What important work does Jesus ask of you at this time in your life?
by Mary Sellars MalloyThis Pentecost Sunday, one thing comes to mind: “Let the Spirit move!” Let the Spirit move in new and creative and energizing ways, for that is who the Spirit is and what the Spirit does. Recent human- interest stories in the news give witness to the ingenuity, creativity, generosity, and dedication of people like you and me who have “Let the Spirit move!” Masks sewn, tests invented, vaccines created, hospitals built, and food pantries stocked give witness to the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in the world today. And that same Spirit longs to move in our hearts and in our lives too.
After fifty years of playing guitar, my husband recently had to give up this passion because of arthritis in his hands. Music has always been an important part of his life, so he sold his guitar and mandolin, purchased a euphonium, and joined our community band. “Let the Spirit move!” If the things of the past are no longer possible, explore new ways to enjoy doing what you love best.
When I semi-retired nearly two years ago, I set up a work schedule in which I have Fridays off. Shortly thereafter I noticed that every Friday afternoon a group gathers at my local library to play mah jongg. I love that game, so I joined the group, through which I have made several new friends. “Let the Spirit move!” Pursue something that brings you joy and—when again allowed--puts you in the good company of others.
After the deaths of my parents, I began to communicate more regularly with a stepsister whom I did not know well. In doing so, I found out that we have much in common, including our love of quilting and crafting. Our conversations and shared memories of our parents have brought us closer. “Let the Spirit move!” Open your heart to conversations and relationships that will enrich your life.
Life has many seasons and adventures, including what we are experiencing as we hope for recovery from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Today’s question asks us to consider what Jesus asks of us at THIS TIME in our lives. Not twenty or thirty or fifty years ago. Not tomorrow. But at THIS TIME. “Let the Spirit move!” For there is always something new the Spirit is longing to do—even when we are confined to our homes and practicing social distancing—in order to renew, encourage, uplift, and guide us on our way.
Mary Sellars Malloy has over forty years’ experience as a Catholic educator and lay minister. She is a frequent workshop presenter on the topics of prayer, liturgy, spirituality, the Sacraments, and the RCIA. In addition, Mary leads retreats and parish missions throughout the country. Her goal is to encourage Catholics of all ages to appreciate and to live their Catholic faith.
by Mary Sellars Malloy
With whom have you shared the Good News of Jesus in the past month?
I am blessed to have opportunities to share the Good News throughout the country. This past Advent and Lent I traveled to Barling, Arkansas to co-lead two missions for Sacred Heart of Mary Parish (in Barling) and Saints Sabina and Mary Parish (in Jenny Lind).
What made sharing the Good News such a joy was the openness of the parishioners—openness to the Good News my preaching partner and I shared; openness to the stories and songs we offered; openness to the prayers and rituals we led; and openness to setting aside four nights to come together to grow in faith.
One Thursday, the most popular and athletic eighth-grade boy in the school came to choir. I tried not to look shocked, but I was most surprised that Jonathan joined us. After all, according to his classmates, boys singing in the choir just wasn’t cool. After choir, I thanked Jonathan for joining us, and I asked him what inspired him to come to choir. He simply said, “I didn’t think Joshua should be alone.”
After those particular mission travels, I reflected on how the hospitality and welcome of the parishioners gave me the strength and encouragement to share the Good News. My preaching partner’s flexibility and thoughtfulness freed me to use my gifts of song and storytelling in creative, engaging ways. And the parish’s thoughtfulness regarding our comfort created the environment my preaching partner and I needed for rest, prayer, and our daily work.
My first Sunday back at my home parish, as I spent time before Mass in prayer, I thought of my own parish’s priest and deacon. I know from experience that it is not always easy to share the Good News. Sometimes people are open to it; sometimes it feels as if ears and hearts are closed.
By the next Sunday, stay-at-home and shelter-in-place orders were in effect, and churches were closed. One afternoon, my husband and I drove to the parish, parked in the parking lot, and prayed for our pastor, deacon, parish staff, and parishioners. We did the same at 3 PM on Good Friday. For even in this challenging time, our parish leaders—and most Church leaders—are finding ways to encourage us with the Good News and to focus our attention on the power and the glory of God. Let’s encourage them in return through our expressions of thanks and by our continued prayers.
Mary Sellars Malloy has over forty years’ experience as a Catholic educator and lay minister. She is a frequent workshop presenter on the topics of prayer, liturgy, spirituality, the Sacraments, and the RCIA. In addition, Mary leads retreats and parish missions throughout the country. Her goal is to encourage Catholics of all ages to appreciate and to live their Catholic faith.
by Mary Clifford Morrell
I’m one of those strange people who takes notes during Mass.
