Month: May 2021

Living in the Mystery of Divine Love

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Excerpt from Take Time For Him: Some More

by Angela M Jendro

Order your paperback or e-book from Amazon!

Order the kindle e-book (or paperback) to read the Christmas meditation, the meditation for Mary Mother of God, and to reflect on the meditations all year at your convenience.

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Read the Gospel of Matthew 28:16-20

Meditation Reflection:

The mystery of the Trinity is so sublime, any words of reflection feel like an injustice.  The revelation of the inmost reality of God, His very essence, far exceeds the scope of our limited human experience.  Any attempt to imagine or explain Gods’ Triune nature feels inadequate and even irreverent.  Yet Christ revealed this ineffable mystery to us and commanded the apostles to preach this truth to the whole world. In consequence, with the utmost humility, we ought to contemplate this essential mystery of the Christian faith, and the Triune God in Whose image we have been made.

Christ came to restore God’s image in us, which had been wounded by sin.  He provided both the sacrifice for our salvation and the perfect example of how to live as children of God. Christ demonstrated concretely how to align our will with the Father’s and how to act with the love of the Spirit. 

At every turn, Jesus remarked that He had come to do the Father’s will.  Even in His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, His human will resisted the impending Cross, but resigned “Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).  During the first thirty years of His life, Jesus even obeyed the will of Mary and Joseph and followed all the prescriptions of the Mosaic Law (Luke 2:51).  Rather than usurp their authority (the only teen who really was smarter than His parents), He obeyed them and respected God’s ordering in the family.  Jesus did not have to offer sacrifice in the Temple because He had never sinned, but He chose to because He wanted to share in our suffering. 

This flies in stark contrast to our highly individualistic culture, fixated on self-assertion.  However, despite all the attempts to do away with any personal or relational limits, definitions, and even the laws of human nature, our secular culture seems to only sink deeper into depression, anxiety, loneliness, and slavery to addictions. 

Jesus illuminated the difference between license and freedom.  License means doing whatever arbitrary thing we feel like.  Freedom is the ability to choose the good.  License leads to impulsivity and selfishness, but freedom is best expressed in self-giving love and obedience to the Father. St. Paul urges us to have the same attitude as Christ:

“Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name” Philippians 2: 5-9

To assume the attitude of Christ we begin by humbly surrendering our adolescent pride which thinks we know better than our Heavenly Father, and our foolish rebellions against His guidance and “rules”.  When we allow ourselves to be taught by God and developed under His authority, we mature and blossom like a child who assents to his parents loving care through the turbulent periods of growth into adulthood.  No adult looks back and says, “I wish my parents had been more weak and let me raise myself.” Most often, the opposite is true.

Aided by divine grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit, the maturing soul increasingly appreciates the depth of God’s love and comes to see His Wisdom, making unity easier.  At 15 many kids consider their parents’ rules overbearing and their views outmoded.  At 25 they begin to thank their parents for those rules and see the wisdom in their advice.

Union with God produces greater unity within the human family as well.  As God’s love fills the soul, the fruits of His Spirit emerge in one’s life: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).    If trying to align our mind and heart with God, who is perfect, is so hard, how much more difficult to accomplish mutual respect with imperfect humans! Impossible.  Thankfully, Christ assures us that what is impossible for man is possible for God (Matthew 19:26). These fruits of the Spirit are necessary for it to happen.

Union of mind and will can only be achieved in mutual love with the help of grace.  Forced submission through violence or manipulation is not union, only domination. No political system, media blast, educational model, or diet can produce the mysterious reality found in the Christian union of mind, will, and heart, in freedom, joy, and love. The only place we can experience the peace we long for is in the Mystical Body of Christ, of which Christ is the Head.   United in Christ, however, we exercise all the diversity of personality given to us by our marvelously creative Father while at the same time working toward the same end in harmony and mutual respect. 

