Good Shepherd Sunday

Today, after an incredibly rich four hour retreat yesterday, eleven very happy children received our Lord for the very first time. May they always remain in His love! Congratulations to Sophie, Kolbe, Sophia, Ashlyn, Suraya, Jacob, Madison, Allie, Matthew, Nate and Michael - it's been a blessing sharing this journey with you :-)

Thank you Father Alberic, JoAnn Origer, Joyce Colyer, Sarah Buescher, Sabine Summerville and all the parents for all you did to help us to prepare!

Holy Week

Sunday began Holy Week. In the words of my friend Leonie, "Holy Week boldly proclaims His love and presence and ushers in the rejoicing of Easter. Even when we don’t feel His presence, Holy Week reminds us that he has been there all along. He will be there all along. There is that sense of suffering-with, and that glorious recognition, in our noisy lives, of the joy of the Resurrection."

Yesterday, Archbishop Gustavo blessed the Holy Oils at the Chrism Mass. Tomorrow we begin the three day liturgy leading to the Glory of the Resurrection! Too often these days tend to be spent doing last minute things for Easter - oh no, your sandals are too small! What happened to your white sweater??? What are we going to eat!?! How can we arrange work and school for everyone that we can get to Mass?

Instead, I'm taking a deep breath and reflecting on the important stuff ;-) Seven years ago my now 13 year old gathered sheep around the Last Supper work and sat with it a long time. She'd recently made the discovery that we are the sheep and that reality spoke to her in a very profound way. There, at the table of the Last Supper, Jesus the Good Shepherd shared how He would remain with us forever. The next day, He gave His life for His sheep. In our own lives, we are invited to share in both the suffering of the cross and the joy of the resurrection. Perhaps the suffering intensifies the joy. It's a deep theology and it is the children who have opened it up for me.

My prayer for you is that you will listen to the whisper of our Lord as He invites us to stay awake with Him during the Triduum - to spend some silent moments just being with the one who loves us most and gave His all just so we can be eternally united with Him!

~ Beate