Gentleness and Normalcy

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

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This feels like a different type of Word for the Week entry! Mainly because the past few weeks of Sunday Mass have felt so normal. Which, in turn, feels unusual for me. I feel like both being on tour (which I was three weeks ago) and being at home feel comfortable and "typical" now. It's really comforting.

Three Sundays back, my Word for the Week was, “very small matters.” The context was the Gospel of Luke, chapter 16: “The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones”

I felt the Lord asking me to stay true to my personal boundaries, and to be content in this season of sabbatical without rushing to pick up other projects. Even though I was on a previously-scheduled tour, I ended up saying no to a number of new invitations. Already, I’ve seen how those invitations are being presented again in healthier ways, and I’ll be able to say “yes” from a stronger position!

Then, two Sundays ago, the word that stood out (at our normal Mass time, at our normal parish in AZ) was “pursue... gentleness,” from 1 Tim. 6:11. In prayer over the course of last week, I felt the Lord inviting me to be gentle with myself.

I’ve been a runner since I was 16! I’ve gone running regularly, and kept up a very fast pace in so many aspects of life.

These days, I run maybe once a week. Even the weekly run is interspersed with walking. It reminds me of St. Paul, in 1 Corinthians chapter 9, when he writes about running so as to win the race. The next line, verse 25, says: “Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.”

I’m realizing lately that recovery is crucial in an athlete’s life. Whether from the normalcy of training or in the aftermath of an injury, recovery makes continued exercise possible. Is there anywhere in your life where you sense a desire for more rest?

Maybe that desire is the Lord inviting us to be gentle with ourselves, even if it’s in the “very small matters.”

In closing, the word I’m carrying with me from Mass on Sunday is, “the vision still has its time.” The reading from Habakkuk reassured me that in the midst of all this gentleness and even as I’m pacing myself, God is still unfolding His promise in my life. I’m not going to miss out on what He has for me by resting a bit more. Quite the opposite!

Amen. :)

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Special thanks to VIP Patrons:

Dick Safranski
Jordan Mendez
Julian Padilla
Jessica Cook
Kate Hicks
Deacon Tim & Lily Roberto
Carrie Brzezinski
Elizabeth Herberg

To become an Amanda Vernon Patron and receive a “New Music Every Month,” signup at amandavernon.com/patron.

This One's Practical!

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

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Last Sunday, we attended our home parish, at a new Mass time. It was an evening liturgy with candlelight, incense, and contemporary worship music. At one point during Mass, our eldest daughter, Chiara, leaned over with widened eyes and whispered, “This is a beautiful Mass!” Meanwhile, the word that stood out to me seemed very practical this week.

It was the psalm response, “I will rise and go to my father.” 

Providentially, this week I am going to visit my dad in Michigan! Not to mention, David and I also had the opportunity this week to procure plane tickets to bring our kids to visit our parents! It seems like the Lord is giving me very practical directives to spend time with my father (and my father-in-law)!

In the grand scheme of things, visits to see friends and family might not seem like a major event. Yet in these small details of life, I'm feeling comforted that God is here guiding and protecting me.

An uplifting passage of scripture that also speaks to the practicality of God's call, is about King David. He had just written instructions for his son, Solomon, to build the temple. 1 Chronicles 28 details many specifications that David included for Solomon. At the end of many directives, King David offers this encouragement:

“Be strong and steadfast, and go to work; do not fear or be dismayed, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or abandon you before you have completed all the work for the service of the house of the LORD."

What work has the Lord set in front of you today? Maybe it's very simple and straightforward, almost like an instruction manual. However the Lord is calling you—whether through the practical, the ethereal, or both—let's trust Him to bring His work to completion in us, in His time and by His strength.

Amen.

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Special thanks to VIP Patrons:

Dick Safranski
Jordan Mendez
Julian Padilla
Jessica Cook
Kate Hicks
Deacon Tim & Lily Roberto
Carrie Brzezinski
Frances Jones
Elizabeth Herberg

To become an Amanda Vernon Patron and receive a “New Music Every Month,” signup at amandavernon.com/patron.

Attentive Listening

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

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Two Sundays ago, the Word that stood out to me, initially, was “...joy of the wise,” from the first reading.

After I went to sleep that night, I woke up and realized that my throat was aching. To be precise, I realized my throat had been aching for an entire week. It had to be more than a virus. (Likely, it’s an acid-reflux flare up. I've had excellent vocal health for years, but since I’ve made many changes to my diet lately, my throat seems to be inflamed!)

The next morning, I thought something like, “What is the joy of the wise? If it’s ‘silence,’ I’m in trouble.” After a quick search for the full-length reading, this is what I discovered. It’s from my favorite book of the Bible, Sirach, 3:29.

The mind of a sage appreciates proverbs, and an attentive ear is the joy of the wise.

Well, naturally. On the week that my throat continues to ache non-stop, I get a word about attentive listening! Very funny.

“Lord, what do you want me to do about this word?”

The obvious first answer was to talk less and listen more! Which was necessary, because of my throat.

Another answer, however, has come more subtly. I got the sense that the Lord wanted me to rejoice in the fruits of listening to him about where we live. After all, it was through a distinct “inner” voice that I first believed we were called to live in Arizona. My husband and I trusted that calling. We listened.

