The Ladybug Filing Cabinet

Didache 2002
December 25

“. . .Training us to reject godless ways, , ,and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly. . .” – Titus 2:12

Paul’s letter to Titus receives scant notice beside the well-loved propecy of Isaiah or Luke’s chronicle of Christ’s birth. while Isaiah speaks of Christ’s divinity and Luke talks of His humility, Paul touches on a key aspect of the miracle that is Christmas–a life transformed by saving grace.

However, salvation is not a gift that we can make over to suit our particular needs. Rather, it is a gift that shapes “us.” It strips away the false images that have colored our perceptions of God, ourselves and others. It gives us new patterns for healthy living. It changes us into the very image of Christ Himself!

People will say that to live out Bible principles in this day and age is the stuff of which idealistic dreams are made. But they said the same thing about a Messiah born in a cold Bethlehem stable all those years ago, and still the power of saving grace continues to make itself manifest all over the world.

Didache 2002
November 30

“. . .That faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard come through the word of Christ. . .” – Romans 10:17

“Did you hear?” Three words with life-changing power, for better or worse.

“Did you hear? They say the pretty secretary on the sixth floor got her promotion because she slept with the boss during the company outing.”

“Did you hear? She’s finally pregnant, after nine years of marriage! Isn’t that wonderful?”

Often, another set of three small words is attached as a postscript : “Do you believe?” It’s almost automatic. In the end, of course, the choice to believe is ours, based on what we know of the situation and the people involved.

But in no other situation is the life-changing power of those simple words, more evident than when we use them to tell others about the love of God. Sometimes it doesn’t take the tongues of angels to evangelize others, but merely a set of simple words: “Did you hear? Jesus loves you! Do you believe?”

Didache 2002
October 7

“. . .devoted themselves with one accord to prayer, together with. . .” – Acts 1:14

A prayer adventure I had in Lourdes brought home the awesome power of the Rosary to draw people “with one accord to prayer.” During the famous evening candlelight procession, participated in by pilgrims from all over the world before the procession began, you could feel the separateness of each group — language, clothing, caps told you where the people were from.

But once the Rosary began with “I believe in God. . .” it was a throwback to the old days. For the time it took to finish the Rosary (all 15 mysteries in various languages), it no longer mattered where you were from or where you were going; everyone was equal in the eyes of God.

Recent events have shown us what a people united in prayer can accomplish. Praying the Rosary is second nature to most of us; in imitating Mary, that most perfect of all the disciples, let us seek to make the Rosary more than just a hurried repetition of familiar words, but a catalyst for conversion and revival.

Didache 2002
September 25

“. . .Every word of God is tested; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. . .” – Proverbs 30:5

“If he doesn’t come back, get an annulment,” said her father.

Hemmed in by heartbreak, insecurity and despair, the young wife turned to the only weapon she knew to battle the darkness. Her Bible. Between its battered covers, verses marked in rainbow colors leaped from the printed page to comfort and sustain as she put the survival of her months-old marriage on the line.

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,” murmured the Psalmist. “Ask in faith, not doubting,” was the advice from James. “The peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard…” assured St. Paul.

Finally, over the phone, came the answer, “I’m coming home.”

That marriage so nearly wrecked is approaching its first decade. It’s not a perfect marriage–nothing is, where two all-too-human parties are involved. But I know that as long as my husband and i continue to trust in God, our married life will always find a safe anchorage against the storms of this world.

Didache 2002
August 28

“. . .May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. . .” – 2 Thessalonians 3:16

“Mothers,” I read once, “are that special kind of person who cry out for quiet when kids are noisy — and then worry when they can’t hear them.”

How often have we longed, like harassed moms, for peace and quiet, and when we do get them, we realize we don’t know what to do? It’s almost like we have forgotten what it is like to have moments of stillness in this world where we can now, quite literally, carry our offices in the palms of our hands.

Why do we get that itchy, uneasy feeling when we are caught unaware by quiet time? perhaps the quiet serves to magnify the inner turmoil of the heart normally masked by the rush of normal living. We realize then that true peace is not defined by the absence of conflict or noise, but by hope that everything will be right in the end.

How is this possible? St. Paul gives us a clue when he writes to a community preoccupied with the end of the world. “The Lord be with all of you.”

