Blog Archives

Glorify God in Your Body

5/31/2019

In a time when substance abuse and various addictions enslave so many in our community, we do well to recall the words of St. Paul: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We must treat our bodies with respect, a sign that we accept and love the gift of our life that God has given us and saved through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus. Establishing such a theological backdrop enables us to then explore practical ways of preventing, or dealing with, substance abuse issues as they arise.

Jesus came to save us, body and soul. That is a point worth repeating, because we tend to over spiritualize our faith. Jesus came to save us, body and soul. Jesus says in the Gospel of John: I came that they may have life, and have it to the full (10:10). We human beings are a body-spirit unity. What affects the body affects the soul; what affects the soul affects the body. God, in the Person of Jesus, meets us where we are and lifts us up to Himself. Our bodies are good; they are the conduits of God’s grace. To put it in the words of St. Thomas Aquinas, “grace builds on nature.”

Here at St. Aidan’s, we seek to share the faith with you AND offer tools for putting it into practice. Being a Christian is a way of life, not an optional extra we discard at will. Our faith is supposed to inform all of our choices in life because it is in this life and through this body that each of us is called and gifted by God to turn to Him and find salvation.

It was with this theological backdrop that we welcomed Karen Bonanno of the Livonia Save Our Youth Coalition to speak on Sunday, May 19th with the parents enrolled in our family formation program. Our 7th & 8th graders were also present. The Coalition educates and empowers us regarding the health and safety of our young people. Karen eloquently did this by talking about the vital role of a parent’s love, experience and responsibilities in the formation of their children. Karen also helped the middle schoolers present to see that they can trust their parents, and have a responsibility for their own safety and wellbeing. Also discussed was vaping, gateway drugs, addiction, and the opioid epidemic. For resources and help, visit: livoniasaveouryouth.org.

Glorify God in your body!

David J. Conrad

Actual Evidence of Progress

5/31/2019

At our last Family Faith Formation Session, I had the pleasure of meeting with the 6th graders alone, while the 7th and 8th graders were with “Livonia Save Our Youth Coalition” for an age appropriate presentation on dangers of drugs and addiction. I presented a chapter that we started the junior high off with only two years ago when we launched the new family formation approach. The chapter introduces the purpose of the series with a session titled “Why am I here?” Two years ago, when we asked the question, “What are five goals you want from your life?” we got very typical junior high answers. - Fast cars, fame, fortune, and maybe a smattering of family, faith and, only one or two considered eternal life in heaven. The question sort of set them up to write the wrong answer so that I could say, “but wait, will any of that get you into heaven?"

Well, in only two years, I am here to tell you things have changed with our junior high students. These 6th graders, soon to be 7th graders, were not to be tricked. Almost all had “to get into heaven” on their list when asked to fill out the same worksheet. There was a “find a renewable energy” and an “improve myself so I can be a saint” among the answers. At one point in the small group discussion, I found myself saying, “Well it seems this lesson is a waste of this table’s time, and we should move on to the next.” They already got it.

For all of you with younger children, for all of you who wonder if our unorthodox approach is worth the extra effort and all of you who are crushed at the 9:30 Mass every month as our families invade, it is obvious to me that we are doing the right thing. The, Holy Spirit, Archbishop and Synod ’16 have led us to this approach and whether or not you trust in all of that, I, for the first time in over 20 years of working with teens, have verified evidence of progress in our approach.

Paul Pyrkosz
Coordinator of Youth Ministry

Our Promise & Fulfillment

5/31/2019

Today we celebrate the Ascension of the Lord. Jesus leaves the Disciples with the promise that He will send them help while they await His return. They do not know when this help will arrive. They do not really understand that the Spirit is on its way to empower, sustain, comfort and solace those left behind to do His work.

Can you imagine what the original Disciples of Jesus must have felt? We have the attainment of His promise of the Spirit; they were still waiting for its arrival. We know the work of the Spirit; they had yet to experience that fulfillment of Jesus’ promise.

The mystery is that while He ascends to the Father, He still remains with them [and us]. He is here: at once the promise and the fulfillment of that promise. He is present in the Word, the Eucharist and in us: the body of Christ. We receive the support of our loving God in order to do His work in the world. In turn, we are His hands, His feet, His voice, His hugs, His helpmates. We are called to be temples of the Spirit and actual Tabernacles of God. In the Ascension readings today Jesus charges his disciples to go to the ends of the earth—to make belief in Him universal—which is the actual meaning of the word catholic.