There’s no greater happiness than true love, and no greater love than that between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  The Lord invites us into that love and into His blessed happiness.  The Father sent the Son, the Son redeemed us and sent the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit sanctifies us and fills us with the love of God, and we are then sent to share that saving love with others.  What an incredible mystery!

Consider:

  • Take a few minutes to simply rest in the presence of the Triune God. 
    • Consider in awe the immensity of love between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
    • Consider how you are a fruit of God’s love.
  • Consider how the closer you have become with the Lord, the more purified your love has become for your neighbor. 
  • Consider how the fruits of the Spirit produce loving union in human relationships as well.
    • What often undermines developing a mutual understanding or working in alignment? (pride, anxiety, fear, stubbornness, hate, selfishness, over-ambition, self-assertion, etc.) Contrast these with the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
  • Christ is the Head of the Mystical Body, and we are its members (I Corinthians 12). Consider times or ways in which you try to be the head and lead Christ, rather than the other way around.

Practical Application:

  • Make the sign of the Cross slowly and thoughtfully as a prayer to the Triune God at the beginning and end of the day.
  • Exercise the fruits of the Spirit to bring greater unity in your family.

All Rights Reserved © 2020 Angela M Jendro

Pentecost Sunday: Spirit of Peace

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Excerpt from Take Time For Him: Some More

by Angela M Jendro

Order your paperback or e-book from Amazon!

Order the kindle e-book (or paperback) to read the Christmas meditation, the meditation for Mary Mother of God, and to reflect on the meditations all year at your convenience.

Pentecost Sunday

Read the Gospel of John 20:19-23

Meditation Reflection:

The health of a culture can be measured to some extent by its general effects in society – positively or negatively.  For example, the culture of despair heavy in post-war Europe together with materialist individualism resulted in an astonishing decline in birth rate.  George Weigel described it as literally “demographic suicide” and sourced its illness to a spiritual crisis in his book The Cube and the Cathedral.

In American culture today, we see record levels of anxiety and depression rampant through all ages, income levels and geographic regions.  In teens and young adults, the suicide rate has jumped dramatically over the last 10-15 years, making it the second leading cause of death for that age group.

How much we need Jesus and His words today: “Peace be with you”!

Pope St. John Paull II’s opening words of his pontificate, and the recurring theme of his many teachings was Jesus’ command: “Be not afraid.”

Certainly mental illness plays a real and significant role in the overall sickness plaguing our society. At the same time, we can’t overlook the toxins present in our culture that either make us more vulnerable to such illnesses, or at least exacerbate them. Remedies should include professional therapy and possibly medication.  At the same time, we also have a responsibility to change the culture – to restore youthful optimism in our youth, respect the dignity and meaning of every human life, honor the little way that builds a strong society rather than celebrating only the famous.

If we want full recovery though, not just surviving but thriving, then we need to “Receive the Holy Spirit” (v.22). 

Even the apostles were stricken with fear and anxiety in the upper room.  They had just seen Jesus crucified and knew they might be next.  All they had believed in, all they had sacrificed for, appeared to be for naught.  Then, “Jesus came and stood among them,” resurrected!  “He showed them has hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord” (v. 20).  This is the source of Christian hope – seeing our risen Lord.  Suffering and apparent failure no longer mean death, but rather new life through Christ.  When we feel like all is lost, we too need to look at the risen Lord, confident in His ability to redeem.

How much our culture needs this hope, how many people need this!  Generational studies expert Dr. Jean Twange, in her book iGen, attributes much of young people’s failure to launch to fear of failure.  Their obsession with being safe and with perfection cripples their ability to develop by trying new things and taking reasonable risks. Many don’t even have their drivers license by the age of 18 because they are afraid of failing the test!

In Christ we have our hope and through the gift of His Spirit we receive the necessary peace and courage to live in that hope.  Before Pentecost, one of the twelve had committed suicide and the other eleven were hiding in fear.  After Pentecost, they left the room on fire for Christ and preached the Gospel with power and zeal – baptizing, healing, and even accepting martyrdom themselves. 

