Author: Lana Kaczmarek

“I was hard pressed and was falling, but the LORD helped me.” Scriptural images are helpful to us and enable us to see, relate, identify with, and more readily understand how we react or response to God’s loving invitation to communion with Him. These images provide us with the opportunity to consider whether our thoughts, feelings, words, actions, and/or desires are properly aligned with and reverently correspond to God’s goodness, grace, and generosity. For example, the image of God as a nurturing caring parent, a faithful spouse, a divine physician or as the Good Shepherd or Teacher. Do we respond as beloved children who attentively listen and remain lovingly obedient? Are we faithful in fidelity to our baptismal covenant and wedding vows? Do we give God permission to heal us from the effects of our sinfulness or provide the remedy for moments we lacked kindness or charity? The image of the potter and clay is one of the scriptural images that most challenges us in our perception of corresponding properly to God. What is helpful to note is that the clay belongs to the potter and that the potter does all the work. The clay must remain open, vulnerable, flexible, trusting that God as the Potter will make the clay into something or someone that is worthwhile, most needed, helpful, useful, functional, productive, valuable, beautiful, priceless, unique, one-of-a-kind, good, and awesome. God provides all the tools. He has all the necessary supplies. He has the vision, the mission, the strategy, the objective. It is His idea. He created it. He creates the purpose, the need, the desire, and outcome. He formulates the plan and brings it to a successful completion. God does not need to know how to do something correctly. God is perfect. God does not need us to remind Him how to do something or when to do something. God is faithful, reliable and can be trusted. God does not need your input on how to create you. God has done this before many times and is the best at it. No one can create out of nothing like God. Trust that God has this, truly cares and only wills your happiness and desires what is best for you. Trust God knows what He is doing. Remind yourself of that. Say, Jesus, I trust in you. Have faith and confidence in God. Everything He makes is very good. He made you. You belong to Him. Let Him chisel away what is not useful or helpful and make you His beautiful masterpiece once again. 

“Everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins through His name.” From the very dawn of time, from the very first moment light streams into existence, God already proved His love for you and all humanity. Foreseeing and anticipating any creation brought forth into existence, humanity, His very personal creation would reject Him as Creator and rebel against Him as our heavenly Father. Even foreknowing the egregious depth and hatred an envious angel would have against beauty, goodness and truth would cause humanity to fall from God’s grace through sin, delusion, lies and deception, God still loved therefore God still created. Not that God creates us to fall or fail, rather in His perfect wisdom and immense love God desires freedom, free will, to freely share and freely respond to a life and a love with God. Fashioning creation in a way that constrains its will and subjects it to slavery of love is not love but enslavement, not freedom but imprisonment. God is the One who imprisons Himself and subjects Himself to the slavery of a sinful humanity so that by the humility of God, he may serve us, His precious creation in His love and in the very essence of His love, we can become through His grace the beloved of His heart and the apple of His eye. “The Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages” descends into our fallen state in a mission of the Father’s will to heal the broken hearted and to reconcile poor sinners to the Father’s grace once again. The name given to God’s beloved Son is the essence of His sacred mission. Jesus means He will save His people from their sins. Jesus descends into death to bring forgiveness and pardon to sinners. All sinners. Those who sin just a little, those who think they do not sin at all and even those sinners who habitually sin and rebel against God. God loves all sinners and desires correction and conversion of heart. Jesus freely submits to the Father’s desire to restore all creation once again. Jesus freely and lovingly suffers for us, dies for us, and rose on the third day for us. Jesus humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross to renew and restore what was lost through envy and sin in order that humanity may love perfectly once again and so enter ever more freely into a loving relationship and friendship with God as intended by the Father and Creator from the very beginning.  

When He entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken and asked, “Who is this?” If we knew and really understood who Jesus is, truly we would shake inside. Those who came to know Jesus through His prayer life and through His healing ministry became afraid when they encountered the holy and divine in His presence and in His presence their own weakness, sinfulness, and insecurity. In His presence, we experience both our own smallness and need of salvation. How often Jesus encouraged and said to His disciples not to be afraid of Him. To not doubt or disbelieve but rather to be confident and trust He was the Son of God and the Son of Man who was coming into the world to heal the broken hearted, to reconcile poor sinners to the Father and to one another and renew our loving relationship with God as His beloved children and his beloved creation. Do you know who this is? Do you know, truly know the One who created you in beauty, redeemed you in love, restored you to innocence, sanctified you in grace, saved you from death and welcomes you to eternal life? Do you know the One whose words have the power to heal, the mercy to forgive, the strength to move mountains, the spirit to lift up, the grace to renew to help you to start all over again? Do you know Jesus, really know Jesus who taught us how to pray and said, “Let there be light,” “Love one another as I have loved you,” “Behold, your mother,” “I thirst,” “You will be with me in Paradise,” “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Do you know the One who prayed to the Father for you, who intercedes to the Father for you, who asks that you will be one with Him as He and the Father are one? Do you know the One who asked the disciples to look deep within themselves and consider the truth about who He is when He asked them directly, “Who do you say that I am?” How do you respond to questions about His divinity or His identity when asked who do you say Jesus is? How will you respond to faith filled relatives, unbelieving strangers or fallen away friends you encounter on your own road or faith filled journey to Jerusalem, to Calvary or your own Emmaus? Perhaps we might need to rephrase the question to “who is this to you?” A valid response requires knowing Jesus personally and intimately through prayer.