In the Second Reading from St. Paul to the Ephesians we hear St. Paul bless them (and us) with some of the gifts of the Spirit: “…(May God) give you a Spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of Him…may the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know the hope that belongs to His call…” All of us are charged, according to our gifts, for the building up of the body of Christ. The hope is that we will all attain a unity of faith and knowledge and understanding of the Son of God, in order to mature spiritually to the extent of the full stature of Christ─striving for holiness always and in all ways.

We are all people of promise and fulfillment (thank you Sacraments!). We have the Holy Spirit in us: we have the solace and comfort, the empowerment and sustenance we need for His work: we are the fulfillment of His promise, co-creators of a heavenly kingdom here on earth. His presence is made clear in the world by our ‘Acts’ as His disciples. The fulfillment of this promise is in the use we make of all of our gifts for the Kingdom of God. We celebrate the risen Lord among us every day by all we say and do: this is promise and fulfillment!

Keep singing!

Elizabeth Dyc

Home

5/25/2019

In the Gospel this Sixth Sunday of Easter Jesus tells His Disciples that He is going to the Father—He is going home! He says that He leaves everything for us that we will need in order to do our work here, before we will join Him there. ( BTW: Have you noticed that the second reading has been from Revelation for this Season?) In Revelation today we hear a description of heaven—but in thinking about heaven as home I don’t think of precious stone, like jasper, or clear crystal, or inscribed walls—my own “vision” of heaven is somewhat different… (and it usually looks a little like Hawaii…)

Beyond a “vision” of what we would like in heaven, what else is home for us? I looked up Webster’s definition of home and here is what it says—Home: a family’s place of residence; a social unit formed by family living together; a congenial environment; a place of origin; to be in harmony with your surroundings; familiar ground. So, home is a place of love—where we experience the love of our parents, and we learn to love. Home is where we realize we are loved unconditionally—and where we develop our abilities and gifts, to realize our powers and find ourselves. We are our most secure, most relaxed, most ourselves. We are fed and filled, loud, excited and exuberant, quiet, rested and at peace. You can be all you can be! You can be forgiven your mistakes and learn! You can be the best you that you are!

God promises to make His home within us. We are all temples (a home) for the Spirit—we are human tabernacles for God. We must abide by what Jesus says in the Gospel today: “Whoever loves me will keep my word…” There is a wonderful give-and-take—a reciprocity—in that we invite Jesus to live within us, we live His Word, He is ‘at home’ in us by Sacrament and by what we say and all we do; and in the end we go home to Him!

In remembering this home within us, this heaven in our hearts, Jesus’ gift of peace will remain with us here. And later, when we are called home, we will live again in the peace of Christ. We are not afraid—we live in confidence and joy—because home is always where our heart is: at home in Christ.

Keep singing!

Elizabeth Dyc

The Small Stuff, 2.0, Twenty Truths

5/14/2019

Last weekend I wrote an article that spoke about how sometimes the smallest thing can turn out to be the lynch-pin, the driving force, for something much more grand. This Fourth Sunday of Easter (Good Shepherd Sunday), The First Reading (beginning with Easter Sunday and continuing through the Feast of Pentecost), is from The Acts of the Apostles. In Acts we hear the story of God’s activity in the life of the Church—this is the third stage of our salvation history—God’s saving plan for his people. The first stage is The Old Testament (God’s activity in the life of Israel); the second stage is The Gospels (God’s activity in the life of Christ). We are graced to live in the third stage—God’s activity through us and the Church. This is an awesome commission for believers in Christ!

During the Season of Easter we have the opportunity to be inspired by these “acts” of the apostles. Paul and Barnabas say the Lord has commanded them to be “a light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth.” You may ask yourself, how can I, too, be this light; how can I be an actual instrument of salvation? I say: remember the small stuff… Last weekend I issued a challenge to be the person who does the little thing (small stuff) that will make life more positive for those around us—so we may be God’s loving activity on earth, and faithful, forgiving, instruments of God’s salvation.

A friend sent me these “Twenty Truths” that I thought had some good ideas about what our daily acts in the world may be—there are some useful suggestions, some valid advice and some food for thought. They may be useful for framing how we Disciples may act in small ways to be God’s positive force in the world. Enjoy! And Keep singing!

