Clearly Catholic

Bringing Clarity to Uncertainty in Our Church

Month: January 2023

A Message To Students Writing Exams

January 27, 2023 /

A reading from the Second Letter to Timothy: 

For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you…; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power of love and of self-discipline. 

The course that gave me the most trouble in high school was grade 11 chemistry. The content just intimidated me. Moreover, I had classmates who always got 90s. I started to compare myself to them and started to believe that I was stupid. So I simply stopped trying. However, that changed with one interaction with my teacher. 

By Tim Gouw from Unsplash.com

We were taking up homework and my teacher asked me to answer a question. “Sorry, I didn’t do it.” I replied. Instead of me telling me something along the lines of “as long as you tried your best” she looked at me with disappointment on her face and said, “No, I’m sorry.” 

Her response triggered something in me. I got sick of feeling sorry for myself and believing I was stupid. I’m going to prepare for the next test until I get it. 

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Finding Jesus In Everyday Mundane Tasks

January 25, 2023 /

When I was in grade 12 I worked at Giant Tiger stocking shelves. One of the employees at the Giant Tiger was a thin elderly man who wore large glasses and had trouble walking called Dennis. Dennis was a character. He normally shared hilarious stories from his life. I sometimes wondered why he doesn’t seem more sad since he’s not enjoying his final years in retirement. One day he pulled me to the side and started to share with me the impact that Jesus had on his life. At the time, I brushed him off as crazy, but today I’ve come to see what he meant. 

In the gospel Simon and his brother Andrew are fishing near the shore on the Sea of Galilee. At another point in the gospels we realize just how terrible their jobs were. Imagine your livelihood depended on you fishing under the middle eastern sun day in and day out, barely catching enough fish to provide a roof and food for your family, along with paying crippling taxes to an oppressive government? I’m sure Simon and Andrew questioned their purpose several times. 

When Jesus comes along, he says to the brothers, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of people.” Jesus of course is using their day time job as an analogy for being his disciples. But there’s more to it. Just because Simon and Andrew became disciples of Jesus, their worldly challenges didn’t disappear. In fact they multiplied. They still had to fish to put a roof over their families’ heads, pay taxes, maintain their boats, and eat. Moreover, now they also had to pay for Jesus’ ministry. Life got harder, yet they found a greater purpose to work for. They went from darkness to light. From nihilism to purpose. 

Today, I’ve come to understand why Dennis seemed so content and purpose driven despite his physical frailty and economic condition. His job at Giant Tiger wasn’t just a job to pay the bills, but it was a way to serve God. 

I think this is a great mindset. God is bigger than our Sundays. We are called to serve him and offer our everyday tasks to him, even mundane ones, …. even ones like studying. 

Let us pray, 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

Lord God, you are my light and stronghold. You have the power to release me from my fears. Help me to seek you and see your beauty in every aspect of my life. In my darkness and brokenness I pray that you help me see your goodness. Strengthen me in the face of all challenges, inspire me with courage, and grant peace in my day.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

This is why the Pope can’t change the teachings of the church on faith and morals.

January 21, 2023 /

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. Mark:

“Jesus went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed the twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons.” 

Reflection

Have you ever found yourself in a situation when it appeared that everything around you started to break, even though it wasn’t your fault?

By Sixteen Miles Out from Unsplash.com

A couple of years ago my mom went on vacation and asked me to look after her home. Everything was going well until the final day she was scheduled to return home. I went to turn on the shower and the faucet broke. The water just kept flowing at full pressure. Now on one hand it’s not something terrible, since nothing flooded. All I had to do was shut the water off to the house and call a plumber. I was more concerned about my mom. My mom is the type of person who would be quick to blame me if something didn’t meet her expectations. Her expectation was that the house would be in the same running order she left it in. Instead she came home to a plumber’s van on the driveway and tools all over the upstairs bathroom. She looked at me with a terrifying look that I haven’t seen since my teenage years. 

In today’s gospel, Jesus appoints and gives authority to twelve apostles to have authority in the early church. More notably Jesus gives Peter special authority by calling him “the rock” on which the church is built and gives “the keys to heaven.” In other words whatever decision he makes on earth will have eternal consequences. Jesus giving authority to Peter and the twelve apostles is not arbitrary. 

In the ancient world, when a king left his kingdom he periodically handed his authority over to his prime minister – first servant. The prime minister had to carry out the duties of the king in everything, except he couldn’t change anything or make up new laws. He was the protector of his king’s kingdom. So when the king returned everything should be the way he left it. 

Similarly, the apostles in unity under their leader, Peter, – the first pope – do not have the authority to change what Jesus has established. Their job is to protect what is established to ensure that it is secure and in place upon Christ’s return. 

