Holiness – True North Missionaries Journal

Joyful Mystery

From the Annunciation to the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple. There is a lot of uncertainties within this series of decades in the Holy Rosary. It makes you wonder, why is it called the Joyful Mystery? The title of each decade is very exciting and it holds a beautiful story, but when we look deeper into each story what does it really say.

I was very inspired to write this reflection based off of Fr. Mike Schmitz’s video on “Having Joy in the Uncertainties”, which made me then realize the joy in the midst of this life of suffering. Momma Mary, in the Annunciation was approached by the angel Gabriel and was told that she would bare the Son of God. In response she said “Let it be done unto me according to thy word”, I never realized this until I watch the video with Fr. Mike, was that the very next sentence was “then the angel departed from her”. Can you imagine being in that moment, being told that you are going to have within you the Son of God and that was literally it? No context or anything. Like where do you go from there? No one told Mary and Joseph that they would have to go to Bethlehem and give birth to Christ in a manger. No one mentioned that they would have to flee to Egypt to save their Son from being killed. No one told Mary that she would have to witness her Son be tortured, spat on and crucified. There was so much uncertainty that the only thing that was certain was and still is the past. Yet, Momma Mary was still joyful. The Apostles were still joyful, they spread the Good News throughout the world. Through their suffering came out a lot of joy.

It is very humbling to know that in this life of suffering, there is joy that will follow. Yet, we do not know when or where that will come but we remain hopeful. I know for myself in this pandemic, at the beginning of the year, everything was set in stone, I was ready… then the NBA got cancelled, that’s when I knew things were going to change. It was so humbling for me to realize that everything can just be taken away in the snap of a finger. There was so much that was unexpected at that point in time that I had no choice but to rely on God and entrust myself to His will. It was hard to remain hopeful but after households, after one to ones I felt the joy and the hope that the Lord was wanting me to feel. To understand that I was being called to love in the uncertainty, to be joyful in the midst of the suffering. There is so much that I do not know and I can only pray the Lord, for you and I both, gives us the heart to overcome the world. To love beyond our capacities. There is joy and hope because God is with us.

Lord God, help us to entrust our lives to You in the midst of these times. There is so much uncertainty but with You we find hope and joy. Give us the strength to carry on. This we ask through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Christian

Anchored

I was blessed to be able to attend CCO (Catholic Christian Outreach) conference in 2019 entitled Rise Up. The pastoral theme for the conference revolved around being “Anchored”. Which stirred my heart into writing this reflection:

What is an “anchor”?

It is part of a ship first and foremost, but what does it do? It keeps the ship in place and that even in a storm it is able to stay in position. As I sit here in Adoration before Christ Himself, I wonder about everything. Anchor, how do I make Him my anchor in my life? I think one thing that I struggle with is keeping up my prayer life. I always give into sin. It holds me back and I want to change that.

The very first step is to accept Christ and to claim Him as God, our God. One who is so loving and forgiving, His mercy is so abundant… it is endless. That no matter how many times we sin, we fall, we give up, Christ is constantly there, asking us to let Him in, asking us to choose Him in everything. Small or big… how will these things or everyone we encounter bring us closer to Christ. We must accept Him. Hard, but it was never meant to be easy. Love in everything that we do, because it is only through love that we will find Christ, that we will find God in everything that we do.

We take chances in life. Risky? Yes, but that’s how we grow. We take risks – we would not be able to change for the better good if we did not. Not just any risk though, good risks, ones that would benefit into making you a better version of yourself. Christ meets us where we are at, yes. That doesn’t stop him from moving us though. He calls us to more, He calls us to make Him our anchor. That in life when we move, we are anchored in Him. In Him we find true joy, true love, true happiness. Why? Because He is God, Christ the Messiah, Christ Emmanuel… God forever with us.

Lord continue to be my anchor and . That in times of doubt, sin and fear, I see You through everything. Give me the strength to conquer my selfish desires and to instead bring You everywhere I go. Guide me to the path You call for me Lord. Guide me to holiness.

Amen.

Christian Medeiros

Presentation to the Present

PresentMary

On Friday, November 21, the Church celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The first reading that day, from the Book of Revelations, spoke of John eating the scroll given by the Angel. He ate it and and described it as “sweet as honey” in his mouth but then was made bitter in his stomach, just as the angel said it would. After the first reading, the responsorial Psalm was “How sweet to my taste is your promise!” How truly sweet are the promises of God—how beautiful, true, and good they are. I hear His words with great affection and allow it to enter my life so sweetly, but the bitterness is not in His promises, it’s my stomach. It’s in my heart and my stubbornness to truly allow His words to take root and change me.

However, there is hope for me because Jesus is at work in me just how He was at work at the temple when He drove out the bitter money changers and all those who turned the house prayer into a den of thieves (Gospel reading). By my own sinfulness, disobedience, selfishness, and pride, I have turned by body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit, into a den of thieves. Because of this, what should be a house of sweet prayer and worship of God, has been turned into the worship of so many other things. Despite my sinfulness, my Lord Jesus heroically and fearlessly drives out from my heart what should not be there each time I present myself to Him.

The Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary reminded me that my posture should be like Her’s, that is, one of presentation to the Lord, Who is the gift—the present. To present myself to the Present is to allow Him to do what He wants to me, with me, and in me. It’s to allow Him to drive out the things that are hindering me from true worship of the one true God. It’s about being obedient to the Church and His Mother which He has given me, to make me pure and holy, without blemish. It’s to allow Him, by His workings through the Sacraments and every grace, to make me a saint.

May Your Word, O LORD, be sweet as honey in my mouth, and most especially in my heart. May I not be bitter in receiving Your Love and allowing it to transform me. Prune me, blot out my transgressions, and make me white as snow. Amen.

Holy Fire

During TNC, “were not our hearts burning within us?” -Luke 24:32

A heart on fire doesn’t remain the same. It burns away the old wineskin. It melts the frozenness. It transforms the stone. It purges the impurities. It purifies. It illuminates and incinerates. It ascends into the Trinitarian eternal exchange of Love.

It’s not about excitement. It’s about holiness, and allowing God’s love to transform us to become more like Jesus Christ.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine. Amen.

Today, God Made Me Laugh

If you ask certain people, they’d say I’m funny. (I don’t agree with them) If you ask other people, they’d say I cross way too many lines. (I agree with them) I’d say I’m one to enjoy a good laugh, even if it meant to be at the expense of others. (I’m sorry to those whom I do it very often to. You guys know who you are. We’ll talk soon.) But there are certain issues that I rarely laugh about, in fact if a certain topic is brought up in a certain way – my emotions flare up and I go berserk. Well maybe not berserk-berserk, but you get what I mean. The topic of God is one.

About two years ago I was introduced to the concept that humour, joy, and laughter are part of a healthy spiritual life through a couple of books by Fr. James Martin, SJ. (One of my favourite priests/authors) To be honest, when I read about that subject, I found it to be sketchy. How can an all powerful, almighty, all knowing God be funny? Well Fr. Jim did an awesome job in making me understand that it was indeed not just a possible but a very certain reality that God is a God of joy.

Fast forward to a few months back, I was able to read a book by Matthew Kelly – The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic. It was really a practical guide on how one can be a better Catholic. Of course, so I can “look like I know my stuff” – I tweeted one of the lines that spoke to me. Little did I know that it wouldn’t get sent. So when I was cleaning my twitter drafts, I saw this there. So I decided to tweet it yesterday.

So I was a bit surprised while I was on my way to the office to get a reply from somebody I did not know. He said this.

Twitter___KevinMuico___bracealmighty__RobinGrainger____

My first reaction was to flare up. Who the heck is this guy. Why is he saying that what I quoted was crap. So I did a quick search on google, a found out that there is a Matthew Kelly from Britain who has a 90s show. So I responded that I was quoting a different guy, and I don’t believe that the quote was crap. And it escalated quickly.

As I was walking to the office, I was already thinking of ways to defend the faith in 140 characters – well less than given that I needed to tag these two guys. My emotions were high. Then I said to myself, that verse is familiar. So I looked it up and it was…

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. – Matthew 11:28

And I burst into laughter.

Today is the feast day of St. Philip Neri, the patron saint of humour. Both of the guys “mocking” me (well they said they were mocking the TV show) were actually british comedians. And the verse capped it off – I don’t bear the burden of defending what I believe to be true. God can defend Himself. In fact theology and philosophy will point this out to be true. I come to God so I can rest in the One who loves me.

God was doing a prank on me, if I was actually listening to Him during my prayer time this morning. If I was looking to the Saint who found way to holiness through joy.

Today’s Gospel says:

You also are witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning. – John 15:27

I am called to bear witness to the gospel, the good news. If I am not joyful, then the medium hinders the message. The message is love – and in, with, and through it – we find faith, hope, peace and above all joy. Today I found joy in a weird circumstance. But it is still joy found in the Lord.

Saint Philip Neri, we take ourselves far too seriously most of the time. Help us to add humour to our perspective — remembering always that humour is a gift from God. Amen

PS. You can read the rest of the conversation here: https://twitter.com/KevinMuico/statuses/470666370322280448

Love Him

If my goal is to love Jesus perfectly then I need to look to Mother Mary who loved Him more than anyone that has walked this earth. No wonder why I need her help? She loved Jesus the most perfectly and she helps us all love Him the same. It’s also amazing to know that she loves me just as much as she loves her Son. Such tender mercy she has for all of us.

Thank You, God, for giving me a Mother who, with the Holy Spirit, nurtures my growth in Christ. Amen.

Blessed_Virgin_Mary

Our Call

“You are called to holiness.

That may mean that you are a nun or a lawyer. You may be a mother or a single professional. But God’s will for your life is the same: holiness, no matter who you are. That is why we are created. We are created to be holy in love, in love with God, in love with other people, and in love with the community of believers. That’s what we are all destined for – holiness in love.

When you suffer, you are being conformed to the image of Jesus. When you pray, you are being made holy in the image of Jesus. When you quietly serve a person in need, you are being shaped into the image of Jesus. When you generously give, your heart is being remade into the image of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.”

– Allen Hunt, Confessions of a Mega Church Pastor