To live in this same peace, we too need the Holy Spirit.  We receive the indwelling of the Spirit in Baptism, a strengthening of His action in our hearts through Confirmation, and the ongoing animation of His works in our soul through nurturing our relationship with Him in prayer and the Eucharist. 

When I feel discouraged, the best antidote is to spend time to friends and family who are encouraging.  When I’m anxious and worried, being in the presence of someone filled with confidence and strength eases me.  When I’m feeling sad and alone, spending time with a loved one restores my heart.  Being in the presence of the Holy Spirit effects all of these.  When I feel overwhelmed or defeated, sitting in the stillness of prayer, the Spirit replenish me and even bears a fruit or two (see Galatians 5:22-23).

“‘If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, “Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.”’ Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” John 7:37-39

Jesus has risen, He has been glorified, and He has sent His Spirit among us for the salvation of our souls. Praise be to God!  Let us receive Him today in our hearts and in our culture.

Consider:

  • Imagine the risen Lord, standing before you, His pierced hands outstretched, and saying to you personally, “Peace be with you”.
  • Consider these words of Christ below regarding the Holy Spirit:
“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:26-27)
  • How is the peace of Christ different than the peace of the world?
    • How can we “not let” our hearts be troubled?  What must you do to stay near the Holy Spirit and maintain this source of peace?
  • How does the resurrection change everything? Offer to Christ your present failure, struggle, or loss for Him to redeem.  Remember that He resurrects us to new life though, not the old.

Practical Application:

  • Develop your relationship with the Holy Spirit
    • Pray to the Holy Spirit throughout the day, ask for His help and guidance.
    • Read the Scriptures
    • Reflect on the fruits and gifts of the Spirit.
    • Listen to Catholic podcasts or read good books about the Holy Spirit.
  • Try to live as a person of peace. Ask the Spirit for help!

All Rights Reserved © 2020 Angela M Jendro

Being Lifted Up with Christ by Serving with Christ

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Excerpt from Take Time For Him: Some More

by Angela M Jendro

Order your paperback or e-book from Amazon!

Order the kindle e-book (or paperback) to read the Christmas meditation, the meditation for Mary Mother of God, and to reflect on the meditations all year at your convenience.

Ascension of the Lord

Read the Gospel of Mark 16:15-20

Meditation Reflection:

Today as a Church we remember Christ’s Ascension into Heaven when He returned to His rightful glory.  Jesus our king had left the comfort and majesty of His throne, to battle sin and death for His subjects, which could only be accomplished as one of us.  He entered the war zone at the Incarnation. The Son of God Who is infinite in His divinity accepted the burden of the limitations our human nature.  In addition, as if human kingship would not already be a far cry from His experience as Divine king, He chose instead the most difficult circumstances in human society – poverty and social rejection.  Our king is someone Who walks among His people, rolls up His sleeves and works side by side with us in our most difficult struggles. 

He does not stand aloof laughing at our weakness.  Rather He empowers us to battle with Him and reign with Him as children of God. After His Ascension Jesus sent His Spirit Who dwells in the souls of all the baptized and enables them to share in the work of Christ and become His Mystical Body. Jesus also modelled the way.  His glory began with His self-emptying (the fancy theological word for it is kenosis) and so our final glory requires this same emptying of self, service of others, and humble obedience to the Father’s will. St. Paul describes it beautifully in his letter to the Philippians:

“If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others. Philippians 2:1-4 NAB

Jesus took on the hardest and lowest jobs.  He was born in a barn, lived as a refugee in Egypt for the first years of His life, grew up with manual labor as His “career”, and walked wherever He travelled.  During the three years of His public ministry He faced rejection by His own townspeople who tried to throw Him off a cliff, the Pharisees and Sadducees plotted against Him even though He is the Word of God they supposedly protected, His own friends betrayed Him, and He died with an unjust conviction under false claims in the most humiliating and torturous way the Romans had contrived – naked on a Cross.  The night before His death, He prepared His apostles to reign in His stead by washing their feet – the most disgusting task which would traditionally be assigned to whomever was lowest on the totem pole – of the servants the slaves and of the slaves the foreign slaves.

