formation.  We meditated on trusting and waiting on the Lord, especially in situations where our own love cannot suffice.  We wait on His perfect love to flow our through us.

But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
remained sitting there, facing the tomb.  Matthew 27:61

And I wait, with hope and faithfulness for what I don’t quite know.  I walk forward into this uncertain situation with the trust that what I need will be given when I need it.  I wait with Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, facing the tomb, not knowing but trusting.  I wait relying not on my own strength, but on the strength of the One who conquers all.

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:6-11

Into your hands Lord, I commend my spirit
Blessed Holy Week,
Heidi

Light is Sweet

Light is sweet! and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. However many years mortals may live, let them, as they enjoy them all, remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that is to come is vanity.  Ecclesiastes 11:7-8 (USCCB)

Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 (USCCB)

Quoheleth reminds us that our life on this earth is fleeting and will ultimately end up in darkness, unless we cry out to Jesus who brings us the light that will never fail, never cease.  Jesus is the answer to the vanities of this life.  As we prepare to begin our Lenten journey, let us always bear in mind that our efforts to come closer to the Lord will always be tainted by our human weakness.  We will be tempted to think that it is useless and accomplishing nothing -- do not give up!  You are directing your heart and your soul to the True Light, and the True Light will accomplish what your human weakness cannot.

Peace and Grace to all!
Heidi

She left Samuel there

1 Sm 1:24-28

In those days,

Hannah brought Samuel with her,

along with a three-year-old bull, and ephah of flour, and a skin of wine,

and presented him at the temple of the LORD in Shiloh.

After the boy's father had sacrificed the young bull, 

Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said:

"Pardon, my lord!

As you live, my lord,

I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD.

I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request.

Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD;

as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD."

She left Samuel there.

"She left Samuel there"

That last line is a difficult one for me to read. Did he cry? Did she long to take him back? Why would such a sacrifice be needed? This child, Samuel, factors big in salvation history and he is close to the Lord in a mysterious way! He hears the Lord and he responds to His voice; maybe it is because his mother's generosity and trust in the Lord removed obstacles of fear and doubt.  Me, on the other hand, well, my fear of pain as well as my satisfaction with the world sometime prevent me from really listening to the Lord and from wholly offering myself to Him.  As I struggle with that last line, I am being asked to open my heart, to feel the longing and sorrow Hannah must have had in leaving her much loved son and trust in the mysterious majesty of God!  A sacrifice made with trusting love is re-payed with unfathomable generosity that flows from generation to generation. 

Withhold nothing from God!

Read Hannah's canticle to God after she has left Samuel with Eli.  Though her sacrifice was costly, she knows God is at work.  Hannah's canticle foreshadows Mary's, who also holds nothing back from God. Neither woman lets the fear of pain or gnawing anxiety over impending loss harden their hearts or dampen their joy. They do not protect themselves from their sorrow by withholding their love. This makes the pain of their loss more intense I think, yet it also disposed them to receive the intense love of God all the more. Their whole lives are an offering to God and their hearts are always in trusting prayer. They understand that all that they have is God's and that nothing can be withheld from Him. They trust in The Lord who fulfills His promises to even the barren, or a lowly young women of Nazareth.

 Luke 1: 46-56:

Mary Said:

"My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;

my spirit rejoices in God my savior.

For he has looked upon his lowly servant,

from this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him 

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

and has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he remembered his promise of mercy.

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children forever."

Rejoice in His redeeming mercy!

The sorrows and sacrifices of this world should always whisper to us "in the beginning it was not so", and in so doing reveal to us that we are indeed souls in exile; we are separated from the Heavenly Bridegroom.  If only we can allow his redeeming mercy to scatter out attachments.  If we do not allow these attachments to be sent away from our hearts our hopes for things eternal will become weak, and our fears will control us!  We will settle for so much less than what God has in mind for each one of us.  We have to learn to allow God to let us long for what is truly lasting; and trust in His faithfulness in filling the empty spaces in our souls. Allow Hannah and Mary's wholehearted trust to get you in touch with the holy longing in your soul -- a longing that is as poignant as a mother who longs for her child. Trust, like Mary and Hannah did, that someday we will see that the longing we so often fill with worldly things be fulfilled in abundance. It is in that longing that we should rejoice,  because that longing is drawing us to Him.

God is faithful in all that He promises!