I long ago realized that certain thoughts and words jump out at me during every liturgy, and I don’t want to forget what they are. Sometimes they come from prayers I hear every day, other times they are from homilies.
One of today’s thoughts was, “One can only understand the breath of God in silence.”
As I reflected on that, it brought to mind a recent incident while caring for my grandsons. I explained to the two-and-a- half-year-old that I was going to watch church (his understanding of Mass) on the computer while he was playing next to me. He nodded and went on playing, until the cantor started to sing.
Every time the young man began a hymn or sang a response, my grandson would stop playing and turn the computer screen so he could see who was singing. Then he went back to his creative work.
When the cantor began the Gloria, I started humming along. My grandson looked up from the art he was creating with glass hearts on the sofa and said with a shy smile, “Be quiet.”
I suppressed a laugh, accepted his gentle chastisement with good humor, and stopped humming.
Obviously satisfied, he handed me a few pink and red glass hearts and went back to work.
Kids are great teachers, if we take the time to listen to them. They’re like little God-taps on the shoulder, trying to get our attention for our own good and for theirs.
Adults are not the only ones who benefit from quiet times with God. While we understand that a variety of food is necessary to provide a healthy diet for our children, it seems we still have to learn that, in addition to the noisy hustle and bustle our children encounter every day, we need to include times of quiet and silence in the mix for the health of their spirits.
It helps to embrace silence, not as a void where nothing exists, but as a well from which everything is possible; where self-discipline, creativity, and prayer are nurtured.
In the evening of the same day my grandson asked me to be quiet, we went to his room to get ready for bed. Standing near the window, he turned around to me and said, “Listen!” We both became silent for a few seconds until a melodic trill could be heard coming through the screen. His eyes widened and he smiled, like he knew a secret.
“What is that?!” I asked.
“Those are frogs,” he shared. “They hide in bushes.”
“I love frogs!” I told him. Again he smiled, “We go find them.”
I had to explain that it was night and we would have a hard time finding them in the dark, so instead we told stories about what the frogs might be doing out there, perhaps talking to their frog friends and planning to go hunting for food, or swimming.
“Who made frogs?” I asked at the end of our story. “God,” he replied quickly, looking at me like it was a silly question.
I’m grateful for the moments of silence we’ve been able to build into a day. They can lead to story time and God-talk, both very important ingredients in the recipe for a good day.
Mary Regina Morrell is a Catholic journalist, author, and syndicated columnist who has served the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey, and RENEW International in the areas of catechesis and communication.
by Mary Sellars Malloy
What difficulties have you overcome because of your belief in the Holy Spirit?
In his book Worshiping Well (The Liturgical Press, 1997), Fr. Larry Mick tells the story of a bishop who took time each day to sit in what he referred to as his “Holy Spirit chair.” As the bishop explained this practice to Confirmation candidates, he emphasized the importance of just sitting down for a few minutes each day to be still and to see what thoughts, inspirations, and insights might surface. This, the bishop said, was the voice of the Spirit speaking to us.
The story so caught my imagination and heart that I’ve often presented it as a spiritual practice at various retreats and parish missions. To sit in a few moments of silence with others is a powerful thing, and to share the fruits of that silence is equally as powerful.
We should not be surprised by what we hear in the silence. After all, four of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are wisdom, understanding, counsel (right judgment), and knowledge. But in order to access these Gifts during times of difficulty, in challenging times such as the present, we must take time to sit and listen to that voice within.
As the Easter season continues and as summer nears, designate your own “Holy Spirit chair.” This time of year, mine is a balcony chair placed near planters full of herbs and flowers, with a delightful view of birds, squirrels, and butterflies at play.
Each day, commit to just a few moments of sitting still and in quiet. Begin by praying, “Come, Holy Spirit.” Prepare to be amazed by the insight and inspiration the Holy Spirit speaks to your heart.
Mary Sellars Malloy has over forty years’ experience as a Catholic educator and lay minister. She is a frequent workshop presenter on the topics of prayer, liturgy, spirituality, the Sacraments, and the RCIA. In addition, Mary leads retreats and parish missions throughout the country. Her goal is to encourage Catholics of all ages to appreciate and to live their Catholic faith.
By Mary Clifford Morrell
Last week, on a particularly balmy day, my husband moved his gardenia tree from its winter space in our family room to its summer place near the bottom of our deck stairs. Then the weather changed back to crisp days and colder nights, and in a few days the leaves of the gardenia were wilting and falling to the ground. Now we will be grateful if it comes back to life this season.
