Sunday, May 17, 2015

Gospel For Today - Ascension

SOLEMNITY OF THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD

Christianity is a religion of Incarnation.  We believe in a God who put on human flesh and was born into the world of a woman.  Our God fed at His mother's breast, had messy diapers, and all the rest that is part of human infancy.  Our God grew into a man and learned the carpenter's trade; a craft which involves taking elements of creation and transforming them into useful and even beautiful objects for the benefit of mankind.

Jesus' public ministry also used elements of physical creation for God's glory.  His first miracle was turning water into wine.  He used dirt and His own saliva to make mud to heal a blind man.  He instructed His followers to eat His flesh and drink His blood.  He met His death in a very real way on a very real wooden cross.  And His resurrection was just as much a physical reality as His death.  In the post-resurrection accounts of Christ He is seen eating and drinking.  St. Thomas was able to place his fingers into the wounds on Jesus' body.

Our religion is a very physical religion.  And today we celebrate the physical ascension of Jesus into heaven, human body and all.  The Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God, came to earth to unite the divine nature with human nature and now He takes that human nature up to heaven with Him, where it remains part of the Godhead for all eternity.  Where He goes we hope to follow.  In the meantime, however, the Incarnation does not end.

Jesus established a physical Church to continue His presence on earth.  The Church is led by a physical hierarchy of bishops, priests and deacons who minister to the faithful.  Jesus established physical sacraments as means of conveying His grace through words, water, bread and wine, holy oils and laying on of hands.  The Church ministers to us and the sacraments strengthen us for two purposes.  One is so that we may have sure hope of following Jesus into heaven and seeing God ourselves face to face in the Beatific Vision.  The other is so that we, the faithful, may continue to be Christ's presence here on earth for others.  The Church is called the "body of Christ" (Eph 4:12) not only as a metaphor but as a description of reality.  The Church is made up of those who have been baptized into Christ, so that it is no longer we who live but Christ who lives in us (to paraphrase Paul from Gal 2:20).

The last words Jesus speaks to the Apostles before His ascension are these:  "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).  Our gospel reading today has Jesus instructing us, "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature" (Mk 16:15).  We have our marching orders.  Our job as members of Christ's body is to bring Christ with us wherever we go.  Jesus tells us that this means "to the ends of the earth" and "the whole world."  There is not a race, nation, tribe or people to whom Christ does not desire to dwell among.  We are to bring Him there.  This means far-flung lands, yes, but it also means our own neighborhoods and homes, classrooms and offices.  

In today's gospel Jesus tells us to "go into the world."  He sends us, just as we are sent at the end of Mass by the deacon or priest.  It is interesting to note that the word apostle means "messenger" or "one who is sent."  We have been sent by Christ.  We have a mission to be His apostles.

Even more interesting is the instruction He gives us in our first reading from Acts to be His witnesses.  It is from the Greek word for "witness" that we get our word martyr.  Being a witness for Christ involves sacrifice. For many in the early Church this meant giving up your life as a witness to the faith.  For an increasing amount of Christians in the world today it means the same thing.  But even for those of us who do not face death for our belief in Jesus, we can still expect to clash often with the world around us as we strive to be true to our Christian calling.  That clash can even be against our own comforts and desires that stand in the way of our calling.  Either way, if your Christian faith does not make you feel at least a little challenged each day, how effective a witness are you being?

This is our job description as Christians.  We are sent into the world to be His witnesses.  We are called to be apostles and martyrs.  So why are we standing here looking at the sky?  We have our orders.  Let's get to work.

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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Sunday, May 10, 2015

Gospel For Today: 6th Sunday of Easter

Happy Mother's Day today to all those Mothers who continue to show us in their maternal love the selfless and tireless love which God has for us, His children.


SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (B)

God is love.  That simple statement from 1 John 4:8 is a comfort to many.  In fact, for many the one thing they may know about the Christian view of God is that God is love.  It's a short statement, and easy to remember.  But most people know it not because of its simplicity but because of the sense of comfort it brings.  We all love love, after all.  Who can say anything bad about love?  So the thought of God being love is nice.  It is comforting.

