March 23, 2022

Posted on by Evelyn Rivera
My reflection today is from Living Faith:
However, take care and be earnestly on your guard not to forget the things with your own eyes have seen it… Deuteronomy 4:9
“Last year at this time, one of my adult kids was at the beginning of what would be a rather difficult three months of his life. No, it wasn’t the worst experience anyone could have, but it was certainly challenging, and there was not a thing I could do about it, given the circumstances and given that I was thousands of miles away. Nothing!
What to do? Well, I spent a lot of time praying that the situation would change. But… it didn’t. And it became clear that it probably wouldn’t. So maybe it was time for my prayer to change. I prayed that in this difficulty, my son would grow, learn and become nearer to God – that all he’d learned, what he’d seen of God‘s faithfulness and love in the past, would not be forgotten, and through it all, if nothing else, he’d grow closer to God. And maybe I would too.
God, I trust in your love for me. Draw me closer to you today, through good times and bad. Amy Welborn
God is always with us no matter what we are going through. God gives us the strength to go on each day.?

March 22, 2022

Posted on by Evelyn Rivera
My reflection today is from The Little Black Book:
“Today is the earliest date upon which Easter can fall.
That is the result of the first general counsel of the church, which was held in 325 in the city of Nicaea (located in modern day Turkey). The council had been called by the Roman emperor Constantine to unite the Christian sects within his realm. Among the 300 bishops attending what is Saint Ambrose.
One of the decisions made during the council was the establishment of a date for celebrating Easter. The bishops decreed that Easter should be observed on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox (March 21). Easter, therefore can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. The council noted that Easter could never fall on the same date as Jewish Passover

March 21, 2022

Posted on by Evelyn Rivera
My reflection:
“Faith is trusting and believing in a power we can neither see nor touch. It’s a feeling born deep within our hearts that keeps us holding on even when we feel all our strength is gone. It is a promise of hope that whispers, ‘You’ll be okay…’even though the darkest times.
Faith fills us with power we could never find on our own. It is a bridge… between your heart and God.” Jason Blume
The power of faith is deep within our hearts.?

March 20, 2022

Posted on by Evelyn Rivera
My reflection:
“Be true to your dreams and keep them alive. Never let anyone change your mind about what you feel you can achieve.
Be true to the light that is deep within you. Hold onto your faith, hope, and joy for life. Keep good thoughts in your mind and good feelings in your heart.
Be true to yourself in the paths that you choose. Follow your talents and passions; don’t take the roads others say you must follow because they are the most popular.
Most of all, never forget that there is no brighter light than the one within you, and follow your inner light to your own personal greatness.” JacquelineSchiff
Let us remember that there’s a light within us is God‘s light and spirit.?

March 19, 2022

Posted on by Evelyn Rivera
My reflection today is from Living Faith:
He believed, hoping against hope… Romans 4:18
“Hoping against hope is a powerful phrase. In today’s liturgy, it is applied to aged Abraham who eventually had a descendent birthed to his wife Sarah and himself. This same phrase can be applied to Joseph whose feast we celebrate today. In both cases, their hope seemed surreal. Abraham was too old to father a child, and Joseph questioned the possibility and worth of whether to accept pregnant Mary as his bride. Both of these men hoped against hope, trusted yet hesitated, believed yet questioned. They had faith and still were unsure. In the end, they gave themselves fully to a decision based on that faith. And both ended up having their hope fulfilled.
I need this reassurance when I hope against hope, particularly when I long for a world where divisions cease and love of neighbor – all neighbors – becomes the norm. I hope against hope that my small efforts to be kind and non-judgmental might contribute to that reality.” Sr. Joyce Rupp, O.S.M.
Saint Joseph, pray for us!?

