This week we have been going over the virtues mercy and forgiveness that we find in scripture and tradition. The next step of this journey is to go over the virtue of Hope!

            In the Compendium we read that, “Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire and await from God eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit to merit it and to persevere to the end of our earthly life” (387).

    I recently watched a movie review by Father Robert Barron, founder of Word on Fire, (check it out on the web!) on the newly released movie, Calvary.  It peaked my curiosity enough to propel me to the RedBox down the street last night. Without giving away too much of the plot, in case you want to watch it for yourself, it is about a Parish Priest named Father James who lives in a small town in Ireland.  As the movie begins the following line is presented in small white letters, “Do not despair, one of the thieves was saved. Do not presume, one of the thieves was damned.”  The next clip shows Father in the confessional as he is told that he will be killed in exactly one week for the sins of another priest. The man who threatens his life has not forgiven his abuser and will take out his vengeance on Father James.

A good friend of mine recommended the book that holds the quote above. Her and I both have a love for reading quality stories. I resolved that after my college career ended (for now at least) I would read as much as possible for pleasure. Books on Love, Philosophy, Theology, and Poetry are my favorite. Once I picked up this book titled, A Severe Mercy, I couldn't put it down.

            In the above scripture passage we are reading what the Catholic Church calls 'The Corporal Works of Mercy.' Corporal meaning corpus in Latin, cuerpo en Espanol ;) or body in English. These are the works that we are called to do each day of our lives. They call us out of ourselves and into a suffering, needy world. As I reflect on these words of our Lord, I am convicted that I have not kept these commands at all times. I am also reminded that I too was once a recipient of these merciful acts.

 I recently watched the movie The Equalizer in spite of my friend's comment on it being bloody, gruesome, and violent. I am the girl who will pick a great action drama movie over a romantic comedy ANY DAY. I tend to not like blood and guts (even though I was an EMT...ironic) but I figured it couldn't be too bad. I was also thinking that I need to be up-to-date on what my students are watching since they always ask me if I know about pop culture singers, actors, movies, etc. (I usually don't have a clue about these types of things. I just tell them I'm a 26 year old  vieja (old lady) and then they shake their cute little heads in agreement). I don't support them watching these types of movies, but it happens and I have to be prepared to know whats going on in their minds. So, I rented it.

Before we begin to dive into this meditation today I ask that you go somewhere where no one will interrupt you, close your eyes to any distractions, open your hands in receptivity and surrender while asking (out loud) for the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself to you and guide you in this time of prayer and reflection. I know it can be very difficult to just STOP and BE STILL. However, it is in silence and solitude “that God enables your heart to hear the secret words that only He can speak. His heart will speak to yours in a language that only” you can understand (Imitation of Mary p.37).

When I was told that our theme for this Lenten season was based off of the scripture verse Hosea 2:16, I knew that being active in this women's ministry was part of God's plan for me. Let me explain. I recently graduated from Franciscan University this past fall and had some promising career prospects already set up. Option One: Stay in wonderful Steubenville, Ohio where there was my comfy affordable home, great fellowship, friends, and an adrenaline/adventure rich EMT career already set into motion. This seemed...

    Hello my beautiful sisters! I am sincerely honored to be journeying with ya'll these next 8 days as we are reminded of the severe merciful love of Christ that drew him to Calvary for our sake. As we come into this Holy Week we will be focusing on the nature of Mercy. We will explore what it truly means to be merciful, how the Lord shows us His Divine mercy in scripture/tradition, the inner workings of mercy in our personal/work relationships, and how to be genuinely merciful to ourselves and others.