I Am Mute

Today is my 4^th day without a voice.  No, this is not a political statement, I mean I am not able to verbalize my thoughts.  I was fighting a cold, stressed my vocal chords and wound up with laryngitis. The first day without my voice was funny.  People, my children especially, would laugh at my voice; I would laugh at my lack of voice.  My husband joked that this was an early Christmas gift to him.  By day two, annoyance with not being able to communicate set in.  By day three, I realized that I had to make the best of the situation.  I have always been a “glass half full” kind of gal, and for those of you familiar with Living Your Strengths or the NY Times Best Seller, StrengthFinders my third top strength is “Positivity.”  So, I started to pray about how I could put this muteness to good use.  I researched figures presented in the bible as mute and learned that most of those people were struck mute due to lack of faith.  Not really the uplifting message I was looking for.  But as I delved deeper into The Word, this is what I discovered.

Picture Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, wife to Elizabeth.  When the angel Gabriel foretold of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, Zechariah was doubtful.  He was struck dumb due to his disbelief and his speech was not returned until the prophecy was fulfilled.

Now this, along with the myriad other individuals in the bible who were also struck dumb due to lack of faith made me start to wonder if God was trying to tell me something.  I read the Gospel account further and learned that once John was born, on the 8^th day when he was to be circumcised and named, Elizabeth said “He is going to be called John”  (Luke 1:60).  This surprised everyone because none of their relatives had this name.  When Zechariah, still mute, was asked what name he wanted to give is son, he requested a tablet and wrote, “John is his name” (Luke 1:63).  Immediately Zechariah’s voice was restored and he began to speak, praising God.  His first words were not about himself or his son.   Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, said “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel.”  (Luke 1:68) He first wanted to give glory to God.  Zechariah did not praise God for ending his muteness or for giving him a child in his old age.  He praised God for sending a Savior and for keeping his promises to Israel.  Zechariah realized that God had not done this to make Zechariah and Elizabeth happy, but to keep His covenant with Israel.  Here is the rest of The Canticle of Zechariah:

“Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

for he has visited and brought redemption to his people.

He has raised up a horn for our salvation

within the house of David his servant,

even as he promised through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old:

salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,

        to show mercy to our fathers

and to be mindful of his holy covenant

and of the oath he swore to Abraham our father,

and to grant us that,

rescued from the hand of enemies,

without fear we might worship him

in holiness and righteousness

before him all our days.

And you, child, will be called prophet of the Most

 

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 

to give his people knowledge of salvation

through the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy of our God
 

by which the daybreak from on high will visit us

to shine on those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow,

to guide our feet into the path of peace.” (Luke 1:72-77).

 

So, what did this scripture passage help me to learn about my present situation?  While we praise God for the things he has done for us, I was reminded that it is not about us.  He does these things for us to bring glory to Him and so that we might believe in Him.  When my voice is restored I know that my first words will be of praise to God.  Not thanking him for the return of my voice, or the opportunity for me to never take my voice for granted again, but for the gentle nudge from God for me to seek Him in The Word and thus, as always, become closer to God and getting to know Him better.

Many thanks to the generous parishioners of Good Shepherd. Good Shepherd Outreach collected enough for GRACE to purchase 450 turkeys for those in need this holiday season.

Our Fabulous Festival of Tables

"WOW" is the word that comes to mind to describe the tables that were lovingly decorated by members of the Good Shepherd Women’s Group for its 4th Annual Festival of Tables on Thursday, Oct. 4.

Nearly 200 ladies came together to not only decorate and dine on tables inspired by many themes and places near and far, but also to raise money for the Sister of St. Mary of Namur (SSMN).

The evening generated more than $3,200 for the Sisters. The wonderful ladies, who will be celebrating their 150th Anniversary in the U.S. and Texas in 2013, were our honored guests that evening.

Popular tables themes this year included Out of Africa, Casino Night, Queens of De-Nile, Angels, Life’s a Beach, Grapevine High School Senior Moms, College Football Alma Maters, In The (football) Party Zone, Winter magic, Autumn Harvest, Fishers of Men and Feed My Sheep. But three groups of ladies went "above and beyond" and were voted the best of the bunch by FOT attendees.

Winning inspirations for this year’s Fest of Tables were "Dr. Suess," which was voted No. 1,followed by the game of "Clue" (2nd place) and "Glamping" (3rd place).

 It was a wonderful evening of fellowship and we especially thank Stephanie and Janet who coordinated this event.

Have you ever experienced a miracle?

Sometimes someone will mention the miracle of life – especially their children.  Sometimes someone will know someone that was cured after a debilitating illness.

Actually, every one of us experiences the greatest miracle on Earth every time we go to Mass!  Just think about the ordinary elements of bread and wine becoming the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ!  There can be no greater miracle! 

Almost ten years ago, on my birthday, I prayed for this gift – a greater appreciation of the Blessed Sacrament.  Being a cradle-Catholic, I knew the teaching of our faith.  I was asking for an appreciation from my heart.  God always hears our prayers.  Less than a year later, I found myself coordinating Eucharistic Adoration at Good Shepherd.  I still have a very long way to go… we cannot understand many mysteries.  Yet spending time with Our Lord in Eucharistic Adoration increases my appreciation of the awesome gift of the Mass.

