Why do we love the Blessed Virgin Mary? Is it her purity and beauty? Her goodness? Her Immaculate Conception? Yes, and more. How can we not love her?

Jesus, hanging on the tree of the cross, gave Mary to us. She, kneeling before the Angel Gabriel, gives her “Yes.” With her YES, she gives us Jesus. Blessed Clelia’s profound insight follows:

“The consent of a woman decided the fall of humankind and so the consent of a woman would decide the redemption. The union of the Divine Word with humanity—this was the first and real marriage of which every other had to be only an image and sign. In matrimony there must be the consent of both parties; so, for the Incarnation the consent of both parties was needed: that of the Word of God, the Bridegroom of humanity, and that of His Bride, represented by Mary."

“He therefore awaited her consent. Mary entered into the work of redemption, not as a slave carrying out the orders of a master as though by force, but deliberately, freely, and fully her own master so that Christ not only was to come from her womb, but even more so, from her heart."

"And what does Mary decide? ‘Behold the handmaid of the Lord, let it be done to me according to Your Word’ expresses her perfect holiness. The entire perfection of a soul consists not in having one's own way, but having only the will to do and to suffer all that pleases the Lord. And such is the disposition of Mary's heart. She neither exalts herself by thinking of the dignity and joys of being the Mother of God, nor is she daunted by the sacrifices which would be asked of her and which would make her the Mother of Sorrows and Queen of Martyrs, even before Mother of Consolation and Queen of Heaven. In perfect calmness of spirit, she abandons herself totally to the plans of God.”

Show your love for Mary by praying the Angelus (above right) everyday as a way to keep Advent and prepare for Christmas. Pray this three times a day — 6:00 AM, Noon and 6:00 PM — and recall Mary’s YES to God’s Will for her.

"Let us learn to be Apostles, not in name only, but in the spirit of the twelve Apostles.” These words of Blessed Clelia remind us of the mission we embrace when we renew our Baptismal Promises at every Easter Vigil, Baptism and Confirmation. It’s not my mission or your mission. It’s Jesus’ Mission because He is the One sent by the Father. By Baptism, we are plunged into Jesus’ death and resurrection so we share His life; we participate in His Mission.

We need to remember WHO we are and WHO we are called to be during these tough times of COVID19. We are called as apostles to share our faith and to encourage each other as we meet stressful challenges. Jesus sent the twelve Apostles out to proclaim the Good News, the Gospel. Apostles are sent; we are sent. If we love God, we need to show some enthusiasm, some zeal, some fire in the belly.

On Saturday, October 17, Fr. Sorgie blessed the shrine dedicated to Blessed Clelia Merloni. The heart of the shrine is the exquisite statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Jesus is the focal point to which the portrait of Blessed Clelia points as if it were concretely revealing the dynamic union she shared with the Heart of Jesus. The Mission Lamp containing her relic is positioned between her and Jesus. It visually reminds us of that zeal that impelled Clelia to embrace the Mission of Jesus. Ignited by the love of Jesus’ heart, she sought to comfort and care for the needs of the homeless, hungry and immigrants. Blessed Clelia embodies the motto of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, “Caritas Christi Urget Nos,” the love of Christ impels us.

At our Baptism, our parents and godparents received a lit candle depicting the light of Faith: the fire of Love, the burning coal of Hope we received. We need to fan into flame these sacred gifts and proclaim the Good News of God’s saving love, revealed to us in the Heart of His Son. When I was a little girl and the sky grew dark, the winds blew and the lights went out, my mother lit our Baptismal Candles. The light and warmth from them dispelled the darkness, fear and gloom. This is what we must do: “Learn to be Apostles, not in name only, but in the spirit of the twelve Apostles.” Why? “Zeal is the duty not only of the Apostles but of every Christian,” taught Blessed Clelia.

When we go to pray at the shrine, we may enter into the profound relationship of Blessed Clelia with Jesus who desires this same relationship with us. He calls us to put our Baptismal Promises into our lives and participate in His Mission.

How? By participating in the PREP-sponsored Coats & Cans Drive in the parking lot of Immaculate Conception Church:

Saturday, Nov. 7, from 3:30-5:00 PM

Do you sometimes feel you are on a raft in the middle of the sea and the winds and waves just keep beating and blowing, making it barely possible to hold on, let alone stand? Who doesn’t sometimes? We do not live in easy times. Challenges just seem to keep coming. This might not be what we want or would choose, but it’s what God has given us. Why? I don’t know.

HOPE! Several families have spoken with me about experiencing a reset. Some changes are painful and hard; others, lifegiving and necessary. We need to admit that we stand in the middle of grieving for what was while asking: Do I survive or thrive? Your answers to these two questions will help you determine that.

On a scale of 1-5, how important is God in your life?

1. I’ve heard of Him!
2. We talk once in a while!
3. Close but not too close!
4. Close to me!
5. The Center of My life!

1. Standing at the door looking in
2. At His Table
3. At His Feet
4. In His Arms
5. In His Heart

When tempers flare, what do you do? Is it us against them? As a family, we have a challenge: do we stay united, despite our differences, or do we stop talking to each other?