But if you really consider that statement in its profundity, you could be forgiven for feeling a bit uncomfortable.  The thought of God being love is paradoxically comforting and overwhelming at the same time, if we correctly understand love.  And therein lies the problem.  Most of us cannot say we truly understand love.  We glimpse it, and grasp at it, but we cannot comprehend it fully.  It is too much for us.  This is why God sent His Son into the world; to reveal to us the true face of Love, for we could not know it on our own.

Jesus tells us who would be His disciples, "As the Father loves me, so I also love you... If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love" (Jn 15:9-10).  Jesus shows us something important about love -- it is active.  Love is more than just a passive feeling.  It is more than an emotion.  To love someone means so much more than simply having generally positive feelings about that person.  Jesus says that to love Him we must do something, namely to follow His commandments.  He tells us: "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.  No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends" (Jn 15:12-13).  We are to love one another as Jesus loves us.  Jesus gave His life for us.  This is His model of love.  It is a love without boundaries, without conditions, without reservation.  It is a love that holds nothing back.

This is our commandment: to love like Christ, without counting the cost.  Are you feeling a little uncomfortable now?  It is a love that leaves no room for selfishness, no room for big egos, no room for pride.  It is a love that is all consuming.  We may fear that if we abandon ourselves to love so completely we may lose ourselves.  Yet God is love, so the more we love the more we become like God.  This is what Christ means when He says "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal" (Jn 12:25).  His words only make sense in the context of a total self-giving love.  To be a disciple of Christ is to be a disciple of love.  

As Christians, our task is to grow in love, yet we fail in love all the time.  One excellent definition of sin is "a failure of love."  But God gives us many opportunities to grow in love in this world, and so grow closer to Himself.  This is why Christ commands us to love the poor, the hungry, the imprisoned, the home bound, the widows and orphans, the lepers and the outcasts. We are even commanded to love our enemies.  (G. K. Chesterton once quipped that the reason why God commands us to love our neighbors and our enemies is because they are frequently the same people).  

The Church even gives us sacraments to call us into greater love.  Truly all the sacraments are manifestations of God's love for us, but there are two in particular that call us to become special icons of love.  I am speaking of the sacraments of vocation.

The Sacrament of Matrimony bonds husband and wife together in a life-long union of love.  When man and wife marry, they promise to love one another all the days of their lives, in sickness and health, for richer or poorer, better or worse.  In other words, it is a love without condition.  St. Paul, in his great passage in Ephesians 5:21-33 speaks of the marital relationship as being like the relationship between Christ and the Church.  "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her" (Eph 5:25).  And the Church, in kind, loves Christ with an equally self-giving love as witnessed by the martyrs.  This is our model for marital love.  It is not for the faint hearted!

Marriage is the vocation that builds families and families are the primary school of love.  Fathers and mothers must learn self-giving when they raise their children.  Selfishness stands in the way of parenthood, which should reflect the love of our Heavenly Father to our children.  We honor mothers especially today, on Mother's Day, because of the selfless nature of maternal love.  Mothers show us, in their very bodies, something of God's love.  Carrying a child in the womb, and then nursing that infant at her breast, a mother gives of herself in a quite literal, physical sense to nourish the life of another.  Newborns are the most helpless, most innocent, and most dependent of all and so rely entirely upon the love of others for their lives.  Mothers give that love, which does not end with infancy but continues to be with their children all of their lives.  Is it any wonder that God, who came into the world in order to show us the depths of His love, would choose to come into the world through a mother?

The other sacrament of vocation is that of Holy Orders, to which certain men are called to grow in love by giving themselves fully not to one woman as a bride, but to the Bride of Christ, the Church.  It is worth noting that there are three orders in this sacrament; deacon, priest and bishop.  It is a hierarchical order, meaning one cannot be ordained to a higher order without having been ordained to the ones preceding.  This means that every cleric in the Church, from your parish priest to the Pope himself is first ordained to the order of deacon, so named from the Greek diakonos which means "servant."  To be ordained into Holy Orders in the Catholic Church you must dedicate your life to serve others in love.  Religious life, as well, is a powerful means of growing in love by accepting a vocation of total devotion to God in prayer and work.  There are many different religious orders, each with specific charisms.  Some are devoted to preaching, others to poverty, others to care for the sick, etc.  But each of these charisms are for a single purpose -- to manifest more fully God's love in the world.  