 Hannah hears and responds to God in her longings, for a son, and then her longing for him in sorrow after letting him go to fulfill God's plan.  God responds to her longing and sorrow.   Her trust in the Lord makes straight the way for God's salvation for generations to come!  God is the one who will soothe all of these sorrows in the end, because all of them reveal our world's need to be made new.  Mary does not reject what she does not fully comprehend.   She does not hide away from the pain and sacrifice she will face with her son, foretold by the Scriptures and by Simeon. She loves deeply and her heart is pierced deeply.  There is nothing superficial or lukewarm about these women.  Their sorrow is deep, but their everlasting joy is deeper still because they seek joy from God!

What is God asking of me?

He is asking for me to trust in Him in sorrow and in joy, and to hold nothing back from Him.  To cast down the fear, envy and pride that keep my hopes from the heights of heaven. To let go of even good things if they are keeping my heart from Him. To seek the Heavenly Bridegroom in whom all my longing will be fulfilled! 

Grace and Peace to all!
Heidi

Come and Worship Christ the Newborn King

Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

This past November an Episcopalian priest was expressing his hesitation to celebrate the feast of Christ the King in an Omaha World Herald feature called “From the Pulpit”.  This priest felt that king was too much of a political term with too great a connection with oppression and exclusion.  To his mind this title obscured Christ more than it revealed Him.  He had alternative titles that he thought more relevant and worthy of a feast day; one being ( I kid you not) “Christ the Includer”.  Yes indeed, I can  feel the banality of that title suck the passion out of every deep yearning of my soul.  In one fell phrase this man reduced the great Christian narrative of the return of the King to restore His good creation to a platitude of inclusiveness. What small hopes we have, our hearts desire is to be part of the crowd. 

Angels from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight o’er all the earth;
Ye who sang creation’s story
Now proclaim Messiah’s birth.

Don’t let your desires be reduced to platitudes, don’t let your hopes be tethered to worldly ideals.  Read the Infancy Narratives! Read of how God subverts the worldly narrative of Pax Romana under Caesar Augustus by sending the true King, who comes in quiet obscurity, without an army of men – but with a “multitude of heavenly hosts” .  Remember that throughout all history great worldly political leaders come and go, but the representative of the true King, the successor of Peter, is still here in the flesh.  And know that this King is not a distant impersonal King, he is the King who came to rescue me – ME -- Daydreamer and nobody that I am, and He is, in fact, what all my hopes and dreams are ultimately directed to!  And He came for you in the same way!  Ask Him to show you, trust that He will.

Shepherds, in the field abiding,
Watching o’er your flocks by night,
God with us is now residing;
Yonder shines the infant light

If that sermon was not disappointing enough last Sunday in a Catholic Church I sat through a homily that turned the virtue of piety completely upside down.  It was the feast of the Holy Family, and the priest told us over and over again that the Holy Family were “neither perfect nor pious”.  I guess if he would have defined pious as empty outward religious actions (which apparently is one of the definitions of the word) I may have cut him some slack, but this priest made no effort to clarify what he meant by pious and, based on the rest of his homily, I was left with the definite impression that this was an “I’m okay, your okay -- all you have to do is connect with your spiritual core and you will hear God – but you don’t need to wear your religion on your sleeve” homily.  If that is what he meant, according to him, the Holy Family were individualists trusting in themselves to get through difficult situations, owing no gratitude or honor to God or others.. Where does that leave you and me?  Trapped in isolated individualism, egoism and pathetic self-consciousness.  How can we be saved from that?

Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

Again, read the Infancy Narratives.  Read of Mary’s humble fiat, and her beautiful  Magnificat.   Read of her firm faith and trust in God’s goodness.  Read and ponder Joseph’s righteousness, and through that righteousness, his discerning response to the angel's messages.  If you go by the actual Scriptures, they were indeed a pious family through whom the Kingdom of heaven emerged, even in our imperfect and debased world.  And in humble piety we too can receive Christ in our homes, in our families, in our hearts, in a personal and abiding way. And we too can let God’s kingdom overtake even the most hellish situations here in this world. Don’t let an unimaginative culture steal your piety away.

Sages, leave your contemplations,
Brighter visions beam afar;
Seek the great Desire of nations;
Ye have seen His natal star.