Recently, I’ve experienced many blessings of where we live, with new insight. The wide open skies, the sunsets. The mountains, the symbolism of the desert as a place of purification. The parish that we ended up at, the diversity of people at the local grocery store, the Mexican influence everywhere. The fact that Target is only a 2-minute drive from our house!

Have you seen the beautiful painting of The Annunciation by Henry Ossawa Tanner? What feelings does the image evoke for you? The quiet light that radiates in the room looks both tender and explosive to me. It also seems like Mary is in her typical setting, in her own bed. Maybe we can learn from this image, that miracles are breaking through in our own homes.

Let’s pray!

“Lord, thank you for revealing Yourself to us through your Word. Help us to listen. Thank you for the blessings that you give us as we lean in to Your calling. Please make your home in our hearts. We love you. Amen.”

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Special thanks to VIP Patrons:

Dick Safranski
Jordan Mendez
Julian Padilla
Jessica Cook
Kate Hicks
Deacon Tim & Lily Roberto
Carrie Brzezinski
Frances Jones
Elizabeth Herberg

To become an Amanda Vernon Patron and receive a “New Music Every Month,” signup at amandavernon.com/patron.

Passover

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

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Last Sunday, the first line of the first reading stood out to me in particular.

Lately, on the drive to Mass, David plays a recording of the Mass readings for our family to listen to. It seems to help the kids to calm down a bit from the chaos of getting into the van on Sunday morning.

Why is that so chaotic? Anyway.

This week, I sense that the Lord is asking me to have courage for whatever events transpire. Here's the passage:

"The night of the passover was known beforehand to our fathers,

 that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith,

 they might have courage."

The main word that I've been carrying with me is "passover." I'll keep this reflection brief, because I'm en route for a therapeutic treatment experience. It'll be a retreat to address a lot of the healing that I've been going through in this time off from full-time touring.

Want to pray with me?

Jesus, please help us to trust that whatever events happen in our lives this week, you are sovereign. We trust you to protect us through any storms that come our way. Thank you for being our ultimate Lamb of Sacrifice in the Passover meal that you give to us.

Amen.

___

Special thanks to VIP Patrons:

Dick Safranski
Jordan Mendez
Julian Padilla
Jessica Cook
Kate Hicks
Deacon Tim & Lily Roberto
Carrie Brzezinski
Frances Jones
Elizabeth Herberg

To become an Amanda Vernon Patron and receive a “New Music Every Month,” signup at amandavernon.com/patron.

Holy Joy

Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:

share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.

---

At long last, we chose a home parish! Here's the caveat: we decided to settle into this parish for one year and then reassess. That seems to be the best I can do right now.

So there we were, at our home parish, two Sundays ago. And I was feeling queasy. As I've been sharing here on my blog, I've been recovering from an eating disorder.

I ate breakfast before Mass, but I felt lightheaded and out of sorts during the liturgy. The word that stood out to me was from the opening prayer, the collect. I found the text on a website for the Diocese of Fort Worth (thanks, Texas!):

O God, who in the abasement of your Son
have raised up a fallen world,
fill your faithful with holy joy,
for on those you have rescued from slavery to sin you bestow eternal gladness.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever, amen.

Holy joy. Whenever I hear "joy" in the scripture, I take it personally (because Joy is my middle name)! As Mass went on, I continued to feel ill. Eventually, I left to eat part of a protein bar.

When I returned to the pew, David whispered that he thought I could still receive the Eucharist because it was a medical need. "But I broke my fast," I protested. So at Communion, I approached for a blessing only.

After Mass, I waited in line to speak with our pastor. He sat down with me at the back of the church, after all of the other parishioners had departed.

It was such a comforting conversation. He already knew about my recovery process, but I explained how it is hard to know how to fast these days.

"You're caught in a shame cycle," he accurately summed up how I was feeling.

"Yes! But if I wasn't doing this to myself then I wouldn't even have this problem and then I could fast!" I tried to pinpoint the issue, with tears in my eyes.

Our pastor was able to help me see that I am doing my best right now. Ultimately, David had been correct. In effect, this is a medical condition and it's okay to treat it as such.

I was able to receive Communion after Mass! As the week went on, I thought about the words "holy joy," and about another bit of wisdom from that conversation with our pastor.

To paraphrase, he said, "It sounds like you think you need to get better on your own. No, God calls us to holiness but He is the one who is going to accomplish it for us."

God's the one who makes us holy. I love that. And He is certainly ushering in change right now that I couldn't have planned or predicted. Oh, by the way: turns out I had the flu last week, in the end.

So I'm grateful to be feeling better, and grateful that the flu allowed for these moments of grace with our new pastor in our (official) home parish.

What about you? Can you see the hand of God orchestrating change in any aspect of your life, where you wouldn't be able to summon up change on your own?

Kind of like when the Israelites stood at the foot of the Red Sea; they needed a miracle. God made it abundantly clear that it was He who parted the waters for them. What's the Red Sea in your life today?

Let's pray: Lord, as we stand at the water's edge, like the Israelites at the Red Sea, we know you are calling us further into your love and mercy. Please part the waters and we will walk through. Thanks for hearing and answering us before we even ask. Amen!

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Special thanks to VIP Patrons:

Dick Safranski
Jordan Mendez
Julian Padilla
Jessica Cook
Kate Hicks
Deacon Tim & Lily Roberto
Carrie Brzezinski
Frances Jones
Elizabeth Herberg

To become an Amanda Vernon Patron and receive a “New Music Every Month,” signup at amandavernon.com/patron.