

Daily Reading
Monday of the Seventh Week of Easter
Reading 1 Acts 19:1-8 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and down to Ephesus where he found some disciples. He said to them,…
Saint of the Day
Reading 1 Acts 19:1-8 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and down to Ephesus where he found some disciples. He said to them,…
Reading 1 Acts 19:1-8 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and down to Ephesus where he found some disciples. He said to them,…
Ten years ago today my Dad died. My Mom has been lost in the darkness without him as a guiding light after their amazing 50 year journey together as husband and wife. She has been forced to make changes in her life. It has not been an easy transition for her or my sisters, me, and our families.
St. John of the Cross, born Juan de Yepes y Álvarez, was a contemplative Discalced Carmalite priest, monk and doctor of the Church. He felt a call to reform the Carmalite order and received approval from the Papal Nuncio in Spain to do just that. The changes did not go over well with many of his fellow monks. They imprisoned John for eight and a half months, placing him in a tiny cell with no window. The only light he had to pray his breviary came from the hole in the wall to the room next door.
During this time St. John wrote “The Dark Night of the Soul”. Here is a contemporary paraphrase from Fr. Richard Conlin of the necessity of dark night in spiritual life.
“Until a soul is placed by God in the passive purgation of that dark night… it cannot purify itself completely from these imperfections nor from the others.… No matter how much an individual does through his own efforts, he cannot actively purify himself enough to be disposed in the least degree for the divine union of the perfection of love. God must take over and purge him in that fire that is dark for him.”
Jesus tells the parable of the son who went back and did the work he was supposed to do but first said no to his father. The son changed his mind. He did his work in the vineyard. He did what he was called to do by his father.
My father told his daughters to care for his wife and our mother. We wholeheartedly agreed to the task. My Mom however does not believe she needs any assistance at this stage in her life. She does not see a beloved mother who has become reclusive and remiss in necessary tasks and personal care. She pushes away inquiries or offers of help, as she is ‘just fine.’
Zephaniah reminds us to take refuge in the Lord. ‘You need not be ashamed of all your deeds…’ Correction or insight from another can point the way to enlightenment. Each person must acknowledge the correction and make a choice to do what is right in the eyes of God. Everyone has a dark time (or more) to work through, even chief priests, monks, moms, and especially me. We each must commit to do what the Father has called us to, our own individual specific tasks.
Father, help me through the darkness. Enlighten my mind to the tasks and changes that need to be made in my life to the hope found in Your love. Amen.
Beth Price is part of the customer care team at Diocesan. She is a Secular Franciscan (OFS) and a practicing spiritual director. Beth shares smiles, prayers, laughter, a listening ear and her heart with all of creation. Reach her here bprice@diocesan.com.
Feature Image Credit: M. Marlowe, https://unsplash.com/photos/My4whL2BBVg
Reading 1 Acts 19:1-8 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and down to Ephesus where he found some disciples. He said to them,…
It has been so fun doing “girly things” with the new baby. Family and friends love to give her cute outfits, bows for her hair and pink toys. One of her newest additions is a soft little dolly that she likes to hold and chew on. My coworker gave it to her and said, “Hmm, what should we call her? How about Lucy!” I thought that was a perfect name.
When I saw that today was the Feast of St. Lucy, it made me smile. Not only is the little dolly a light and a joy to my infant daughter, but St. Lucy is a light to us by her example as a Christian martyr.
In today’s Psalm, we ask the Lord to be our light and our guide: “Your ways, O LORD, make known to me; teach me your paths, Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior. Remember that your compassion, O LORD, and your kindness are from of old. In your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O LORD. Good and upright is the LORD; thus he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice, he teaches the humble his way.
A week or so ago we lost power at our house. It was already evening and quite dark. So we got out the flashlights and the boys had a blast playing flashlight tag in the basement. The next day they said they wished the power would go out again! All the while, I was worried about them freezing in their beds and the two weeks worth of groceries I had just bought going bad.
My boys were not frightened by the darkness simply because they had light and could see the way. We cannot see the way without light. When we cannot see the way, we become frightened. The Lord is our light and He guides us in truth and goodness and love.
May this halfway point in Advent find us continually searching for the brightness of God’s guidance. May we repeat with the Psalmist, “Teach me your ways, O Lord.”
Tami Urcia grew up in Western Michigan, a middle child in a large Catholic family. She spent early young adulthood as a missionary in Mexico, studying theology and philosophy, then worked and traveled extensively before finishing her Bachelor’s Degree in Western Kentucky. She loves tackling projects, finding fun ways to keep her little ones occupied, quiet conversation with the hubby and finding unique ways to love. She works at her parish, is a guest blogger on CatholicMom.com and BlessedIsShe.net, runs her own blog at https://togetherandalways.wordpress.com and has been doing Spanish translations on the side for over 20 years.
Feature Image Credit: Patrick Fore, https://unsplash.com/photos/74TufExdP3Y
Reading 1 Acts 19:1-8 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and down to Ephesus where he found some disciples. He said to them,…
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