We never expected May to be so cold. It means we haven’t done any of our planting. Our flower boxes still need weeding and the earth around our bushes has not been tilled. Even the tomato pots sit empty along the fence, waiting for the rich earth that nourishes the plants and causes my husband to check with impatience every day for signs of the delicious plump fruit.
As we continue our quarantine during damp and chilly days, we feel the missing piece – the new and beautiful life brought forth in a garden.
Writer Nathanial Hawthorne captured the joy of expectant waiting for new life, writing, “I used to visit and revisit it a dozen times a day, and stand in deep contemplation over my vegetable progeny with a love that nobody could share or conceive of who had never taken part in the process of creation. It was one of the most bewitching sights in the world to observe a hill of beans thrusting aside the soil, or a row of early peas just peeping forth sufficiently to trace a line of delicate green.”
Our gardens are certainly not as grand as Hawthorne’s, with ours being just small planters and a few rows of tomatoes, but they are beautiful reminders of God’s love of variety and color. They teach us of the interconnectedness of all living things, drawing hummingbirds and butterflies, along with deer, brazen squirrels and groundhogs looking for a meal.
This year, while we are waiting for the right time to plant, I’m thinking I will start my garden indoors. In times of stress, pushing tender roots into the earth and getting your hands dirty has a remarkable calming effect, good for anxious adults and homebound children alike. And there’s nothing more satisfying than enjoying the fruits of your labor when flowers bloom or herbs grown on a counter make meals so much more delicious.
Gardening immerses us in the wonders of God’s creation, and the questions that arise from little gardeners keep us on our toes. “Why are there bugs living in the soil? Why does moss grow in one planter but not the other?” And then there are the observations – of the delicate vines that wrap knowingly around the fence and pole, and the flowers that turn always to the sun.
You cannot create a curriculum more valuable or an experience more meaningful in helping children understand their role as stewards of the earth.
Pope Francis teaches, “Nurturing and cherishing creation is a command God gives not only at the beginning of history, but to each of us. It is part of his plan; it means causing the world to grow responsibly, transforming it so that it may be a garden, a habitable place for everyone” (General Audience, World Environmental Day, 2013).
Mary Regina Morrell is a Catholic journalist, author, and syndicated columnist who has served the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey, and RENEW International in the areas of catechesis and communication.
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Our Family Prays is a collection of rituals, blessings, prayers, and traditions meant to encourage and inspire Catholic families to keep prayer at the heart of their home. It is organized by the seasons of the liturgical year and includes religious traditions and celebrations from around the world.
by Mary Sellars Malloy
What are some ways you can imitate Jesus when you are on the playground or on a sports team?
Now I know some of you are wondering why I am responding to a question of the week that was obviously written for the consideration of children. But children, and the ways they surprise and witness to us in beautiful ways, are at the heart of my thoughts this week.
Several years ago, I directed a school choir at an inner-city parish. The choir was made up of fourth through eighth graders who met with me during their Thursday lunch hour. One of the members was an eighth-grade boy whom I will call Joshua. Joshua lived with his grandmother, who did her best to provide for him. But, being the smallest boy in his class, Joshua was often teased and tormented by the other students. And one of the things he was teased about had to do with singing in the choir. That was something that eighth-grade boys just didn’t do!
One Thursday, the most popular and athletic eighth-grade boy in the school came to choir. I tried not to look shocked, but I was most surprised that Jonathan joined us. After all, according to his classmates, boys singing in the choir just wasn’t cool. After choir, I thanked Jonathan for joining us, and I asked him what inspired him to come to choir. He simply said, “I didn’t think Joshua should be alone.”
Today is a good day to think about and pray for all who are serving us so that we have what we need, stay safe, maintain health, and do not walk through this challenging time of the coronavirus pandemic alone. It is a good day to offer encouragement by sharing in the 7:00 p.m. round of applause for healthcare workers, by saying thank you to the stockers and clerks at our grocery stores and pharmacies, by giving a friendly wave and a thank you to our postal carriers and delivery persons, and even by participating in take-out Tuesday efforts to encourage our local restaurateurs.
How can we imitate Jesus, even on the most trying of days? We can follow Jonathan’s example and look for the Joshuas in our families, workplaces, neighborhoods, and social circles. We can find our ways to stand beside them so that they too are never alone.
Mary Sellars Malloy has over forty years’ experience as a Catholic educator and lay minister. She is a frequent workshop presenter on the topics of prayer, liturgy, spirituality, the Sacraments, and the RCIA. In addition, Mary leads retreats and parish missions throughout the country. Her goal is to encourage Catholics of all ages to appreciate and to live their Catholic faith.
by Mary Clifford Morrell
For many parents and grandparents, finding ways to cope with caring for children during a pandemic is difficult. Parents are often overwhelmed by too much time with their kids, never really having any time to themselves to recover their energy and balance their own emotional highs and lows.
