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We are celebrating the Rite of Sending this weekend at our 10:30 am Mass with Jadie Knecht and Maddie Palanos, two students who have been preparing to be baptized. This celebration signifies their readiness to begin the final preparation for the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. After testimony from their sponsors, Jadie and Maddie will sign their names in the Book of the Elect, which will be taken to Sacred Heart Cathedral the following Sunday. The Rite of Election will be celebrated at the Cathedral with all in the Davenport Diocese who are preparing for baptism this Easter.
Together, we give thanks that God has chosen (elected) each of them to be part of the Catholic Faith Community and that they have responded with their love and commitment.
“It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.” – John 15:16
During the season of Lent, as Jadie and Maddie and all the elect prepare for their Baptism, the rest of the faithful can support them with our prayers and prepare to renew our own baptismal commitment to follow Christ. The traditional Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, almsgiving and works of charity provide concrete ways to grow in our relationship with God and others.
We still have a few more days to decide how we’d like to spend this Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14th , so that we are ready to celebrate Easter with the newest members of our family of faith.
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In this week's scripture readings, we witness the utter hopelessness Job feels as he walks a journey of profound grief and suffering through no fault of his own. Then, we bear witness to Christ’s awe-inspiring miraculous power to heal the sick and deliver crowds from evil. What an appropriate juxtaposition as we celebrate Civil Rights Week here on campus!
Injustice is real and harsh and unrelenting, sometimes. Yet, God's power to heal and perform miracles is as real as it ever was, too.
It’s hard to keep our hearts open to the living, breathing reality of an all-powerful God of justice, peace, love and light, who allows us to walk through hardship and pain beyond our wildest dreams. A Holy Spirit, who doesn’t heal all the sick, and doesn’t right all the wrongs - at least not right now in front of our eyes. A journey of faith can take us down some long, dark paths into ever deeper darkness that seems like it will never end.
Like many of our civil rights heroes - in his time of trial, Job went through gut-wrenching, degrading experiences, but the remarkable thing about Job is that he never cursed God in his heart. In the end, his integrity and faithfulness pay off as his fortunes are restored and multiplied. Most importantly, he was gifted the ability to witness the grandeur of God, which brought him to his knees in awe and humility.
As we experience injustice in our own lives and world around us, do we pass the same test of integrity?
Faith is a long distance race, a disposition of heart, a gift in and of itself and a sure path toward experiencing the love of a God, whose glory exceeds our wildest fantasies of how magical life can be. To encounter, see and hear the majestic presence of God like Job did is the ultimate goal, the dream of all dreams.
After a lifetime of overcoming extreme adversity, Maya Angelou wrote a book called “I Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now.” Will we all feel that way when we are finally blessed to meet God face to face?
Whatever injustice you are facing personally or fighting against on behalf of others, I pray you can be encouraged to keep your chin up and realize that your disposition of heart and faithfulness to God matters. Your Heavenly Father sees the truth, which the world so often cannot, and is with you every step of the way, guiding you the freedom that can only be found in Him.
Have a question about a program or event going on in Campus Ministry? Got an idea for something you'd like to see happen? EMAIL US at ministry@sau.edu.