So, who wants to reign with Christ? Doesn’t this sound fun?! If Christ’s life ended on the Cross, then NO.  Absolutely not!  But it didn’t end on the Cross.  Because He humbled Himself, the Father exalted Him above every name and at His Name, every knee should bend.  Jesus rose from the dead and 40 days later He ascended to unmatched glory in Heaven.  He assures us that if we follow Him, the way will be hard, but it will culminate in unending joy. 

“The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Matthew 23: 11-12 NAB

Christian disciples share in the mystery of Jesus’ Royal Poverty.  Rather than looking side to side to see what everyone else is doing, we look up and down – up to Christ in glory and to His will, and down to where we might humbly serve.  If we keep our glance up and down, down and up, we will discover harmony within the tension of humble service and risen glory – the royal poverty that can only be found by abiding in the One who accomplished it – Jesus Christ.

So, let us wait in eager anticipation for the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost (next Sunday).  He empowers us to serve and to reign, to obey and to be glorified, and most importantly to love as Christ loved us.

Consider:

  • Meditate on how Christ became your Brother.  What does it mean to be a brother? What does it mean to be His brother or sister in return?
  • Ask Christ how you might empty yourself more.  What holds you back from following Him?  What task feels too low to take up, or what feels too good to give up? 
  • Humbling ourselves is a tremendous risk.  We live in a competitive culture of self-assertion.  If we don’t exalt ourselves, we worry we will be walked all over.  Pray for the grace to step out in faith, trusting that if we humble ourselves, God will take care of the exalting. 
  • How much do you look side to side – comparing yourself to others or the standards of the world?  How might you look up and down more in those situations?

Practical Application:

  • Each day this week acknowledge someone’s humble, loving service and thank them.
  • Each day look up in prayer, then down for an opportunity to serve.

All Rights Reserved © 2020 Angela M Jendro

Additional Reading Recommendations:

Revised Standard Version Holy Bible (I have this one myself and is a favorite gift for First Communion or Confirmation)

Abandonment to Divine Providence

I Thirst: 40 Days With Mother Teresa

Remade For Happiness by Bl. Fulton Sheen

Caryll Houselander: Essential Writings (Modern Spiritual Masters)

Consecration to St. Joseph by Fr. Donald Calloway

Staying Connected

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Excerpt from Take Time For Him: Some More

by Angela M Jendro

Order your paperback or e-book from Amazon!

Order the kindle e-book (or paperback) to read the Christmas meditation, the meditation for Mary Mother of God, and to reflect on the meditations all year at your convenience.

45th Sunday of Easter

Read the Gospel of John 15: 1-8

Meditation Reflection:

Life in Christ is all about connection. Jesus emphasized it over and again: “Abide in me and I in you,”(v.4), “I am the vine, you are the branches” (v.15),  “Take my yoke upon you…and you will find rest for  your souls” (Matthew 11:29), “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14), “Come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21), “and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age”(Matthew 28:20) “ No longer do I call you servants,… but I have called you friends” (John 15:15). 

The Word of God which created us in love, wishes to re-create us by grace. He personally heals wounds, corrects faults, frees from oppression, and inspires to higher greatness. Parents don’t give birth to their children and then consider the relationship over.  Instead they devote themselves in love to the development and flourishing of their child throughout his or her entire life. Their ability to do this depends on how much connection the child is willing to reciprocate. That connection strengthens their foundation in who they are, anchoring them against the confusion of the world’s conflicting messages and pressures. Similarly, connection to Christ anchors us in our true selves, beloved children of God Who has a plan and a purpose for our lives. 

