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The Trumpet Newsletter of Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services
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| Year | Issue Date | Article Title | Author |
| 2005 | April/May/June | Grasp the Heartstrings of the Father | Ron Bergman-Diocesan Liaison |
| 2005 | April/May/June | Called to Love | Linda Daniel-Editor |
| 2005 | April/May/June | Working Together In Love | Patty Mendoza |
| 2005 | April/May/June | "Much More Than This" | Nita Neu |
| 2005 | April/May/June | Sowing and Harvesting | Kate Elliott, DRE |
From The Liaison
Grasp the Heartstrings of the Father [back to top of page]
As I write this, we are still only half way through Lent, which for me is not always a pleasant experience. And by the time you read this, Easter Sunday, that most wonderful of the events we celebrate during our liturgical year will have been celebrated. The fullness and joy of the Easter season is upon us as we hear about all the wonderful ways Jesus confirmed that he is actually risen from the dead and again walking this earth, continuing his task of building his kingdom.
As I sat to write this, it seemed that maybe I had run out of topics to talk about in this space. Although I’d been praying for days, weeks, nothing seemed to be right. But difficulties like that remind us of our personal weaknesses, our total dependence on the love of our heavenly Father, and are not that unusual during Lent. So to get some ideas of what to share I read some of the back issues of The Trumpet to see what subjects had been covered. I was surprised to see how, over the last 10+ years, our staff writers have covered so many aspects of the reality of living a spirit-filled Christian life, but I was particularly encouraged by two past articles I ran across after spending a few more desperate moments of prayer for the Holy Spirit’s help.
One of the articles was printed in the May/June 1988 issue, written by our dear sister in Christ, Vicki Spiess, who was a dedicated member of the Diocesan Service Team until she died of cancer on November 10, 2000. The other was about thoughts recorded by my mother on a small envelope that we found after her death in July 1999. She had tucked it away in her Bible, and I first shared those thoughts in the September/October 1999 issue. Both women dealt with their relationship with God and the beautiful place He has provided for us. Both dealt with taking time for Him and with Him. As you read their words, slowly meditate on the depth of the Father’s love shown through them.
Vicki wrote in her Trumpet article: “Imagine that you are a young child about four or five years old. Your loving father, whom you long to spend time with, tells you that the two of you are going for a walk. You will go to his special place. It is in the middle of a very beautiful and peaceful forest. On the way there you are holding his hand as the two of you walk. You ask your father to tell you what it looks like, what is there. As the two of you walk, he describes to you the beauty that awaits you. Fluttering off the path is a butterfly. You chase off after it in your childlike exuberance. Your loving father waits patiently until you are ready to resume your walk down his path that he has chosen. On the way you pass over hills and cross low valleys. You do not notice that the few trees that were occasionally on either side of the path have now increased in number. It is not until you stop all of your activity and gaze into the loving eyes of your father that you realize how loud the quiet is. He responds by tenderly explaining that all you had to do was stop, be still, and look around you. God’s presence among us is that peaceful, beautiful, quiet place that completely surrounds us.
For too long we have been that child getting off the path to chase butterflies. If we would only stop, be still, be quiet, and listen to what God is saying to us in our hearts and through the people around us, we would experience his love in a deeper way. As we have been walking on our journey of faith with Christ, we have not noticed how deep the quiet woods are becoming. Just as the trees slowly increased in number to become the forest, the Spirit has been moving among us.”
My mother wrote: “I often lie on my bed and look out the window at whatever presents itself – trees, in whatever seasonal garb nature has dressed them – or from my kitchen window I see the birdbath, sometimes frozen, and always the birds, winter and summer. Sometimes I watch the rising sun or a glorious sunset. I look out with my physical eyes, but with my spiritual eyes I am looking within. Often I don’t like what I see inside, but that’s something I can always talk to God about.
We should slow down as we grow older. The drive increases with the spring. Today’s unwritten letter will get written tomorrow. This isn’t procrastination. It is the philosophy of first things first. It’s more important to rest awhile and contemplate our soul than to make a telephone call or write a letter, when neither is vital. There is no need to hurry. There is eternity.