In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis teaches: "Conflict cannot be ignored or concealed. It has to be faced. But if we remain trapped in conflict, we lose our perspective, our horizons shrink, and reality itself begins to fall apart. In the midst of conflict, we lose our sense of the profound unity of reality. [...] When conflict arises, some people simply look at it and go their way as if nothing happened; they wash their hands of it and get on with their lives. Others embrace it in such a way they become its prisoners; they lose their bearings, project onto institutions their own confusion and dissatisfaction, and thus make unity impossible." (Paragraphs 226 and 227)

What about you? Do you look the other way? Do you embrace conflict and become a prisoner of it? "But there is also a third way," Pope Francis continues, "and it is the best way to deal with conflict. It is the willingness to face conflict head on, to resolve it, and to make it a link in the chain of a new process." What does that look like?

1. Face it head on! Identify specifically about that which we disagree. Is it words or attitudes or interpretation?
2. Resolve it! Bring it to an end!
3. Make it a link. My brother and I were discussing the choice a financially-strapped friend made to keep his son in a Catholic school. My brother considered it a waste, and I vehemently disagreed! As a Catholic school teacher for most of my life, I support Catholic education and defended our friend's decision. Round and round we went. At one point, I realized that this conversation was a "make it or break it moment" in our relationship. Either we found a way to end the conflict, or we would stop speaking to each other. After a quick prayer, I asked: "Can we agree to disagree? Our relationship means more to me than me being right or me trying to convince you. Can we agree to disagree?" The conflict ended. By agreeing to disagree, we strengthened our relationship, and we took one step further on the road to transparency by our honesty and openness. Having the freedom to speak the truth we saw led us to a deeper respect for each other.

Do you need silence? I do! Especially after a full day of attending to family, coworkers, and friends, I need some quiet; some alone time. It’s not that I don’t love them, but I need time to regroup; time to be. I need a little time to remember who God calls me to be. The silence calls me to step out of the pressure cooker of doing and to drink deeply from the well of the Presence of Him; He who makes the sun rise each day and calls the evening breeze to rise up and cool me after the heat of the day.

After all the noise and confusion, I crawl into my heart space, where God is present. I need to be with Him. Just be, not do. Like two old people holding hands or two young people looking into each other’s eyes, I need to sit in God’s presence and let Him love me. In this brief space, silence reigns. God is God, and I am His beloved child.

God calls me to be as Mary was: open and empty, ready to receive the gift He wants to give me.

A lovely poem captures this:

And when the hour had come that was to move
The long days onward up to Bethlehem,
Until a faint new cry should break across
Our air that had not heard such cry before,
Weighted with ungarnered potencies,
High portent unreleased, and tremulous
With mercies still unsaid, a moment paused
Above a quiet place, and found, just this,
A woman wrapped in silence, and the seed
Of silence was her heart that tried to give
All that it held to give, and ever more.

Spilled all about her, pooled in radiance,
The guardian brightness of God’s favor lay,
Like light, too luminous to bear the trace
Of shadow, too intense, too strong for sight.
No vision here is ours. Nor Gabriel’s
Who, shred in his sanctity, was sent
To stand here, lonely and apart, to speak
In whispers that which only God could see

Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee:
Blessed are thou among women.
The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and
The power of the most High will overshadow you;
and for that reason the holy child to be born
will be called “Son of God.”
Moreover, your kinswoman, Elizabeth
has herself conceived a son in her old age;
And she who is called barren is now in her sixth month,
For nothing is impossible with God.

-- John W. Lynch

Our Blessed Lady heard the voice of an angel because she was waiting and listening for God. Did Mary often pray: "Be still and know that I am God?"

How is God calling you to enter the silence? How can you include the practice of silence into your life?

Yep! And yet, this moment is all I have. Regardless of pressing appointments or the pressure of due dates, all I have is this moment. What’s behind is the past; anything coming is the future. What I do with this moment, right now, makes a difference.

An example, 100 days ago I started studying Italian for 10 to 15 minutes a day. Yesterday, I received a report stating that I had studied for 56 hours, learned 2,009 words, and completed 831 lessons! This made me realize that the few minutes I waste here and there add up. When I first started, my goal was to learn Italian, not to set a record of 100 days or to learn a certain number of words. What I did for a few minutes every day made a big difference. This made me think about time, especially since we just began a new year.

Blessed Clelia taught:

“Time is as valuable as God Himself because each well used moment is able to gain for us the enjoyment of God for all eternity. Time is of such great value that God only gives it drop by drop without ever giving two moments at the same time. If one cannot use that one moment which passes like a flash and if it is not seized in its passing, it is lost forever, irreparably lost."

“Don’t waste time uselessly, because time is precious. Time is worth as much as heaven because heaven is the reward given by God Himself for its good use."

“A single moment well used merited for the good thief, in spite of the sins of his past life, possession of paradise."

“…If because of the holiness of our life we may have been worthy of paradise, one good moment used well could gain for us another degree of glory and of eternal happiness, that is, a new heaven within heaven itself."

“Time is worth as much as the Blood of Jesus Christ because this Blood is the price with which we have been ransomed in all the moments of our life.”

Wow! Time is worth as much as the Blood of Jesus!

As we walk into this New Year, what will you do with the small pockets of time you have each day? Will you read for 10 minutes from one of the Gospels? Will you pray a decade of the Rosary? Will you participate at one of the daily Masses (see image)? Will you practice a new skill? Will you call a friend? How will you thank God for waking up in the morning and going to sleep at night? How will you use the gift of God called the “Present?”

Am I stuck in the mud of time? You bet! Only when I enter heaven will I be free from the mud of time.