“I trust in the LORD; my soul trusts in His word.” Will you come to the deep with me? These exact words the Lord expressed to me, but they relate to us all. Will you place your complete trust in the Lord and trust the Lord to forgive you, trust that He loves you, trust that He will provide everything you truly need? The deep is a place we long for and truly need but are afraid to let go of the fear of drowning in our sorrow, of being alone, of losing control of our life or entering the unknown. The Lord invites us not to think of the deep in terms of human constructs, images, thoughts, or experiences but rather as a spiritual exercise on trust. We think of the deep as dark, violent, filled with terrifying creatures, terrifying indeed. We think of large waves overwhelming us. We sink, are taken down, take in water, drown, and die. The Lord shows us a different image and suggests different thoughts to consider, ponder and pray. The deep God invites us into is calm, warm, sparkling blue. No one there but God and you. The water appears as a crystal blue clear sky with the most beautiful, radiant clouds as pockets of air and light that reflect God’s glory, reflecting God’s presence under the water. Like light that bounces off a crystal, God reflects beauty in the deep. The Lord extends a loving invitation come enter the deep with Him. No fear or concerns, no hesitation or anxieties, no worries, just you and the Lord in the silence of the calm. This is a heavenly invitation to deepen trust in the Lord. To surrender your fear and embrace God’s loving presence. God continues to invite and encourage trust in Him. He says, stay here with me, pray here with me, obey here with me, love here with me, minister from here with me. The Father invites us also to consider the unfortunate consequence of not being in this place is like a fish ensnared and caught in a net. As if one being hauled on to the shore and left to die. On the shore awaits war, darkness, chaos, division, death. If we remain in trust with the Lord, we live and are loved, cared for, and remain under God’s loving protection. The deep is a spiritual exercise of self-surrender and trust. Can you surrender yourself and surrender it all to God and simply trust that God will provide all you need and everything else?   

“Man sees the appearance but the Lord looks into the heart.” I recall once being so captivated in the middle of an Alaskan city by a snowcapped mountain. The waterfalls were not particularly impressive but nevertheless, beautiful. From a distance, one could not hear the water flowing but if you listened carefully by listening to it from your heart, you might have heard water flowing. That day, many individuals simply walked pass the scene photographing the city sites, taking pictures of themselves or just breezed by in conversation taking no notice as if the mountain was invisible, perhaps just one of the buildings or not worth the time, a glance or a look. It stopped me in my tracks. As vehicles passed by, I found myself just looking, wondering, taking it all in as if the mountain was speaking directly to me. I saw beauty, beheld goodness, saw truth but the mountain appeared sad, weeping as if wanting to be seen, noticed, heard. After several moments of stillness and silence, the city and all its noise disappeared. I realized that I was smiling and crying at the same time. I felt somehow at that instance, God captured my undivided attention. As I beheld God’s creation with such awe and wonder, I could sense and feel God’s merciful gaze looking upon me and able to penetrate and pierce my inmost heart and being. Through this mountain, God touched me with His eyes. Seeing God seeing me caused the inner coldness in me to be warmed by a smile and the inner sadness and weeping in me to be flooded with great joy. God looks into the heart. He invites us to take a moment and to do the same. We often see things on the outside by what we see or notice. However, we know looks are deceiving. We all have heard you cannot judge a book by its cover, yet we usually do. We project ourselves onto the image we see. Our vision skewed and impaired by our own limitations, by our own weaknesses, and our own insecurities causes us to be blind to God’s beauty, goodness, and truth in one another. We can misjudge by appearances and fail to see the hurt and weeping of another caused by coldness, indifference, humiliation, abuse, or neglect. We may miss seeing the pain or the suffering Christ in one another because the appearance was not impressive or beautiful like a snowcapped mountain or how we would see, judge, or perceive ourselves. God simply sees Him in you.    