Matrimony, Holy Orders, and religious life are specific modes of life meant to be icons of love, to show the world what it means to live for others.  But the call to love is for all of us, without exception.  The unmarried benefit from the example of marital love, just as the laity benefit from the devout service of those in holy orders.  God is Love.  Therefore love is the universal vocation of all who would have God as their end.

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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Davidson CCM bulletin for week of May 4

Psalm 23 (for the 21st century)
The Lord is my pacesetter; I shall not rush.
He makes me to stop and rest for quiet intervals.
He provides me with images of stillness which restore my serenity.
He leads me in the ways of efficiency through calmness of mind.
And his guidance is my peace even though I have a great many things to accomplish each day.
I will not fret.
For his presence is here; his timelessness, his all-importance will keep me in balance.
He prepares refreshment and renewal in the midst of activity, by anointing me with his oils of tranquility.
My cup of joyous energy overflows; surely harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruits.
For I shall walk in the pace of my Lord and dwell in his house forever.
                ~Toki Miyashiro





___________________

Karen Soos
Associate Chaplain and Catholic Campus Minister
Davidson College
Campus Box 7196
Davidson NC 28035
704. 894. 2423

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Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Exam Prayers

Did you know that there is a patron saint of test takers and poor students?  St. Joseph of Cupertino is perhaps better known as the Franciscan friar who would levitate as he prayed (seriously).  But when he first approached the order for admission he was turned away because of his lack of education.  He persevered and was eventually not only accepted into the order but also ordained a priest.   It is said that when he was being examined for admission into the order, he miraculously was only asked questions he knew the answers to!

Below is a prayer for the intercession of St. Joseph of Cupertino for success in examinations.

O Great St. Joseph of Cupertino who while on earth did obtain from God the grace to be asked at your examination only the questions you knew, obtain for me a like favour in the examinations for which I am now preparing. In return I promise to make you known and cause you to be invoked.
Through Christ our Lord.
St. Joseph of Cupertino, Pray for us.
Amen.

St. Thomas Aquinas is also a well known patron saint of students.  Here is a student's prayer composted by this saint, known as the "Angelic Doctor."

Come, Holy Spirit, Divine Creator, true source of light and fountain of wisdom! Pour forth your brilliance upon my dense intellect, dissipate the darkness which covers me, that of sin and of ignorance. Grant me a penetrating mind to understand, a retentive memory, method and ease in learning, the lucidity to comprehend, and abundant grace in expressing myself. Guide the beginning of my work, direct its progress, and bring it to successful completion. This I ask through Jesus Christ, true God and true man, living and reigning with You and the Father, forever and ever.
Amen.

Our prayer for you this week is not only for success on your exams, but for relief from stress and anxiety, for safe travels home, and for a blessed summer.  Especially for our graduates, we pray for success in life, and that you may be open to the will of God in your new adventures.

God bless!
Matt

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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Sunday, May 3, 2015

Gospel For Today: 5th Sunday of Easter

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (B)


"I am the vine, you are the branches.  Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing" (Jn 15:5).

Jesus today calls Himself the vine, and we who would be His followers the branches.  The meaning of His metaphor would have been apparent to those in the agricultural society of His time, as it is to anyone today who has done a bit of gardening.  If a branch is cuff off from the vine from which it is growing, it will wither and die.  The same is true with us.  If we want to continue to live in Christ we must remain connected to Him.  Only then will we grow and bear fruit.

What fruit?  The Catechism, quoting from Gal. 5:22-23, says, "He who grafted us onto the true vine will make us bear 'the fruit of the Spirit... love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.'"  Can anyone imagine a soul in heaven lacking in any of these?  Can you imagine an unfaithful person in heaven?  Or being in heaven and having no peace, or no joy?  These are the characteristics of the saints, and we can achieve them not only in heaven, but in this world, as well, so long as we remain grafted onto the true vine of Christ.