Both of these men diminished a title or a virtue, based on a darkened, and rather hopeless vision of humanity.  In doing so they obscure our deepest desires, allowing them to remain misdirected at worldly things.  Truley these clergymen have no real hope in God’s power to undo what our sin has wrought and restore all creation.  If you had heard (or read) these sermons you would have noticed that, despite words that seemed consoling and caring, Christ was not a personal savior that you can know and be known by.  He was simple an inspirational, motivational figure -- you know, an Includer, but most certainly not some religious freak.  Don’t let Him be diminished in that way.  Let Him show you His power.  Let Him be you Savior. Let Him be your great desire.

Saints, before the altar bending,
Watching long in hope and fear;
Suddenly the Lord, descending,
In His temple shall appear.

It is surely a sign of a latent cultural despair that we would settle for “Christ the Includer" to be our savior (from what – unpopularity?) or that we would so blithely diminish the beauty of Immaculate Mary and the righteousness of the pious Saint Joseph. I know that when we compare ourselves to them we we fall short, but that should be a reason to rejoice, because they show us that Christ our King has done for them He has come to do for us! Do not fear true repentance, do not give in to the temptation to reduce the Divine Word to banal and distant platitudes. Yield to Him, and give Him your fiat.

Sinners, wrung with true repentance,
Doomed for guilt to endless pains,
Justice now revokes the sentence,
Mercy calls you; break your chains.

The wonder of the Infancy Narratives are that God intervened in our dark world in such a personal and intimate way.  This is astonishing precisely because He is God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Don’t allow the world to reduce His titles, let them stir up wonder and awe. To be included is nice, but doesn't your heart desire something more wondrous? Christ has come for you to be more than just passively included, in fact, you are pursued and romanced by our Lord and King.  He is powerful enough to vanquish the sin and debasement of our souls that would separate us from Him.  We should pray for a strengthening of the virtue of piety, and for wonder and awe, so that we will direct all of our distorted, distracted desires to the One Desire who is the source of all good things. 

Though an Infant now we view Him,
He shall fill His Father’s throne,
Gather all the nations to Him;
Every knee shall then bow down:

I want my every thought impregnated with His Gospel so that every sense that I have is alert to His coming and my heart is in awe that my God comes so very near to a 'nobody' like me.  I don’t want platitudes, I don’t want an impersonal spiritual inner presence, I want my King, my Savior, my Lord. Let my soul magnify Him.

All creation, join in praising
God, the Father, Spirit, Son,
Evermore your voices raising
To th’eternal Three in One.

Come and worship, come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King.

Merry Christmas and blessed 2014!

Heidi

Subheadings are the lyrics of the hymn Angels From the Realms of Glory
Downhere, a Christian rock band has a wonderful version of this hymn.

Rejoice!

Joy!  That is the message this Sunday.  We light the pink candle, and we look to our joyous celebration of Christ’s birth as well as to His second coming, which we wait for amidst the groaning labor pains of all creation. Even in suffering our joy is at hand. 

This is why I love Enya’s version of O Come, O come Emmanuel.  It has that soft mournful tone of a world that is subjected to futility, a world that longs for redemption.  And echoing in the background, as if from somewhere outside of time you hear: Rejoice! Gaudete!

And we need to know that our rejoicing is not a glib refusal to accept the harsh realities of our day, but an enduring hope that we can indeed reject the concerns of the flesh, which lead to death, and receive the Spirit of God, which is not enslaved by fear:  "For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, 'Abba, Father!'" Romans 8:15

We received this through Christ who came with power and strength as a baby, born into a family.  Who came and touched individuals, those who yearned for redemption.  Do you yearn?  Every candle we light during Advent should increase our yearning. Pray for that, and you will begin to perceive the joy that is always present in His Kingdom.

The desert and the parched land will exult; the steppe will rejoice and bloom. They will bloom with abundant flowers,and rejoice with joyful song. The glory of Lebanon will be given to them, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the LORD,the splendor of our God.Strengthen the hands that are feeble, make firm the knees that are weak, say to those whose hearts are frightened: Be strong, fear not! Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense comes to save you. Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the mute will sing. Those whom the LORD has ransomed will return and enter Zion singing, crowned with everlasting joy; they will meet with joy and gladness, sorrow and mourning will flee.

Isaiah 31: 1-6A; 10

Advent blessings to all!
Heidi

I decided to add a video of my daughter singing in the Wayne State Madrigal choir's Celtic Advent Carol...I apologize for the late start and the shaky camera work (I was holding an infant).