Grandparents, like me, are relegated to video chats or, my favorite, porch visits where you stand outside the house, smile, wave, and try to chat with family members through a glass door.
Last week my daughter-in-law, who probably needed adult company more than my grandchildren, sat on a bench under the living room window inside her house and spoke to me through a screen while she attempted to eat a now cold lunch. I could hear the noise of the grandchildren in the background as they scrambled for their lunches and picked the occasional battle with a sibling.
When my daughter-in-law got up to investigate why the two-year-old was now screaming a blood curdling “I’m hurt” scream, the nine-year-old took his place at the window, lunch in hand, and started talking like we were out together at the diner.
“I wish this weren’t happening,” he said, looking at me with a homemade mask covering most of my face, and then looking back down at his plate. He talked about the meat shortage he heard about and wondered what that might mean for them.
“Not much for you guys!” I laughed, reminding them of their penchant for frozen waffles, macaroni and cheese, pasta and pizza. “I don’t think you’d have any problem just having meat once or twice a week,” I said.
He smiled and agreed. We talked about our favorite foods, which ones we could happily eat every day and not get tired of, and the fact that we still had all the food we needed, even if we couldn’t always have what we liked the most.
I was grateful for the opportunity for the conversation because this is a child who is prone to worry.
I am also grateful that my son and daughter-in-law work hard at helping all the children maintain some peace of mind.
Those who have already traveled the long road of difficult times often have the best advice, like Nancy, who was born in 1929 and lived through the Great Depression. She said, “This, too, shall pass. Please, please refrain from instilling a sense of insecurity in your children when times are tough. Give them extra love and assurance that you are all secure in God’s love.”
A powerful way to take the focus off our anxiety, no matter our age, is to focus it in prayer. Our prayers are opportunities to leave our burdens with God, to turn to God for strength, for wisdom, and for hope. Praying together with our children helps them learn that prayer is not just for them. If parents turn to God for strength, children are more likely to do the same.
Downplaying the sense of fear that comes through our own conversations and our own behaviors is vital for children. It is helpful to explain the changes we have undertaken – like wearing masks, washing hands, and keeping socially distant – as ways of supporting others, more than out of fear of what might happen to us or our loved ones.
When we share this approach with our children, we can also remind them that when Jesus was asked which of the Commandments was the greatest, he replied, “Love God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind,” and “Love your neighbor as you love yourself” (see Mark 12: 30,31).
During these stressful times, it is good to be reminded that God expects us to take care of ourselves and that self-care is essential to caring for others too.
Mary Morrell is a Catholic journalist, author, and syndicated columnist who has served the dioceses of Metuchen and Trenton, New Jersey, and RENEW International in the areas of catechesis and communication.Product Highlight
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How are you a shepherd to those in your care?
by Mary Sellars MalloyMany of you are familiar with the Little Black Book for Lent and the Little White Book for Easter. They were the inspiration of the late Bishop Ken Untener.
In his last years of ministry, Bishop Ken realized that the people in his Diocese—the sheep of his flock—needed a shepherd. He so strongly felt this that he reoriented the focus of his ministry to let go of some of his administrative duties in order to focus on shepherding the people. Out of his desire that the sheep of his flock take time for daily prayer and to grow in their knowledge of the Catholic faith, he came up with the idea of the little books—tools that invited his flock to spend six minutes a day in reading and prayer.
Bishop Ken’s example of shepherding could inspire each of us this Easter season.
First, Bishop Ken took the time to get to know the flock in his care. Who is in our care at this point in time? Children? Aging parents? Friends? Coworkers? Neighbors? Those in our community who are unemployed and in need?
Second, he identified a need. What are the needs of those in our care? The gift of time? Food, money, or material goods to help others recover from the effects of the pandemic? When gathering restrictions are lifted, an invitation to become part of a Bible study, a book club, a ministry, or a circle of support?
Third, he reoriented his priorities to address the greatest need of those in his care. Where might we need to change our priorities or our routines in order to best shepherd the sheep of the flock God has asked us to tend? Recent weeks have certainly provided us with time to think about our lives and priorities. Where are our thoughts and reflections leading us?
As the Great Fifty Days continue, how will you follow Jesus’ example by being a shepherd who tends for the sheep of your flock?
Mary Sellars Malloy has over forty years’ experience as a Catholic educator and lay minister. She is a frequent workshop presenter on the topics of prayer, liturgy, spirituality, the Sacraments, and the RCIA. In addition, Mary leads retreats and parish missions throughout the country. Her goal is to encourage Catholics of all ages to appreciate and to live their Catholic faith.