The important question then becomes, how do we remain in Christ?  Is it enough to belong to a church?  To go to Mass on Sundays?  To read the Bible every now and then and try to be kind to people?  These are good things, but they are not enough on their own.  Most of us, I imagine, know plenty of people who go to church, read the Bible, and lack many of the fruits of the Spirit.  Perhaps they lack self-control.  Perhaps they lack patience.  Perhaps they lack love.  They may be like a branch that has been partially torn from the vine.  It still hangs on, receiving some life from the vine but it is withering and will die unless it is grafted back on.  (And perhaps this describes ourselves).

So how do we truly remain in Christ?  In today's second reading (1 Jn 3:18-24), John says, "Now this is how we shall know that we belong to the truth... because we keep His commandments and do what pleases Him.  And His commandment is this: we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as He commanded us. Those who keep His commandments remain in Him, and He in them."  Believe in Jesus.  Love one another.  It sounds so simple, yet to follow this path takes perseverance.  A "casual Christian" will not remain one for long.  

There are some who believe in Jesus but fail in following His commands.  They feel they don't need to change their habits of life because they believe in Jesus and that's all that matters.  Yet Jesus clearly says, "Not all who say to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father" (Mt 7:21-23).  The scriptures also say, "Even the demons believe, and tremble in terror" (Jas 2:19).  Belief alone is no guarantee of holiness.

Nor is merely following the commandments sufficient.  Some think that it is enough to simply be a loving person and to do good things.  Many of us, no doubt, know people who are atheists or agnostics whom we would describe as "a good person."  Maybe they even practice the corporal works of mercy better than many Christians we know, volunteering at the soup kitchen, helping to shelter the homeless, donating to charities, and always lending a helping hand to their neighbors.  Yet, as we read last Sunday, there is no salvation through anyone else but Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).  We cannot save ourselves.

Jesus is clear in today's gospel.  "Without me you can do nothing" (Jn 15:5).  We are incapable of loving as we ought without God for one simple reason; God is love.  Therefore any act of love we perform, if it is loving at all, is a participation in the love of God -- even if we do not recognize it at the time.  But to grow in love we must grow closer to God, the source of love.  Trying to love without God is like trying to swim without water, or trying to breathe without air.  

To love without believing is to be a social worker, not a saint.  To believe without loving is to be a Pharisee, not a saint.  To be a saint, to be one abiding in Christ, we must believe and love.  How do we know if we are succeeding in these things?  Because the fruits that are born by a life in Christ begin to be apparent.  Love.  Joy.  Peace.  Patience.  Kindness.  Goodness.  Faithfulness.  Gentleness.  Self-control.  These gifts will manifest in your life to the extent that you abide in Christ, and He in you.  If you examine your life and find them absent, it may well be that you lack in your belief or your love.  What to do then?  Do not despair, and do not be afraid, but rely on Christ.  For He knows that none of us can believe or love perfectly without Him.  Ask for His help.  Pray for an increase of faith and love in your life.  Pray that the fruits of the Holy Spirit will be made manifest in you.  And be ready for what comes.  

Jesus lets us know that sometimes the vine grower has to prune a branch so that it will bear more fruit.  Perhaps you and I need a little pruning now and then to help us perfect our faith and our love.  Pray today that God will prune away from your life anything preventing you from believing and loving perfectly, so that you may grow in Christ and know the comfort of the fruits of the Spirit in your heart.


--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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Sunday, April 26, 2015

Gospel for Today - 4th Sunday of Easter

FOURTH SUNDAY OF EASTER (B)

"I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for the sheep." - Jn 10:14-15

Many of my students know that I keep a small flock of Soay sheep; a rare breed of primitive domestic sheep from the St. Kilda islands in the north Atlantic.  Yesterday I was celebrating the end of the semester with a cook out for my students at my home.  They always enjoy being able to spend time with my family and see the livestock on my little smallholding.  One student asked me yesterday if being a shepherd made me feel like Jesus.  The answer is usually not, because I am certain my little flock is much easier to care for than the people of God!  But keeping sheep does give me an appreciation of the meaning behind Jesus' words when He calls Himself the good shepherd, and us His sheep.