Elizabeth Dyc

TWENTY TRUTHS --

Faith is the ability to not panic.
If you worry, you didn't pray. If you pray, don't worry.
As a child of God, prayer is kind of like calling home every day.
Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.
When we get tangled up in our problems, be still. God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot.
Do the math. Count your blessings.
God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.
Dear God: I have a problem: Me.
Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.
Laugh every day, it's like inner jogging.
The most important things in your home are the people.
Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.
There is no key to happiness. The door is always open.
A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.
He who dies with the most toys is still dead.
We remember moments, not days—life moves too fast, so enjoy your precious moments.
Nothing is real to you until you experience it, otherwise it's just hearsay.
It's okay to sit on your pity pot now and again, just be sure to flush when you are done.
Surviving and living life successfully requires courage. The goals and dreams you seek require courage and risk. Be like a turtle, it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck.
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

The Greatest in Heaven

5/6/2019

It is a long-standing devotion to crown statues of Mary with a laurel of flowers for the month of May. This Sunday following the 11:30 Mass, join us at our Marian shrine for this opportunity to show honor to the one we rightly call “the highest honor of our race” (Judith 15:9). This ceremony has a lesson to teach us about the Gospel: that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven are those who are foremost in serving and in love.

Our Lord Himself came to serve, not to be served; He drew all things to Himself when He was lifted up from the earth, and He reigned from the Cross by the power of gentleness and love.

And Mary, whose glory we proclaim today, was the humble servant of the Lord when she was on earth: she gave herself utterly to her Son and His work; with Him, and under Him, she was an instrument in our redemption.

Now, in the glory of heaven, Mary is still the God-bearer to us, Christ’s brothers and sisters: she cares about our eternal salvation; she is minister of holiness and queen of love.

David J. Conrad

The Small Stuff

5/6/2019

The other day I was cooking a soup—anxious to make it full of all the ingredients that promote good health—and I couldn’t find the twirly blades for my food processor. The smallest part was missing—and the entire appliance was rendered useless—a whole meal planned that grinds to a halt for want of that particular small part… So many times in life it’s the littlest things—the seemingly insignificant things—that are necessary for any “grand” outcome! So, maybe the little things are actually big things—and sometimes the very necessary small stuff only masquerades as the insignificant.

In today’s Gospel (The Third Sunday of Easter), the Disciples are asked by Jesus to “Cast the net” “Come have breakfast” “Tend my sheep” “Follow me.” These seem like small and simple things; small and every day actions—but they make all the difference in the entire world to us. How many moments in any life, seemingly small moments, become important to the rest of what follows? (There is a saying: “Little moments, humble though they be, make the mighty ages of eternity.”)

Have you ever noticed that much of life is made of events or happenings or opportunities or things that might fall into a classification of a very small thing, small stuff, but then, not really? There is small stuff on the negative side—that may actually be big stuff. For example: it may be that person at work who gets on your nerves. You come into the office with a great attitude and within minutes after a short interaction your day feels ruined. It's a small thing, but not really. It may be a repeated conversation with your spouse, or your children, or your boss—and yet, nothing changes. It could be that squeak or rattle your car started making after hitting that pot hole; or maybe that tender, odd bump that showed up on your neck; or a cough that will not cease... Seemingly simple, relatively small things—but not really—and they are things that may have a significant impact on your everyday life.

But the diminutive may also fuel the portentous—the seemingly unessential being in fact the most essential of all: like the twirly blades, or a small prayer, or a simple request. These things may become the rudders in our lives—steering and propelling us far below the surface of our grand decisions, helping us to do the work we need to do; that we are called to do. It might be the note you received in the mail from the friend you have not seen in a long time. It's a little thing, but not really. It might be a smile, or a good and hearty laugh, a hug, listening and forgiving, sharing stories, a few gentle, wise words—small things that may mean so much in the grand scheme of life. Sometimes, so much big stuff may hinge on the small stuff!

This, then, is the challenge for Disciples of Christ: Don't be the person who does that little thing that can turn someone’s day wrong—but do what we would call a small, positive thing. “Come, have breakfast.” “Cast the net.” Be the person who does the things that make life more joyous and fulfilling—even and especially in the small stuff of every day. “Tend my sheep.” They be little acts of love, or maybe little resistances, or small noble stands—and yet they may affect this existence of ours and others. “Follow me.” Small stuff—everyday actions.

Keep singing!

Elizabeth Dyc

Glorify God in Your Body

Actual Evidence of Progress

Our Promise & Fulfillment

Home

The Small Stuff, 2.0, Twenty Truths

The Greatest in Heaven

The Small Stuff

Authors

Archives

Categories