As I was working on my newsletter for my partners, these words came to mind... Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. - John 14:27 As I continued working on my newsletter, I realized that I had a lot more to share on this subject than the space had to offer, so here we are. This blog has become the victim of my swirling, possibly mis-jointed thoughts on this subject of peace and I happy for that ( I don't even care how ironic that last sentence was). Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. These are the words of our Lord to his disciples when He comes to them raised from the dead. These are the words that he has for each of us. These are words that come as a promise to us at this particular time. In my own heart, I know that this is a promise extended to me, that I have a need to receive, but it is not just for me and I know that in a particular way as I see students on campus preparing for finals, and closing up the school year. Maybe you need this promise right now too. If there’s one thing that’s obvious on this college campus, it’s that this, real peace, is not what the world has to offer. They say, “buck up, be successful, study hard, question everything, never trust, get the good grade, live “the experience”, keep busy, don’t stop, what's next, what's next, what's next, noise, noise, noise. One of my teammates put it very well the other day after her conversation with a Philosophy student on campus, “It’s like they take your heart and all of your emotions and beliefs, everything you thought you knew, put it in a blender and just grind it all up and serve it to you: education”. Ouch. How do you even recover from that? When I was on campus today I ran into a girl who was in my bible study last year. Toward the end of our conversation I spoke about my desire to make time for peace and quiet, to reflect over the year, recall God’s hand in this work and His mighty deed that he has done this year. She expressed how she desired that peace so much. We prayed right then each of us for each other for this peace: the peace that God has for us. I’m beginning to hear a gentle tap- tap- tapping at the door of my heart in these conversations, a gentle nudge, a little reminder, especially in this busy time of the year on campus that God is so much more than just doing and he wants so much more for us than to be doing all the time…accomplishing all the time… acting all the time…busy all the time… “Busy” is a glorified state of being that has somehow become the standard and even an ideal, especially in the lives of people I meet on this campus. Ew. That’s like saying, “I’m a human-doing” instead of a human being. I don’t know about you, but that’s not what I want! We have machines and stuff to do that. In my prayer time I was reflecting on the classic verse in Corinthians. You know the one... If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Basically, I can do- do- do- do- do, but if there is no love??? NOTHING. I don't want to be nothing...darkness. If God is love and Jesus is God and Jesus says “peace I leave you” and not only that but we call Jesus the “Prince of Peace”, then it would make sense that where there is LOVE there is PEACE. There is something, light, joy, PEACE. Love and peace. They just go together. They just do. I think those people in the 70's had something right. It makes sense in my mind. Take it or leave it when it comes to my thoughts, but when it comes to the gift of God that He offers us in Jesus, I dare you to take it. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
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Recently, I read through "Church of Mercy". It's a book made up of a collection of writings, addresses given by Pope Francis. One reflection that has really stuck with me was that on building a culture of encounter. You can click here to read the whole thing. I started about halfway down with the following: The Church must step outside herself. To go where? To the outskirts of existence, whatever they may be, but she must step out. Jesus tells us: “Go into all the world! Go! Preach! Bear witness to the Gospel!” (cf. Mk 16:15). But what happens if we step outside ourselves? The same as can happen to anyone who comes out of the house and onto the street: an accident. But I tell you, I far prefer a Church that has had a few accidents to a Church that has fallen sick from being closed. He sure knows how to preach it. I've been thinking a lot about this the past couple of weeks. It's something I hear, I believe and yet I struggle to do. It's something that I have been trying to grow in and have been trying to encourage others to grow in. When you ask God to help you grow in something, watch out. Yesterday, as I was walking to the 6pm mass at the Ohio State Newman Center, after crossing High street I spotted what looked like a girl who is a student and a good friend of mine. We meet up consistently to share life together and talk about where we see God and how we can grow in following Him. So I saw this girl talking to this man at the bus stop sign. He was wearing an oversized navy coat and had some scruff on his face, a tattoo around his neck, but the girl's back was to me so I began to doubt that it was actually her talking to this man. Why would she be talking to this guy? Yup. You can say it- I was judging. As I approached and realized that it was in fact her I stopped to talk with them. We didn't do much talking because as it turns out, this girl had just asked to pray with this man and I came just in time to join in. Before we prayed I learned that his mother had died that morning. After praying we walked with him down the street a ways and as he smoked, we spoke a little more and learned that he was recently out of prison and looking to get a motel so that he could continue searching for a job. While he was in prison, he became Catholic. I asked if he had been to mass that weekend. He said no, so I invited him in. He came. ...."Was this an accident? I have a lot of reason to be concerned here (at least that's how I was beginning to feel) What the heck did I get myself in to?".... As we celebrated the mass, I kept a watchful eye on this guy and witnessed as he re-encountered the saving love and the power of Jesus. He wept, he prayed, he thanked God. I was humbled and I re-encountered the saving power of God as I witnessed the reunion of this man with his maker and as Jesus gently taught me that I have nothing to fear. This man told me after mass that he had long ago prayed that God would send someone into his life, a friend, that would help keep him on the right path and he felt that the invitation was in part an answer to that prayer. "God is good, All the time. He is... all the time, He is good", he repeated again and again. As we parted ways, I was left a little stunned. What just happened? I can't say for sure, but I can say that I learned a great deal as we treated this man with dignity and shared Jesus with him. I can say that even though I personally may never encounter this guy again, that it's more important that Jesus does... and I can say that really believe that He will. I can say that I really believe in the power of His mercy and the power He holds to redeem all that is broken. In this “stepping out” it is important to be ready for encounter. For me this word is very important. Encounter with others. Why? Because faith is an encounter with Jesus, and we must do what Jesus does: encounter others. Love is a mystery that transforms everything it touches into things beautiful and pleasing to God. The love of God makes a soul free. She is like a queen; she knows no slavish compulsion; she sets about everything with great freedom of soul, because the love which dwells in her incites her to action. Everything that surrounds her makes her know that only God Himself is worthy of her love. A soul in love with God and immersed in Him approaches her duties with the same dispositions as she does Holy Communion and carries out the simplest tasks with great care, under the loving gaze of God. She is not troubled if, after some time, something turns out to be less successful. She remains calm, because at the time of the action she had done what was in her power. When it happens that the living presence of God, which she enjoys almost constantly, leaves her, she then tries to continue living in lively faith. Her soul understands that there are periods of rest and periods of battle. Through her will, she is always with God. Her soul, like a knight, is well trained in battle; from afar it sees where the foe is hiding and is ready for battle. She knows she is not alone – God is her strength. -Diary of St. Faustina, Paragraph 890
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This Blog...I'm Emily: a mission leader with Saint Paul's Outreach. This is blog is here to keep you up to date with what is happening in the mission field at Ohio State! Archives
October 2016
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