Let us pray, 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

Heavenly Father, Thank you for getting me through another week. Have mercy on me for the times I have allowed envy to consume me. Help me to see the goodness in my life, even if during this time I may be facing many challenges. Inspire me with the fortitude to overcome my negative emotions, the wisdom to prioritize my studies in the coming exam week, and with the charity to treat others around me with love. I pray this in Your name. Amen.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

How God prepares you to live in His will.

January 20, 2023 /

After my wife’s nana passed away she left behind her house which was in rough shape. Nana was a hoarder. Every room was filled with stuff from the floor to the ceiling. Expensive antiques, mixed in with unopened items, mixed with trash. The walls had mold in them, the foundation was cracked in multiple places, and pipes were rusting in the basement. 

By Danny Muller from Unsplash.com

Without major renovations it took nearly 6 months to clean the house and make it safe to live in. The house was completely gutted for the new owners. The new owner transformed the inside of the home into a fresh, beautiful, livable place. From the outside it looks like the same house, but the inside is hardly recognizable. 

In the Bible, the author of Psalm 40 writes, “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will…I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”

My hope is that we all want to do what God has set us apart for. Since God is perfect love, his will for our lives is infinitely more fulfilling than our own will without God. 

However, if we truly want to live in God’s will, our souls, bodies, and minds have to be prepared to take on God’s will. In the same way nana’s house had to be gutted (or broken down) so that it can be prepared to house a new family (it’s new purpose), we too need to be broken down and purified in order to take on God’s will for our lives. And here’s the thing… God is not going to impose his will on you, you have to invite him into your life. 

Let us pray,

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

Father God, Thank you for loving me. You do not desire to bring me hardship, but rather, you want to show us how you are still present in the midst of difficult times. Give me an open mind to live in your will for me. Your imprint is already on my heart. Bless me with peace to meditate on your presence within me. Inspire me with great news for my life. Bring peace and fulfillment to all who seek you. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen. 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

Your identity is not determined by the past mistakes of your family.

January 18, 2023 /

Has anyone ever compared you to someone who you’re not too fond of, telling you, “you’re just like…so and so”? You come away annoyed, because in reality, you know that you are nothing like the person you are being compared to.  “One thing is the same, therefore, everything is the same” is bad logic. 

While our families or other associations undoubtedly impact our lives, they don’t have to define our present or future. 

Photo by Chuttersnap from Unsplash.com

In the Old Testament, Abraham meets a non-Jewish priest named Melchizedek. Melchizedek didn’t obtain his priesthood because of his family lineage or legal requirements (which was the case in Middle Eastern religions, including Judaism). Scripture says that Malchizedek earned his vocation through “an indestructible life.” In other words, living a life faithful to God. 

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Most people are running on spiritual fumes. And it’s causing avoidable trouble.

January 17, 2023 /

When I was 12 years old my family went on a trip across Germany and Austria. Traveling with my family was never a great experience. My dad only wanted to visit “educational” places, we always got lost (this was during a time before GPS and cell phones were widely used), and my parents spent most of the time in the car arguing. 

One day we were driving on a highway near the Austrian Alps when my dad noticed that the gas tank was almost empty. My dad being the smart engineer that he is, forgot to put gasoline in the car before we left for the day. To make things worse a heavy fog was rolling in and visibility was close to zero and there were no signs of a gas station nearby. Regrettably, my sister and I laughed, while my mom and dad’s anxiety went into overdrive. 

Photo by Christopher Lemercier from Unsplash.com

I remember my dad losing it and accepting the reality that we might be stranded on a remote highway in the Austrian Alps with no means of communication. Nothing short of a miracle, just as the car was stuttering, a gas station came into view at the side of the highway. 

Similarly, if we are not proactive in our spiritual life we can feel like we are running on fumes. We can easily be overcome by anxiety, fear, and unnecessary exhaustion. How do we keep our spiritual tanks at a good level? 

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We know how to rest our bodies, but how do we rest our souls?

January 14, 2023 /

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews: 

“Beloved: While the promise of entering God’s rest is still open, let us take care that none of you should seem to have failed to reach it.”

Story of Rest

When was the last time you felt rested? 

Recently I unintentionally fell asleep on our living room couch. It all started with me telling myself that I’m just going to place my head down for a couple of minutes until my kids arrive home from school. Of course, I have no recollection of them arriving home. The first thing that I noticed after waking up was that I was surrounded by my kids’ stuffed animals, including a stuffed Eoyore, Winnie the Pooh Character that I was grasping onto. My kids and wife started to laugh at me as they showed me embarrassing photos of me sleeping among the stuffed animals and hugging them. 

Image by Jeremy Bishop from Unsplash.com

Despite this immensely embarrassing power nap, I felt well rested and was prepared to tackle our evening duties. 