Early during our gathering yesterday, while I was cooking at the grill, I saw a group of students hanging out by the pasture gate, admiring the animals.  All the sheep were in the far corner of the pasture, eyeing the strange crowd suspiciously.  Later in the afternoon I walked out to the pasture with just one student who wanted to see the new lambs.  This time, instead of keeping their distance, the sheep all lined up and walked toward me.  Why the different reaction?  The answer is simple.  My sheep know me.  They know I am the one who cares for them.  In other words, they trust me.  And because of that, they follow me.  

Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me."  As members of His flock, we are to trust and follow our shepherd.  People often are described as sheep in a negative way; as dumb animals who are easily led and will follow the crowd.  It is true that sheep prefer to stay in a herd, an individual generally following the group.  But in terms of following a shepherd, sheep will only follow one that they trust.  Do you trust Jesus enough to follow Him?  Or are you following some other shepherd?

Jesus also speaks of wolves coming in and scattering the sheep.   There are many other voices out there calling for our attention besides that of Christ the Good Shepherd.  There are plenty of false gods left to worship.  We worship power.  We worship money. We worship sex.  We worship pleasure.  We worship comfort.  Most of all, we worship ourselves.  Any of these things can easily draw us away from God if we allow them to.  One definition of idolatry is valuing a created thing above the Creator.  This is what is sinful about allowing anything -- even a good thing -- to have a place in our lives higher than God.  It is disordered to love a lesser good above the highest good.  

The truth is, as St. Peter reminds us in today's first reading (Acts 4:8-12), "There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved."  Other things in this world may offer us power or pleasure or fame or comfort or wealth or any number of other good things.  But only Jesus can offer us life.  Only Jesus can offer us forgiveness and mercy.  Only Jesus can lead us to perfection and holiness.  "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.  We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 Jn 3:2).  

So do not run after these other gods.  Do not follow these other shepherds.  There is but one Good Shepherd who has true love and concern for His flock.  He will lead us to where we need to go.  We simply need to learn to recognize His voice and then trust Him enough to follow Him.  We can hear our Shepherd's voice through the Church, as Christ has given us shepherds in His name, as He told Peter after the Resurrection, "Feed my sheep" (Jn 21:17).  We can hear our Shepherd's voice in the scriptures.  We can hear His voice through our prayer.  Once we come to know and love Christ, we will follow when we hear His voice -- not cautiously or hesitantly, but with trust and love.

Christ is the Good Shepherd.  He knows us, His sheep.  May we always strive to know Him, our shepherd, and never hesitate to trust in His loving care for us.

--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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Sunday, April 19, 2015

Gospel For Today: 3rd Sunday of Easter

THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER (B)

"Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things."

This is the conclusion of our gospel reading for today, from Luke 24:35-48.  This, followed by His promise to send the Holy Spirit, are the last words Luke records Jesus saying to the disciples before His Ascension.  This is the meaning of Easter.  This is what it has all been for.  Why did Christ have to suffer and die, and then rise from the dead?  Jesus gives us the answer: so that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in His name.

And not only preached, but actuated.  We saw last week how Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into the Apostles saying, "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven, whose sins you retain are retained" (Jn 20:23).  Thus the authority to convey Christ's forgiveness to those who repent and confess their sins is given to the Church.  But how are people to know to confess their sins?  How are we brought to repentance?  We need to be told and instructed, so Jesus commands His followers to witness to these things, to go tell the world.  We have examples today of two Apostles, Peter and John, doing just that.  Peter, in the first reading from Acts preaches about how the death and resurrection of the Christ was foretold in the scriptures, and ends his homily with the command to "repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away" (Acts 3:17-19).

Some today wish to believe that Jesus' death and resurrection means automatic forgiveness of sins for everyone, with nothing left to do on our part.  Hell, in this view, is an empty place (if it even exists at all).  All are saved by Christ, no exceptions. Still more, though they may not profess universal salvation, conduct their lives as if it were true.  "Jesus died for me and there is nothing else I need to do."  And so they don't go to Confession, to Mass, read the scriptures, pray, attempt to avoid sin, or make any effort to know God at all.

