Scripture Scribbles: January 12, 2025 - The Baptism of the Lord
to grow good to grow good

Scripture Scribbles: January 12, 2025 - The Baptism of the Lord

The Baptism of the Lord. The “official” end of the Christmas season.  As we enter into Ordinary Time, I want to linger here. Maybe because I haven’t quite finished celebrating Christmas with my family yet.  This year was the first in 17 Christmases that all six of our kids haven't been under the same roof for Christmas morning.  Maybe I want to linger here because we started pulling out our Christmas decorations a lot closer to Christmas Eve than usual and I'm not ready to pack it all up…

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Scripture Scribbles: January 5, 2025 - The Epiphany of the Lord
to grow good to grow good

Scripture Scribbles: January 5, 2025 - The Epiphany of the Lord

Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow…Those words leapt off the page of the missal and they actually hurt as they landed in my heart.  They felt like a promise that was for me somehow, but also so impossibly inaccessible from where I sat alone in the pew on that cold day in January at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Denver.

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Scripture Scribbles: December 29, 2024
to grow good to grow good

Scripture Scribbles: December 29, 2024

Have you ever felt like you’ve lost Jesus in life?

Perhaps you even thought He was still with you, as you soldiered on ahead forging your own way. Making your own decisions about a particular situation or life goal. Maybe, once you felt a hint of concern that you may have lost Him you started looking for traces of Him in your friends or family, to try to confirm your decisions or the path you started down. Or maybe it isn’t until reading this right now that you’ve realized you’ve lost Jesus in your life, or in a certain part of your heart.

If this describes you or your situation in any way, let’s consider what happens next in the story:

Mary and Joseph begin to retrace their steps in order to find Jesus.

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Scripture Scribbles: December 22, 2024
to grow good to grow good

Scripture Scribbles: December 22, 2024

So many characters in the Bible gave us precise examples of obedience and faithfulness. Among them are Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Jesus, and Mary. Now is indeed the season of joy and thanksgiving because it’s Christmas. In a few days, we will be celebrating the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. However, I’d like to pay homage to our Blessed Virgin Mary today. Especially today…

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Scripture Scribbles: December 15, 2024
to grow good to grow good

Scripture Scribbles: December 15, 2024

“… I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of His sandals…” John the Baptist humbly enlightened. “Pride is always going to be there,” I confessed. “You need to dig deeper to get at the root to improve,” Fr. Dan gently exhorted. A few phrases immediately jumped out in the Litany of Humility: the fear of being wronged, the fear of suffering rebukes, and the desire of being loved. Scripture and the saints provided additional wisdom. “If we were truly humble, nothing would change us... If someone were to criticize us, we would not feel discouraged...” (St. Mother Theresa) “Perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4:18) My love and that of others was not perfect. Desiring to be loved imperfectly by looking to other people and things wouldn’t satisfy.

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Scripture Scribbles: December 8, 2024
to grow good to grow good

Scripture Scribbles: December 8, 2024

Recently, we celebrated the Baptism of our fifth child. As Catholic parents, through infant Baptism, we take on the promise to prepare the hearts and souls of our children for the Kingdom of Heaven. Not an easy task! We often desire to make their paths straight, mountains low, and rough ways smooth on our own accord; however, in our Baptisms we are called to deeper conversion and surrender to allow the Holy Spirit guide us in our parenting and lives. Suffering will happen for us and our children and the surrender is oh so difficult.

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Scripture Scribbles: December 1, 2024
to grow good to grow good

Scripture Scribbles: December 1, 2024

Happy New Year!!  Our new liturgical calendar year has begun!

This is the time for expectant waiting and preparation.  I love it!  Most people do!  But it does often come with some difficulties.

This year, I’m thinking about how I am preparing.  Am I preparing for calm over chaos? Peace over panic? Love over angst?

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Scripture Scribbles: November 24, 2024
to grow good to grow good

Scripture Scribbles: November 24, 2024

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the King of the Universe. How striking it is that the church gives us this solemnity on the last Sunday of the liturgical year before we begin our season of waiting upon his birth in the poor manger. He is the King of the Universe. The universe! The immeasurably vast universe which holds all life, all light, all matter, all energy, all sound. He is its creator, sustainer and king. It all obeys him. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty."

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