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Spiritual Growth

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  Spiritual Growth A lot of people make resolutions to do better, overcome their addictions, help others, treat others with kindness, be charitable, love our enemies. They ask God to help them change their ways.  Yet they often give up and go back to their former ways. That’s usually considered human frailty. Then regret and shame fill their lives and make them feel like failures.  We know Jesus promised to send us the Holy Spirit who would be with us all our days and teach us all we need to live a good life. In Romans 8, St. Paul reminds us: “If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you.” If the Spirit has been dwelling in us all our lives, why do we feel like we have made so little progress? Our culture may have conditioned us to feel like we are not good enough, that our faith has failed us.  According to Vinita Hampton Wright, “ maybe th
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  For the Good of the People “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Ps. 34:18 ) The United States has been a democracy since 1776, a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Americans elect representatives to carry out the Constitution. Eventually two major parties developed, Republican and Democrat. Most of the time the government worked pretty well except for the Civil War period and a few other upheavals. Despite some rough spots, we maintained our democracy. Hopefully, we can continue to do so. The election we just had was very divisive. Each of the two persons running for president had very different views. But if we are going to live together in peace, we will have to try to understand each other and learn how to cooperate even when we disagree. We need to acknowledge each other’s viewpoints and discuss our disagreements without becoming antagonistic or violent. We have one of the strongest democracies in the
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  Break Open Puffy clouds blush, reflecting dawn rising in the east, a splendid beginning of a new day full of possibilities, of encounters with unknown people and adventures.   Welcome sunrise! Spread your many-hued rays across our sleepy world. Awaken in us all we can behold as day breaks.   Open our eyes, our ears, to embrace all that comes-- surprise encounters, unique and unrepeatable, challenging us to enlarge our limited horizons blurred by unclear vision.   Yes! Make our spirits blossom-- renew our often hesitant hearts.   By Barbara Mayer    
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  Women of Courage When I watched “60 Minutes” on TV last week, I was stunned by the story of Yulia Navalnaya, wife of the Russian dissident who recently died in a Russian prison. Andrei Navalny had defied Putin and fought for the Russian presidency but was put in prison. Yulia has been described in the media as the “first lady” of the Russian opposition. After her husband’s death, she declared that she would continue his work. She has his last notes from prison that she plans to publish. Last July she became the chair of the Human Rights Foundation. Moreover, she said, “I will be the next leader of Russia.”   She said it as if there were no doubt in her mind that she would replace Vladimar Putin who now                             has unlimited power and control. She wants to build a free Russia for her children and all who are committed to human rights and freedom. Then I began thinking about strong women in U.S. history. Rosa Parks was the first woman that came to my mind. She w
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  Inspired by Scholastica A Joy Spreader How would you like to be remembered when you die? How about “one-of-a -kind kindness advocate”? That’s what SuEllen Fried was called when she died this week at age 92. The last thing she did was get out of her bed and go to say goodbye to her prison friends at Lansing Correctional Facility. Her whole life was spent bringing joy to people in pain. One of the most noteworthy things she did was start a program led by the Lansing inmates called Reaching Out from Within, a self-help program. She also co-founded the first Alvin Ailey summer dance camp for urban kids in Kansas City.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       SuEllen Fried was a very gifted, joyful person who reached out to everyone, especially those in pain. And who is more in pai
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  Overcoming Fear   What did the Apostles do after Jesus was crucified? They holed themselves up in a locked room, fearful as mice hiding in a secluded corner.   When they heard that Jesus had risen, they slowly began to understand what He had said about rising on the third day.   Still fearful, they inched open the door and found the women who had discovered the empty tomb. Dumbstruck, Peter and John hastened to see if it were true.   The apostles felt shame at deserting Jesus and letting him die alone, except for Mary and John and the other faithful women.   The twelve knew they had been chosen to carry on Jesus’ mission, but they were uneducated and simple, and a little hesitant to step forward.   Maybe the women, his mother, Mary Magdalen, Mary Salome, and others showed them how to begin their work. Women seemed to know how to touch and heal, and are bold enough to spread the good news: “Jesus is alive!”   Barbar
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  Inspired by Scholastica   Success or Failure? I’m reading an interesting novel titled Patchwork Quilt by Anne Tyler. She is one of my favorite authors because of her unusual characters. The main character, Barnaby, works for a small company called Rent a Back. It caters to elderly people who need help doing small jobs that they can no longer do. His family considers him a failure since he didn’t go to college, lives in a tiny apartment, and drives a run-down old truck. His parents are wealthy, and his brother works in his father’s trust company. Barnaby had been married and has a nine-year-old daughter that he tries to visit once a month, but his former wife is not very welcoming. The people he helps think he is kind and trustworthy. Instead of having set hours, he adjusts his work hours to his clients’ wishes. He doesn’t seem to have any friends except the people he works with. He seems happy with his life and has no desire to change. Is he a failure for his lifestyle a
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