Those who believe this way are partly correct.  Jesus did die for all.  And there is nothing you or I can do to save ourselves.  We must rely totally on Christ if we are to be redeemed.  The work is His, not ours.  But the Catholic Church does not teach universal salvation.  The reason is summed up in a statement by St. Augustine: "God created us without us: but He did not will to save us without us."  This line from one of his sermons is quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which then immediately reminds us, "To receive His mercy, we must admit our faults" (CCC 1847).

We cannot forget that God is love.  We may think the most loving thing to do would be to universally save all mankind and make it impossible for anyone to go to Hell.  But that is not what love is.  Love does not force anyone into a relationship.  Love beckons and invites.  Love desires to be freely loved back.  Love wants to be in relationship with the beloved.  Heaven is nothing more than eternal union with God.  Hell is nothing less than eternal separation from God.  Our eternal destiny is determined by our relationship with the Creator.  Do we choose to be in relationship with Him or not?  That choice is made by us and by our actions in this life.

Our relationship with God is broken by sin, which originates in the human heart.  Our relationship with God is healed by forgiveness, which originates in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  This is why St. Peter tells us in today's first reading to "repent" and "be converted."  To repent means to turn around, to change our minds.  We have to change our minds about our sins, turn away from them and back toward God.  To be converted literally means to be transformed.  When we repent from our sins and accept God's gift of forgiveness we are transformed into a new creation -- we become the person God made us to be.  But we do not transform ourselves.  We are converted by God, which can only happen when we turn away from sin and turn toward God.  Thinking we can transform ourselves into holy people is prideful.  Pride is the primordial sin, which is why humility is such an important aspect of growing in holiness.

John also gives witness to the need to repent and accept Jesus' forgiveness of sins in his letter from today's second reading (1 Jn 2:1-5a).  He writes of the importance of not only believing in God, but in living our lives in accordance with His will.  "The way we may be sure that we know Him is to keep His commandments," he writes.  "Those who say, 'I know Him,' but do not keep His commandments are liars and the truth is not in them."

While stressing the importance of keeping the commandments, John does not condemn those who fall into sin.  "My children," he writes, "I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin.  But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one."  Our sins separate us from God; Jesus offers us reconciliation.  

Both Peter and John give us the continuation of the Easter message.  This is what Easter was for.  This is what you should do about it.  Repent and be converted.  

Practically speaking, what does this mean? 
  • Become aware of your sins.  Most likely, you know the "biggies" that are weighing on your conscience.  Study the moral teachings of the Church to help you identify other areas of your life that are at odds with the love of God.  Firmly resolve, with Jesus' help, to avoid those sins in the future.
  • Return to the sacraments.  If you have been away from Mass and/or Confession for a while, the best time to return is today.  Right now.  If you don't know what to do, just tell the priest you want to confess but you are not sure how.  He'll gladly walk you through it and rejoice with you in your forgiveness.
  • Don't dwell on your sins!  You've repented and been forgiven, so don't give your past sins any more power over you by dwelling on them.  You are not that sinful person any longer, you are a new creation.
  • Build a relationship with God.  That's why Jesus died for you, and why you repented from your sins -- to restore your relationship with God.  Start working on that relationship today.  Pray.  Every day.  It doesn't have to be long or complex.  Just a few minutes each day to lift your mind and heart to God.  You just have to do it.  Get to know Him more by reading His Word.  One easy way to start is by following this link to today's readings on the USCCB web site.  At the bottom of the page you can subscribe to start receiving the daily Mass readings in your email each day.  Spend time getting to know the scriptures.
  • Finally, and most importantly, allow God to do His work in your life.  He wants to change you for the better, but change can be difficult.  Sometimes it can hurt.  Our human instinct is all too often to fight against it.  Don't do this!  Satan wants you to stay as you are, but God wants you to be so much more.  He's willing to do the heavy lifting to transform you into a saint, but you have to let Him do it.  Giving yourself over to God's will can be frightening, but remember that everything God wants to do for you is good.  There is no need to be afraid.  Give God permission to work in your life.
Christ is Risen!  Turn away from your sins.  Turn towards the Risen Christ, and be transformed!



--
WCU Catholic Campus Ministry
Matthew Newsome, MTh, campus minister
  
(828)293-9374  |   POB 2766, Cullowhee NC 28723

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