A little stock-taking is always a wise move. The younger we are when we start setting aside a little time for thinking, and not just doing – for getting acquainted with ourselves, for opening our receptive spirit to the quiet work of God – the happier we will be in later years. And it’s better late than never. These are things we come to know when we learn to control our drives and to sit awhile and talk to our Creator.”
Neither of these two wise women were great orators. But they had grasped the heartstrings of the Father. As we continue on our journey to the heart of Jesus, let us never be too busy to take time to stop, and listen, and talk with our Creator, our loving Father. (Psalm 46:11) Another wise person once said, “If you’re too busy to take 30 minutes to pray, you had better take 60,” or something like that. Meaningful words, aren’t these all?V
Blessings,
Ron
Know Your Faith
Sowing and Harvesting [back to top of page]
As we read the Bible we see Jesus getting the attention of the crowds by telling parables. He uses the things that are familiar to the people; everyday events in their lives that can lead them to a realization of the Kingdom of God. One of the stories Jesus used and that we have heard time and again is the parable of the “Sower and the Seed.”
“Listen carefully to this. A farmer went out sowing. Some of what he sowed landed on the footpath, where the birds came along and ate it. Some of the seed landed on rocky ground where it had little soil; it sprouted immediately because the soil had no depth. Then, when the sun rose and scorched it, it began to wither for lack of roots. Again, some landed among thorns, which grew up and choked it off, and there was no yield of grain. Some seed, finally, landed on good soil and yielded grain that sprang up to produce at a rate of thirty- and sixty- and a hundredfold.” Having spoken this parable, he added: “Let him who has ears to hear me, hear!” (Mark 4:3-9)
When we hear this parable we might wonder why someone would plant seed on a path, on rocks and among thorns. But in Jesus’ time a farmer would scatter the seed first and then plow. So the seed on the path that was used to walk through the field would be plowed under. The seed that falls on the rocks that are sticking up through the soil will also be plowed under as will the thorns and weeds that are growing in the field. Jesus describes what a Palestinian farmer had to go through to plant a field. The difficulties and the condition of the soil along with the forces of nature were all issues that the people of Jesus’ day understood. They also knew that despite all these things there would be a harvest. Jesus tells us and them that God’s Kingdom will come, even though we labor under adverse conditions that are present in all cultures and societies. We can’t give up, there will be a harvest if we persevere in the power of the Holy Spirit.
When we evangelize or tell others the story of what God has done in our lives, we need to remember this parable. Jesus used the language of the day and examples that the people could understand. We need to keep it simple and relate our conversion experience in a way that those we share with can understand and use what we have said to find Jesus for themselves. Jesus entrusts this sowing and harvesting to us to bring about the Kingdom of God in our secular society. May the Holy Spirit open doors and give us the words to accomplish this task even when the way is rocky and the conditions less than perfect. God will use us to produce fruit if we are obedient to His commands.V
Kate Elliott, DRE
Holy Spirit Church, Roscoe
Called to Love [back to top of page]
God is Trinity – one God in three persons (CCC 253). God is love (1 John 4:8). God made man in His image (Genesis 1:27). Jesus prayed that we would be one as He and the Father are one (John 17:21). We are called to love one another and live in unity.
Why is it then that we often act like “Lone Rangers” or stay in little groups or cliques? We have difficulty relating to anyone who is different from us, a new acquaintance or someone of a different background or heritage. We are uncomfortable with the differences and we don’t know how to overcome them to get to a place of understanding. There is fear involved and laziness and just a natural reluctance to change. The longer we allow the differences to keep us apart, the more difficult it becomes to bring about unity.