We have a beautiful new Daily Chapel.  I wish everyone would stop by to spend some time with Our Lord!  I wish more people would commit to spending an hour with Him every week.  This commitment is never burdensome.  There are prayer partners and substitutes for when someone is unable to go.  The advantage of being scheduled is that once it is on the calendar, we go.  Then the Blessings come! 

Our Lady is really the Coordinator of Eucharistic Adoration, all I do is send out the emails!  Her purpose is always to bring us closer to her Son!

The Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist

Father Richard comes once a month to say Mass and bring Communion to the residents at Bishop Davies Nursing Center in Hurst.  There are about 15 Catholics there and they are grateful for the visit from a priest.  It always amazes me that so many of the aged residents, who often have no idea what day or season it is, sometimes not even their own names, can make the Sign of the Cross and respond with the correct “Lord have mercy,” at just the right time.  It must be written on their hearts. 

What is unique about Mass at the nursing home is that it is not uncommon for someone to sleep through the whole thing.  Whether it is fatigue caused by medicine or just being worn out from a long life, there is usually at least one sleeper during Mass.  This week, it was Gloria.  I had to wake her up to ask if she wanted to come to Mass, but she replied “Yes,” pretty emphatically, so I wheeled her bed down to the parlor where Father would say Mass.  She slept through the readings and through the homily, then through the Intercessions and most of the Eucharistic Prayer.  However, when Father concluded the Doxology, I suddenly heard a loud, truly great, “Amen” from Gloria’s direction.  And then she prayed the Our Father, without missing a word.  But at the sign of peace, she was back asleep and couldn’t even wake up enough to receive Communion, so Father blessed her.  It was as if the coming of the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist at the consecration was so powerful that it roused her from her sleep.  I know I certainly felt His presence in an amazing way that morning. 

The youth of GSCC are playing a larger role than ever in serving their church and their community.

"His Hands and Feet" service group kicked by helping serve lunch to needy children with the GRACE Feed Our Kids program.  They will complete at least one service project per month, and will begin a new partnership with Catholic Charities by devoting one Saturday per month to the Refugee Program in Fort Worth. The Hands and Feet group also helps serve the GSCC community's needs throughout the year and helps with the UGM lunch project and the Sleep-out for Honduras.

This summer, Mark Knox and Larry West, along with a host of parent volunteers held the first ever Disciple Now program. During this week which was kicked off by a concert with youth speaker Cooper Ray, the students performed a service project in the morning returning to GSCC for lunch and catechesis.

The organizations served included Catholic Charities, Tarrant Area Food Bank, GRACE,  Union Gospel Mission, Mission Arlington, Presbyterian Night Shelter, Dancing Rivers Senior Living, and Habitat for Humanity. With over 35 teens and 8 adults assisting daily, over 480 service hours were completed!

St. Bonaventure

 

I’m guessing by now that you have heard the glorious ring of our new bells!  They can be heard five minutes before weekend masses, encouraging us toward the triumphant celebration which is about to take place.  They also resound clearly at 8:30 am, noon, and 4:30 pm on weekdays, calling all the faithful to participation in Angelus, a devotional prayer reminding us of the incarnation of Christ.  During the blessing of the bells, Bishop Vann enlightened our parish to the names of these bells.  The two lower bells are named Francis (the larger one) and Clare (the smaller one).  The big bell at the top of the tower is named Bonaventure. 

                Now I suppose that most people know something about St. Francis and probably know a little about St. Clare, but relatively few people know anything about St. Bonaventure.  He is an early Franciscan saint who lived from 1221 until 1274.  His name, which means ‘of good fortune’ is said to have come from a time when he was deathly sick as a child.  His mother implored St. Francis to come and pray for Bonaventure (his name at the time was Giovanni) who when he did so, was miraculously healed and St. Francis exclaimed "O buona ventura!" At the age of 22 Bonaventure responded to God’s call upon his life and entered the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans, OFM to be exact).  He excelled in studies and pursued what today would be considered a Doctorate in Theology from the University of Paris where he taught alongside his contemporary and good friend St. Thomas Aquinas (who is a Dominican). 

St. Bonaventure acquired the name of “The Seraphic Doctor” for his mystical insights into the ways of God which he readily applied to the spiritual life, along with humility and mortification.  Some say that he is one of the greatest philosopher/theologians of the medieval times.  He is well known for the many theological treatises he wrote, as well as one of the more comprehensive biographies of the life of St. Francis (The Major Legend of St. Francis).  Unique to his theology is that he uses the love of God as the ultimate destiny for the human person, contrasted against many other theologies whose end goal was to see God (beatific vision).  Bonaventure influenced many proceeding theologians, including fellow Franciscan Blessed Duns Scotus who developed the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.

In 1257 at the age of 36 Bonaventure was elected Minister General, the highest office of governance for the Franciscans and worked diligently to restore peace and unity to the order of Franciscans which was suffering from internal discord.  He later reluctantly accepted the role of Cardinal Bishop of Albano, Italy at the persuasion of Pope Gregory X.  Bonaventure presided over the Second Council of Lyons in 1274, an ecumenical council, and died shortly afterwards.  He was declared a saint on April 14, 1482, and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1587.

Here’s a quote to reflect upon:  “When we pray, the voice of the heart must be heard more than that coming from the mouth.” – St. Bonaventure... pray for us!