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June 10, 2006
Graces and gifts
Lord open my eyes to see the gifts that you have given me.
I have been one of the confirmation teachers at a parish for three years now. We are usually paired up as man / woman wherever possible. It is important that the young adults learn that spirituality is not just a "girl/woman" thing. There are always too few men involved as teachers.
One of the areas stressed in the second year of the two year program is the gifts of the spirit. They are told that the action of the gifts are seldom immediately evident. I am emphatic with my students that the gifts are REAL. I tell them that they will see them "In the fullness of time" for them. They are marked by the spirit and the graces are given to them.
A while back I ran into one of last years students at a restaurant. He shared that he had only been to mass about three times since being Confirmed. I told him that there are graces within him that will lead him back when he is ready to listen to the voice of the spirit inside him. I remember that I did challenge him to try. He shared that he had been challenging one of his teachers at the local Catholic High School about her views. He had asked why she believed that it was wrong to send people to war while she never talked about it being wrong to kill unborn persons. That got him sent out of the classroom. And Yes, I do continue to pray for the students.
There was a real blessing for this year's class. They were confirmed on Pentecost. The group this year was about 55 students. I was proud that my youngest daughter was a sponsor for a classmate from High School. I was also very pleased to note that one of my students from last year was also a sponsor.
There was a sad note to the confirmation also. About 8 of the students were not there. The students are drawn from several public and private schools. This year several sports teams went on to the finals. These playoffs were held on ... Sunday. Sigh!
Another grace for me has been the Tuesday 6AM men's prayer group that I attend (at a different parish). There is always sharing and discussion during the hour spent in the church. However there are times when the fellowship and ministering to each other at breakfast afterward is equally valuable.
I have been struggling in my day to day with the actions of a person in authority who says "I have my values and you have yours" I will not change my values to suit the environment. I continue to pray for him. I pray also that I can "let go and let God".
A catholic singer whose work I value is Marie Bellet Her song "One heroic moment" has been speaking to me lately. Particularly the refrain "I know that it is nothing compared to Calvary". One of the other men last Tuesday reminded me of that line. He challenged me to continue to "offer it up". I remembered that this was what my mom taught me. I am to remain in the world and not of it. Why do I keep hoping it will be easy?
Another grace is the presence of a Prepetual Adoration Chapel at that same parish. It has been a great help for me. To use a term I first saw used by Mark Shea: I find myself in need quite often for "Spiritual Radiation Therapy".
Another grace is present in the person who knows best how to challenge me. My Christmas Gift from Alicia was in 4 volumes. I am back into Vol III again. Ordinary time. Yep, the full set of liturgy of the hours. I only pray the Morning, Evening and Night. By God's graces I have only missed a few times since the first of the year. She saw that I was ready. I had been reading the evening prayers from the booklet "Magnificat" out loud for us for several months last Summer and Fall.
Finally, and of no less value, I praise God for our youngest daughter. She will be graduating from High School next weekend. While there has been the usual teenaged angst and self centeredness, she has taken the time to thank us for what we have done for her. She is the last of our six and the "baby" of our family.
I praise and glorify the Lord for the blessings in my life. I challenge all who read this to take a few moments to review the gifts in their lives and offer praise to God for them.
Posted by John Huntley at June 10, 2006 9:54 PM
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Comments
It's sad to see them go.
One of my CCD kids left after Confirmation. I saw him and said "What's up?" Turns out his mom has been taking him and his siblings to Mass and CCD up till now, even though she goes to a Protestant church. She still brings him to Mass but has dropped CCD. Somehow I was totally edified by this woman.
Posted by: Ephrem at November 1, 2006 10:48 AM