Why are loving one another and unity so important in the Church? Because Jesus commanded and prayed for these? Because they are a way to let our light shine (Matthew 5:14-16)? Because we can encourage one another and “rouse each other to love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24 & 25)? “We must assemble to rouse, bless, love, heal, and serve each other, because the devil easily defeats a one-man army. A stray sheep is easy pickings.... Jesus constantly calls us together while Satan tries to scatter us.”[1]
When we relate to others, we should concentrate on loving and serving them. We have to be careful about judging or misjudging them. In the parable of the man with two sons (Matthew 21:28-32) where one son agrees to the father’s request but then fails to act and the other son says no but then acts, we are reminded that actions are more important than words. “If what one does is more important than what one says, then we had better judge cautiously... The parable warns us to think twice before we judge a brother or sister who has a quick temper, who struggles with a broken marriage, who seems inconsistent in a promise. Any one of these may in fact be doing the Father’s will.”[2] We cannot see the intentions of the heart or the secret deeds of others, so instead of judging what seems to be true in them, we should concentrate on living the truth ourselves. In the same sense, we cannot control how others judge us or interpret our actions, so again we should just focus on doing what is right and not worry how others see us. Comparing ourselves to others can lead to envy and resentment, so we must keep our eyes on Jesus. Focusing on Jesus and His love and mercy produces gratitude and greater openness to the work of the Holy Spirit within us. He will then produce in us righteousness and truth and love.[3]
Several years ago my family had an exchange student from Brazil live with us for a year. Our first meeting was awkward. As we picked her up from the airport, we had to struggle through the first meeting because there was no one there to help us over the barriers of language and culture. We were as welcoming as we knew how to be, but we learned much later that our reception of her was nowhere near as warm as it would have been in her country. Her struggle was compounded as she tried to communicate in spoken English, a totally different experience than what she had had in the classroom. She cried herself to sleep the first week or two. She was tempted to give up and return home, but that was not a practical option, so we all continued to work at understanding each other. As time went on the struggle lessened and love began to bloom. It wasn’t long before I was saying that I had twin daughters. They were the same size and age and became very close.
We must learn to apply the principle of persistence while working at all our relationships. We must continue the struggle to get past the difficulties. We must relate in truth, in righteousness and in love to bring about the unity that Jesus wants for us. We cannot give up, because that would mean that we are turning away from Jesus. As we persist we will be able (as were the exchange students) to take as our theme song,
“Love in any language
Straight from the heart
Pulls us all together
Never apart
And once we learn to speak it
All the world will hear
Love in any language
Fluently spoken here”[4]V
[1] One Bread, One Body. December 1, 2004-January 31, 2005. Presentation Ministries, Inc. Cincinnati, OH. January 27, 2005
[2] God’s Word Today. February 2005. Bayard, Inc. Boulder, CO. February 10, 2005
[3] God’s Word Today. February 2005. February 7, 9, 10, 2005.
[4] “Love in Any Language.” Jon Mohr and John Mays. © 1985 Jonathan Mark Music/Birdwing Music/Sutton Hill (ASCAP) Sung by Sandi Patti on album “Morning Like This.”
Working Together in Love [back to top of page]
A few weeks ago, my husband and I received a letter inviting us to come to a Saturday morning Leadership Gathering at St. Mary Parish, in Sterling. The gathering was for the parish staff, Stewardship Committee, Finance Council, Parish Council, and all who have a leadership role in a ministry. There were many familiar faces at this gathering and a few that we knew only by name. As I sat there, a feeling of appreciation came over me for each one of these people who so generously share their time, talent, treasure and spiritual gifts with our parish.
The guest speaker was Bob Pfundstein from the Rockford Office of Stewardship Development. He introduced himself and told a little bit about his family, and then he asked each one of us to introduce ourselves and state what our main ministry was at St. Mary Church. Some people had more than one ministry and as I listened to each person, again a feeling of gratitude came upon me. As the meeting continued, Bob’s easy going style, openness, and humor made everyone feel comfortable as he began to speak to us on the role and lifestyle of a Christian leader. He also spoke of how stewardship fits into a Christian leader’s lifestyle. At one point we took time for small-group discussion, sharing our thoughts and ideas on stewardship. Then someone from each group told what their group thought it meant. This helped everyone to open up and have some input.