March 17, 2022

Posted on by Evelyn Rivera
My reflection is from The Little Black Book:
Saint Patrick didn’t go through the canonization process that is followed today. He died about 461 A. D., and the first saint formally canonized by a pope didn’t occur until 993.
So how did he become a saint? During the Church’s first thousand years, ‘making a saint was usually handled on a regional basis, i.e. the local church decreed that the deceased person had lived a life of such holiness that they could be liturgically celebrated as a saint.
That’s how it worked for Saint Patrick. And he received his own feast day through the efforts of a 16th century Franciscan priest.
Luke Wadding was born in Waterford, Ireland, in 1588. After his ordination as a Franciscan in 1613, he was sent to Rome. While there, he raised money for a college where Irish students could study for the priesthood. His efforts were successful, and the Franciscan College of Saint Isidore opened in 1625. Three years later, he founded a second college to help train Irish clergy. Today it is known as the Pontifical Irish College.
Although his entire ministry was in Rome, Father Wadding remained a strong Irish nationalist who opposed English occupation of Ireland. he supported the Irish Catholic uprising in the war of 1641 by supplying ammunition and arms to Ireland.
He also wanted to honor Saint Patrick. Using his influence and connections, he managed to get Patrick’s feast added to the church calendar.
Father Wadding died in Rome on November 18, 1657. He is buried on the grounds of Saint Isidore College.”
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all!☘️?

March 16, 2022

Posted on by Evelyn Rivera
My reflection:
“Knowing in your heart that you are in charge of your destiny can give you the power to overcome obstacles. It’s an attitude that carries you through the tough times and that looks at the positives and defies the negatives.” Barbara Cage
Nothing is impossible with God!❤️

March 15, 2022

Posted on by Evelyn Rivera
My reflection is from “The Little Black Book”
“Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guest fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.” Mark 2:19
“Actually Jesus did fast – one time for 40 days in the desert.
But he also departed from many Jewish religious practices because routine had robbed them of their original meaning. He questioned ritual purification before meals. He healed on the Sabbath, ate with sinners, touched lepers and dead people-all for bidden by Jewish law.
He did these things because his relationship with God and his exercise of religion were not routine. These were things to be reflected upon and acted out responsibly.
The early church also maintained fasting, as well as the traditional forms of penance (prayer and almsgiving) as essential to Christian living. The early church never understood Jesus to have said that his followers shouldn’t fast – they just fasted on different days than their Jewish brothers and sisters.
I need to choose deliberately how I will intensify my prayer, fasting, and charitable works during this Lenten season. It is more difficult to have to decide for myself the ways I’m going to do them, but consciously deciding can be much more effective.
Of course, I can always talk it over with the Lord.”
Let us take time and reevaluate if my Lenten practices are bringing me closer to Jesus? The purpose of Lent is not just to give up things …but to find what will bring me closer to God each day.?

March 14, 2022

Posted on by Evelyn Rivera
My reflection is from “The Little Black Book”:
The disciples of John and of the Pharisees were accustomed to fast. People came to Jesus and objected, “Why did the disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” (Mark 2:18)
This weeks reflection takes place toward the beginning of Mark’s Gospel.
Jesus has already been doing some astonishing things. He began by announcing that something new is afoot-the reign of God is at hand. Then he begins to express in action what the reign of God means. In the synagogue, he cures a man with an unclean spirit. He leaves there, goes to Peter‘s house, and cures his mother-in-law. Before long, the whole town is at the door as he cures the sick and drives out demons.
But now people complain that his disciples don’t do the extra fast that the Pharisees and John the Baptist disciples do.
For Jesus, fasting was never an end in itself. It always had to have meaning. There was a time and a place for fasting – it was not simply an external observance to be followed automatically.
That is why Jesus told the parable of a wedding feast. There is a time to celebrate and a time to fast. A wedding feast is not a time for fasting.
Fasting does have a place in my life. It is a Christian tradition dating back to Jesus himself. And my fasting has to have meaning – it’s never an end in itself as though suffering were something good.
Why do I choose – or not choose – to fast this lent?

March 13, 2022

Posted on by Evelyn Rivera
My reflection is from Living Faith:
The Lord God took Abram outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can.” Just so, he added, “shall your descendants be.” Genesis 15:5
“Since my childhood years of standing on our deck and squinting my eyes at the heavens, I have been a stargazer. Few actions confirm my place in the family of creation more clearly than a midnight sky sparkling with those heavenly bodies. I am overwhelmed by immensity. I feel my smallness. I’m painfully aware that my counting skills are not up to the task, that my words failed to capture what my eyes delight in taking in.
I picture Abram sharing my awe and wonder and profound gratitude for the unexpected but grateful received generosity of the God standing beside him. This God who ensured that Abram’s name would live through his descendants is the same extravagant God who stands beside all of us, promising faithful presence and enduring love as incalculable as a sky heavy with stars.” Sr. Chris Koellhoffer, I.H.M.
God stands by each one of us every day of our lives.?