Didache 2002
July 21

“. . .for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes. . .” – Romans 8:26

“Please pray for me…?”

It’s a request that comes at fairly regular intervals. I have come to expect it. The intentions are varied : physical or emotional healing, financial aid…but each is a plea from a heart seeking help.

It is then that I realize how much the outcome of our prayers rests in God’s loving hands. For a brief moment, I wonder what I could possibly say — but only for a moment. As the prayer begins, the words start to flow — sometimes tumbling over each other in urgency, at other times carefully measured out. Words that come from a hidden source, sudden insights to address the problems entrusted to me.

Sometimes I am given the chance to ask a person about their petition, and once in a while they answer, “I didn’t get the answer I was praying for…God worked it out so that things are now much better. Thank you for praying for me.”

And I say to myself, “Thank You, Holy Spirit…”

Didache 2002
July 14

“. . .So shall my word be. . .” – Isaiah 55:11

One chore I enjoy doing is caring for the garden. There’s so much about a thriving garden to restore the soul; the sparkle of rainbows when the sun hits the water just so, flowers in bloom, green plants sturdy in the light.

God treats us a lot like a garden in need of landscaping. We come to Him with our beings plowed with the furrows of rage, despair, low self-esteem. He floods our parched souls with streams of living water, and plants His Word on ground renewed by His love. A gardener regularly weeds and cultivates. So too does the Lord turn over the hidden surfaces of our lives to allow the light of His Presence to bring order out of chaos.

One of the joys of gardening is watching your plants respond to your loving care. God softens our lives with a careful mix of trials and blessings, in the hope that we too will respond by rooting ourselves deeply in His heart and bearing the fruits of a Christian life.

Didache 2002
June 2 – Solemnity of Corpus Christi

“. . .the bread that i will give is my flesh for the life of the world. . .” – John 6:51

A little boy once asked his parish priest, “If Jesus is ‘really’ in the communion wafer, why doesn’t it look any different?”

Last week’s science program on TV provided the heaven-sent answer. “You know about radiation, right? Objects exposed to it absorb all that energy and turn radioactive as well. Even if you don’t see anything different, you can tell that the ojbects can affect you in the same way the radioactive source can. A communion wafer is like that. During Consecration, it is exposed to the radiant presence of God. Afterwards, though it still looks like a wafer, it contains God’s real presence.”

Today’s feast teaches us to reflect on a mystery that has challenged theologians through the ages and will boggle the minds of many in days to come. Here and now, I have only one hope for all of us : that God’s presence in the Eucharist will radiate through us who are the Body of Christ, using us to bring His everlasting life to the world.

Didache 2002
May 26 – Holy Trinity Sunday

“. . .The Lord, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindess and fidelity. . .” – Exodus 34:6

A priest I knew had a tradition of leading us through a reflection upon the beautiful words of the Nicene Creed to illustrate the mystery of the Triune Nature of God. “We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty. . .maker of all that is. . .”

“We believe in the Holy Spirit. . .who proceeds from the Father and the Son. . .”

Three aspects. One god. A Father, who knows all that is seen and unseen in our hearts. A Son, who out of purest love and obedience, suffered a horrific death for our salvation. A Spirit, who is the giver of life, our guide on the pilgrim’s road. One God who “. . .in his kindness for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin; yet not declaring the guilty guiltless. . .so that everyone who believes in him might not perish, but might have eternal life. . .the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

Didache 2002
March 29

“Pilate said to him, ‘What is truth?’” – John 18:38

We live in a confusing world. An event in the morning papers is a major political and moral issue by the end of the day. Everyone is asked to take a stand, but spin doctors can create two perfectly plausible yet opposing cases out of the same facts.

So who’s telling the truth?

An author writes, “Scripture says it, I believe it, that settles it. (So why doesn’t it make sense?)” Jesus has a way of turning my world upside down, just when I’ve gotten comfortable. Sometimes I don’t know up from down, as familiar anchors break away into the depths of my anxiety over an unknown future.

“You are made in His image and likeness. Though you walk in the valley of the shadow, fear no evil. His grace is sufficient for you — sufficient unto the day.” Like a compass, God’s Word points me back on the level roads marked out for me. Simple words that spell out one simply powerful message. God loves you. That’s the truth.