After coming home that morning, I thought of the scripture readings of 1 Corinthians 12:4-5, “there are many different gifts, but the same Spirit; there are different ministries, but the same Lord”. Chapter 13:4-5 tells us, “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not jealous and it does not put on airs”. These are words to live by, but so often it is not the reality in our family life, parish life, or the life of some prayer groups. We have seen it happen that people start to loose heart and want to go elsewhere when they see signs of discord, dissension, turmoil and grumblings among parishioners, volunteers, employees and staff members, or prayer group members. That’s why it is so important to respect one another, watching our tone of voice, showing kindness to each other, honoring one another and even praying together whenever possible. That’s what Jesus calls each of us to be like. But each of us needs to be on guard against the evil one. He’ll try to get a foothold in wherever he finds a weak area. He’ll do his best to sow seeds of discord, dissension, turmoil and distrust wherever he can, if we let him!
The book of Ephesians has always been a favorite of mine. It tells us of God’s vision for the Body of Christ. It tells us about what His Body should look like and how it should function. God is pretty clear about how we are to work together in peace, love, unity and harmony in our families, parish, groups and work place. That’s part of God’s plan. And how often have we heard the phrase, “Jesus calls each one of us by name (personally), and He intends each one of us to play a unique role in God’s Master Plan.” Sorry to say, so many don’t know about that. If they do, it’s hard for them to really believe it. Many people don’t know how to discover where or how they could possibly fit into God’s plan. My experience has been that through both daily prayer and daily reading of God’s Holy Word (Bible), I have experienced times when the Holy Spirit has indeed revealed and guided me in a decision. The Spirit’s work is to reveal and guide us, so we can understand what God has in mind for us.
Another way to discover God’s plan and experience more of the Lord and His Spirit is to participate in a prayer group and/or a Bible study group. Our parish is blest with many groups to choose from. For myself, Jesus Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit via the Family of Praise Prayer Group has literally changed my life! This transformation process is ongoing! And if God did it for me, He will do it for you as well. I have learned that regular Mass participation and being part of a vibrant charismatic prayer group is extremely important for my ongoing spiritual growth. I would encourage everyone to find a group where you can be blest and filled with the power, love and fire of the Holy Spirit.
All of us need wisdom and guidance as we struggle to hear God’s voice in our lives. I pray this prayer as part of my daily prayer time, maybe you would like to try it as well.
Come
Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful,
and enkindle in us the fire of Your love.
Send forth your Spirit, and we shall be created,
And you shall renew the face of the earth
Come Holy Spirit, let the fire fall – and let it fall over me!V
Patty Mendoza
St. Mary Church, Sterling, IL
"Much More Than This" [back to top of page]
Easter bonnets, new Easter outfits,
Easter bunnies, The Easter Bunny,
Easter baskets, Easter eggs.
The promise of warm breezes to visit again,
colorful blooms eagerly pushing up
thru the ground.
The dead brown of winter’s grass fades away
to become lush green.
Kite weather returns.
The days are longer,
the sun brighter.
Nature frolics and makes merry once again
to greet the Savior Easter morn.
Childhood: a big brown box of
fuzzy, yellow chirping chicks.
Spring mornings that felt extra good
to breathe in the freshness of
another new season.
Many kinds of birds in harmony,
serenading the new dawn.
Lots and lots of sunny yellow dandelions.
New life evident everywhere
Easter now: my golden years - the grandma years.
Easter is FAMILY.
Easter is LOVE.
Easter is the
promise fulfilled.
It is finished, completed.
LOVE OFFERED.
FORGIVENESS OBTAINED.
Eternal life with Me ~ My promise to you.
Come walk with Me, won’t you,
on the road to Emmaus.
We have walked here together
on this dusty road
many times before ~
but now it is different ~
We will walk together forever.
See, it is not over,
as some of you had thought.
Yes, it is only beginning ~
a future for you that you cannot imagine.
Go to the tomb and see where 1 laid.
You need not mourn for Me ~
I am not here among the dead.
I AM ALIVE
I AM LIFE
I AM RISEN
The sunrise will appear the same as before ~
but you will see it as never before ~
the dawning of a new morn for you ~
the first of eternity’s glow,
a glimpse of My glory.
My life I gave for you.
I gave ALL ~ for you ~ willingly.
I offered My life for you.
I offer My life to you now.
Won’t you take it and find the
LOVE, PEACE, JOY
FORGIVENESS, FRIENDSHIP,
HOPE, and ETERNITY I offer.
I share with you My life
and all that I am.
Nita Neu