“True worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth.” The Holy Spirit moves hearts and reveals God’s presence. He makes God truly known and felt. It is as if God were simply present all night watching, waiting, setting His gaze upon you as a parent would with a newborn child anticipating the moment to make their presence known and felt and welcome the child into the dawning of a new day. We rest, God watches. He smiles and waits. When one becomes aware that the night is far spent and morning is about to arrive, we often are not aware or ready to welcome a new day or look forward to the beginning of another day with its uncertainties or possibilities or its vulnerabilities or the opportunities it could bring. One quiet moment, in the stillness of the dawning of the day, God helped me in an instant to know He was there, watching, waiting to welcome me into His awesome presence. The truth is I had no words and did not know what to say. I wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind. God then read my heart and shared with me what my heart wanted to say. He said that I wanted to be honest with Him and less afraid. To speak honestly and share more openly with Him what was truly on my heart and really on my mind. Yes Lord, I pray for that. God then shared I wanted to engage Him in prayer as in a covenant mutually sharing our thoughts, feelings, and desires, sharing all life’s experiences from the heart. I acknowledged that was something I was hoping for as well. God then said that I wanted to be authentic and real with Him. Seriously Lord, you know me better than I know myself, better than anyone could ever know me. Yes Lord, it is true. I pray to be more authentic and real with you. To be genuine, not fake, or plastic or insincere but to share more freely and openly with you without false pretenses or trying to impress you in any way. Then God said I wanted to trust Him more. So thankful for the gift of being transparent with God. Lord, you see everything. Nothing is hidden from you. Yes Lord, I pray for the grace to place all my hope and trust in you, in your grace, in your word, in your holy will. Thank you, Lord, for revealing my heart and yours as well. HEART: Honest, Engagement, Authentic, Real, Trust.  

“Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.” Trust is such a fragile and delicate thing. We trust, we want to trust, we need to trust, we offer our trust to one another, to a spouse or friend, a family member or associate. Unfortunately, trust is often shattered, smashed, and betrayed. We are left bewildered wondering why a promise was broken, a commitment not kept or a confidence shattered. We risk losing and ending long-term friendships, fellowships and relationships built on trust, meant to last and founded on so much hope. We cannot trust anyone, including ourselves because we are also betrayers of confidence and trust. God has entrusted us with a message of hope, a gospel of life, a mission of love. Have we maintained the trust God has placed on all of us to listen to His beloved Son, Jesus? Has your poor heart ached and burned with the fire of eternal love to listen to God’s Word proclaimed to you personally at Mass, in liturgy, in prayer? Have you become a person of great prayer? Have you generously dedicated time from your busy schedule and day to know God more intimately, love Him more profoundly, serve Him more faithfully and minister in His holy name? Can you truly be trusted with sharing the Good News, faithfully receiving the Eucharist, joyfully celebrating the Sacraments, extend God’s peace, mercy, and forgiveness to others? Trust is the perfect gift we can offer our Lord this Lenten Season. God entrusted us with His Son even though He knew we would betray and crucify Him. We continue to betray Jesus when we break our baptismal promise to renounce sin and temptation and believe and trust in God. We say, “Jesus, I trust in you” but do we truly understand what we are saying and mean? Do we trust Jesus enough to care for us, provide for us, bestow His infinite love and divine mercy upon us? Do you trust that Jesus can forgive your sins? We all face difficulty with trust. Not that God cannot be trusted; God is faithful always and devoted in fidelity to His covenant. It is difficult to forgive, to heal, and trust again. Nevertheless, God gives us the remedy and the cure. Allow God to heal the betrayal you experienced. Permit God to flood you with His love, fill you with such gratitude that you can learn to trust again. Trust God always because He is trustworthy and will never betray you. Never has. Never will.