Making effort to enter rest

While physical rest restores our bodies and brains, resting in God (or spiritual rest) restores our souls. That all sounds very spiritual; how do we restore our intangible soul? In the same way we have to make regular time to eat and physically rest to restore our bodies, we have to make time for prayer to restore our soul. Prayer can come in different forms. 

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Spiritual Procrastination

January 13, 2023 /

A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews: 

“The Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors put me to the test, though they had seen my works for forty years… They always go astray in their hearts, and they have not known my ways.””

Do you consider yourself a procrastinator? 

Why do you think people procrastinate even when it causes anxiety? 

Recently, I was reading through the comments of a YouTube video on procrastination and the following comment caught my attention: “The amount of stress I got from being guilty of procrastination is higher than stress from my actual work.” 

The human mind is very mysterious. When I was in high school I would procrastinate, especially in classes that I had trouble in. I normally procrastinated when I had the greatest fear of failure. In my experience, fear of unknown outcomes normally leads to procrastination. 

Procrastination is closing ourselves off from the reality that we have to eventually face. I would procrastinate from studying for my chemistry test, but eventually I had to face the test and deal with the consequences of anxiety, fear, and failure. Alternatively, I could have studied and had more confidence on the day of the test. 

In the Old Testament the Israelites wandered in the wilderness just outside of their promised land for 40 years. The reward that God promised them if they remained faithful was right there, yet several times the Israelites chose to shut God out of their lives. In other words they were procrastinating. They knew what had to be done, but didn’t do it. Instead of remaining faithful to God, they worshiped idols and fought among themselves for power, ultimately rebelling against God. 

In the same way we procrastinate in our spiritual lives. We have a sense that we ought to live a life faithful to God, but we can’t see the exact outcome, so we just put Him off. Yet God’s plan for us is within reach, if only our hearts weren’t hardened towards him.

Let us pray, 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

Lord Jesus, all glory and honour is yours. Thank you for creating me with the potential to acquire and apply knowledge. Inspire me with the motivation and the discipline to productively work on my CPTs and study for my exams. Help me to focus and dispel my fears and anxieties at this time. I pray this in Your name. Amen. 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 

“What’s my purpose in life?” is the wrong question to ask.

January 12, 2023 /

One of the big questions people often struggle with is, “What is my purpose in life?”

Perhaps a better question to ask is, “What is my purpose in life right now?” 

Photo by Matt Walsh from Unsplash.com

In Matthew’s gospel Jesus is baptized by John the Baptist. John’s baptism symbolized the start of Christ’s earthly ministry – what he was set apart for by God the Father. In Isaiah’s prophecy, Jesus said to be set apart for different roles. For some Jesus was a sign of justice, for some Jews he was a sign of God’s covenant with their people, for others he was a light of hope during a period of oppression, and for some Jesus was a liberator from spiritual darkness. 

Throughout our lives God can set us apart for several different purposes. Even now, He may have different purposes for you. Your obvious calling now is to be a student and a son or daughter. Beyond your immediate vocation, God may call you to bring healing and hope into someone’s day. Tomorrow, God may set you aside for another purpose. And several other purposes as you grow older. 

God has created you to be gifted multidimensional people. There’s so much you have to offer to the world, don’t limit yourself to just one purpose or label. If there is one purpose that we all have it is this: To know God, to love God, and to serve him in this world and to be happy with him in this world and the next. In John’s gospel Jesus says, “I came so that you may have life and have it more abundantly.” In other words our dignity and purpose are found in a relationship with God. 

Let us pray, 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

Heavenly Father, I thank You for loving me, even when I am undeserving of Your love. There are many voices in this world that seek my attention and try to lead me further from You with false promises. As my move through my day leads me to open my eyes to how I can serve you in this part of my life. Help me to see the deeper purpose of things that now may appear mundane. Continue to shape me in Your image. I pray this in Your name. Amen. 

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 

From Death Into Life

January 5, 2023 /

When I was growing up, on the surface, my family was well off. My parents had respectable and well-paying jobs, had two cars, and lived in a generously sized suburban home in a quiet neighborhood.

Yet having material success did not equate to peace and love in our home. Our home was filled with conflict, animosity towards those whom we were supposed to love the most, and jealousy. There was always a sense of wanting more; never having enough. Everyone blamed one another.

The apostle John writes, “Yet if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:17).

Photo by Joshua Sortino from Unsplash.com

Not surprisingly, God was not a part of our home. Our hearts were so closed against one another that there was no space for God. Personal gain was more important than laying down one’s life for the other. Jealousy of other people’s possessions dictated decisions. There was no room for love in any of our hearts.

We were living in a state of spiritual death since we allowed sin to consume our hearts.

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