There are paths to holiness, steps one could say that mark advances on the road. Nevertheless, each person’s sanctification is unique and includes steps forward, setbacks, bumps in the road, etc. It’s more of a winding, curvy road than a straight shot.  Sanctification isn’t a to-do list with a report card at the end.  Rather, it’s the deepening of a relationship with the Lord through His Son and a richer experience of our authentic self.  St. Josemaria Escriva encouraged people to just keep turning back to Jesus, Who we find is already there to guide us.  

“In this adventure of love we should not be depressed by our falls, not even by serious falls, if we go to God in the sacrament of penance contrite and resolved to improve. A Christian is not a neurotic collector of good behavior reports…Jesus understands our weakness and draws us to himself on an inclined plane. He wants us to make an effort to climb a little each day. He seeks us out just as he did the disciples of Emmaus whom he went out to meet.” ( Josemaria Escriva, Christ is Passing By: Homilies)

Jesus is the life of our soul.  He guides the seed of faith to sprout, grow, blossom, and bear fruit. We remain connected to the vine through prayer and the sacraments.  Intimate union with Christ through a strong interior life keeps the flow of nutrients and hydration from the roots flowing into the branches.  Jesus also prunes away useless or harmful growth which drains nutrients and fruitlessly redirects them.  This may be sin, unholy attachments, or even unhealthy people or places in our lives. 

Developing an interior life of prayer, of constant connection to Christ, takes time and effort, but will eventually become second nature.  Josemaria encouraged, “Although it is not a question of sentiment, little by little the love of God makes itself felt like a rustle in the soul.”

St. Francis de Sales offered wonderful spiritual counsel for how to remain attached to the vine of Christ in his work, Introduction to the Devout Life.  First, he distinguished the difference between true and false devotion.  Essentially, true devotion is marked by a generous love for Christ that is quick to act when it perceives something that will delight Him, much like a couple in love takes pleasure in doing things that make the other happy.  Next, he laid out the purgations necessary to detach us from weeds that choke our relationship, a pruning we do not do by ourselves, but rather intentionally cooperate with the Lord in doing as He cuts them away.  Finally, He spends a great deal of time directing how to develop an interior disposition wherein Christ remains always present to our hearts.  

“I especially counsel you to practice mental prayer, the prayer of the heart, and particularly that which centers on the life and passion of our Lord.  By often turning your eyes on him in meditation, your whole soul will be filled with him.”

In this way we abide in Christ, and by spending so much time with Him we inevitably become like Him.  In truth we all pick up the habits and attitude of those we are around – for better or worse.  If we want to become proficient in something, we particularly need to spend time with someone accomplished in it and allow them to train us.  Similarly, de Sales asserted, by abiding in Christ through cultivating meditation on His life, we will pick up His habits: 

“…just as little children learn to speak by listening to their mothers and lisping words with them, so also by keeping close to our Savior in meditation and observing his words, actions, and affections we learn by his grace to speak, act, and will like him.”

I have found this to be so very true in my own life.  When I get too busy for prayer or quiet with Christ, my virtues quickly wither along with my joy and love.  I become easily agitated, distracted, and far less productive. When I begin with connection to Christ, and recollect Him throughout the day, I feel like the tree planted by running water (cf Jeremiah 17:7-8). 

Consider:

  • What fruits do you experience from spending time with Christ in prayer?
  • When has Christ pruned something in your life away? How did it cause greater growth afterward? What might He be pruning now?
  • Pray with the image of the vine and branches, of Jesus’ connection to you in such a personal way.

Practical Application:

  • Build in reminders and opportunities for yourself to turn inwardly to Christ throughout the day. 
    • This could be index cards with Scripture passages taped in frequented spots, wearing a crucifix so you see it each time you glance in a mirror, having a piece of religious art in your common view to remind you of Christ, a small spiritual book you can carry along with you and read for a few minutes periodically, a rosary in your car to pray as you drive, or your music preset to a Christian radio station or playlist.

All Rights Reserved © 2020 Angela M Jendro