“Led by the Spirit into the desert… Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights.” I have come to learn, to believe, to rely on God, His Word, His grace, His Spirit to guide and lead me through the path of everlasting life. Honestly, left to us, without a good sense of direction or spiritual discernment, we would find ourselves in more situations and conversations that would lead us to more sadness, hurt, and disappoint. Left to our own judgement and imperfect knowledge, trying to navigate through life on our own without God’s help, leaves us vulnerable, unhappy, dissatisfied, and lost. Without God’s support, you may want to ask yourself, where are you going and plan to be if not led by the Spirit and the way God intends for you? God is the way of truth and the only way and the only life that guarantees us eternal happiness. So where are you going? Where are you heading? Is it a place of misery and mistrust or a place of genuine joy and unprecedented happiness? We tend not to want anyone to lead us but often choose to imitate and follow someone else. The Good Shepherd leads and guides us. Good leaders and good shepherds are those who unreservedly follow the Lord, imitate His deeds, are attentive to His voice and follow Him wherever He goes. The challenge of our journey is to come to intimately know and genuinely trust that God’s way is so much better than our own way. It is the only way. In His great mercy, God chose to free Israel from captivity and physical slavery then lead them into the desert to free them from their slavery and captivity to sin. God peeled back their physical attachments and invited them to detach from sinfulness and become more dependent and spiritually attached to God. Lent is a time of invitation to follow God into the desert and allow God to perform the same miracle for us. Cardinal Manning’s prayer for light is a good way to begin the journey. “O Holy Spirit of God, take me as your disciple. Guide me, illuminate me, sanctify me. Bind my hands, that they may do no evil. Cover my eyes, that they may see it no more. Sanctify my heart, that evil may not dwell within me. You are my God. You are my guide. Whatever you forbid me, I will renounce. And whatever you command me, in your strength I will do. Lead me then unto the fullness of your truth.” Amen 

“Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.” I love the gift of prayer. Truly a gracious gift from God. A grace that permits us sinful unworthy sinners to enter freely and gracefully onto sacred ground, into God’s holy presence, an intimate union with the Lord. Prayer is at the heart of who we are, for we are relationship, a community, a family, a response to God’s great love, the answer to his prayer. I am thankful to God for the many ways He graciously meets us in prayer. He lifts us up and takes us onto holy ground then He brings us into Holy Communion. At times, we need the words from a saint or a poem or sacred scripture to inspire us. At times we need to remain still and silent and simply be and receive what the Lord offers us in response to our prayer. At times we need someone to guide us or lead us into divine intimacy through meditation, contemplative, or reflective prayer. Sometimes we just need the Holy Spirit to speak directly to our hearts through a song, a lyric, an upbeat melody or one that moves us to tears. What a great gift prayer is. So many ways to pray, praise, and acknowledge our needs and cry to God for help and assistance. In moments when we feel nothing is working, I am thankful that we can pray. We are often plagued with situations we cannot control, change, or correct. We experience those difficult days, ever so impatient when nothing seems to go our way. We can’t seem to get a break. These are great opportunities for prayer. God always provides the wisdom, grace, and direction we need. In prayer, we are not in control, God is. Can we truly say that we are in control of any situation or conversation? Can we control the thoughts, responses, or actions of another? Are you able to control your anger, temptation, impatience, desire, or sin? In the end, we have the grace and power of holy baptism to renounce and say no to sin and to believe and say yes to God, His will, His Spirit, His grace. In the end, we have the power and freedom to respond to every situation and conversation. Yes, let us pray for patience for it is a virtuous gift and a great aid to prayer. However, let us pray for the grace to say yes to God and no to all that opposes Him.

“You shall call, and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and He will say: Here I am!” The one thing that most challenges us is the one thing, by God’s grace, that I have only recently come to appreciate and be most grateful and thankful for, that is my own sense of being so spiritually poor and spiritually weak in the presence of God. Our world teaches us, our parents instruct us, our friends inform us and our community encourages us to take a stand, be strong, independent, and to rely on our own strength and wisdom. To never be weak or vulnerable but instead be self-sufficient, self-dependable, self-reliable because no one can do it better than you. We say, they say, you say, if you want it done right the first time then do it yourself. What does that say about you? What does that say about the rest of us? Well, thanks be to God, He has helped me to embrace and be most grateful for my own poverty and spiritual weakness. In the presence of God, in the sight of our Creator, in the knowledge of my own creation and existence, with God’s help, I have come to know, experience, and appreciate the great poverty God has so graciously formed me. Seriously, how can we say we are wealthy, secure, or rich in anything but God? Without God, we have nothing. Possessing God and being possessed by Him makes us the riches people in the world or in the universe for that matter. For God said, “My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.” What? Hold up – what did you say? I am you son, your child, your beloved! I am here, in your presence, in your divine will always! Everything that is yours is mine! What more can one ask for? What more do we need? God’s grace must be enough. God’s grace must be sufficiently sufficient for all of us. We must learn to cry out to the Lord for grace and help. We must become spiritual poor, weak, vulnerable, and needy in the presence of the Almighty and beg for His divine grace. We must become poor beggars in God’s presence that He may graciously and lavishly pour out His gifts over us, enrich our poverty, and strengthen us in our weaknesses for we are truly heirs to God’s Kingdom. So, do not be afraid to cry out and say, “God come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me!”