Is humility the path to communion?

By Tina Coffey

Groben Church, Brandenburg, Germany (photo by Lienhard Schulz, German language Wikipedia).

In the last couple of weeks I’ve had opportunities to view the world through other people’s eyes on a couple of occasions.  The first came when a friend of mine that I have come to know through our children really opened up to me about some personal struggles she was having.  We’ve been friends for several years because of our children’s relationship, but this was different.  She shared with me on a deeper level and really showed me a vulnerable side that you don’t ordinarily see with casual friendships.  My eyes were really opened to a more full view of who she was. I was grateful that she trusted me enough to be so real with me and I think this experience touched me so much because this is a person that I have always admired and viewed as “having it all together.”  The experience brought us into a closer friendship.

The second experience came when I was looking through my teenage son’s phone to see what he had been up to.  One of the rules that my husband and I established with my son when we got the phone for him was that we had access to it at all times.  As I was reading some of the conversations he had shared with his friends, I became more aware of some of the relationships he has in his life with his peers.  Again, I saw more of who he was.  This gave me a view into his world that I don’t see on a regular basis.  While I didn’t find anything earth-shattering, there were definitely conversations that warranted some advice from Mom.  The resulting talk was initially uncomfortable for him, but allowed our relationship to grow as he saw a side of Mom that was understanding of what he is experiencing.  

These two experiences did something for me that was completely unexpected.  They reminded me how self-involved I am, which in a way is a natural thing.  After all seeing the world through our own eyes is usually the only view we have. I think we tend to be really wrapped up into our own lives, opinions, worries, etc...  Being allowed “in” to someone else’s world in a very intimate way was a wake up call for me.  

Continue reading Tina's post at  Parish Book Clubs.

Jesus, the heart of the Church

By Tina Coffey

Sacred Heart by N. Currier (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons).

 

I'm currently taking a class that focuses on the fourth section of the Catechism of the Catholic Church which focuses on Christian prayer.  As I read my material this week, one word in particular stood out to me: heart. Over and over again in scripture and in the writings of the saints, we see the word heart.  When I think of the human heart, there are two aspects of its function.  The scientific aspect is that it receives blood deficient in oxygen and pumps out oxygenated blood to the entire body.  The heart is what keeps all parts of our body alive.  

I actually reflected on my readings in the Eucharistic Adoration chapel at my parish.  As I sat and focused on the Host, I couldn't help but think that Jesus is the heart of the Church.  The Catechism tells us that the Eucharist is the "source and summit of the Christian life."  (CCC 1324)  In this way, just as the function of the human heart keeps all parts of the body alive, the function of Jesus in the Eucharist is what keeps the Church alive.  On the cross, Jesus received the sins of all of humanity.  In return, from that cross, we received mercy.  We literally received His life. His sacrifice was life-giving.  But the life we received from Him is not like the life we receive from our hearts which will one day stop beating.  The life we receive from Him is eternal.  

The second aspect of the function of the heart is something more abstract.  This is the part that refers to love.  Each one of us has this place inside of us that only we and God can know.  This innermost place is where we can meet God and where we can communicate with Him.  It is also where He communicates with us.  

This place where we seek, thirst, and desire for "something" is put there by God.  He wants us to find Him there and to be with Him.  This is prayer.  Prayer is finding that connection with our Creator and growing in that relationship.  

Responding to that which He put inside each of us and pursuing that relationship is the greatest love there is. There is an unmistakable peace that comes from relationship with God.  This is because His love and mercy are infinite.  We know that no matter how many times we fail, His love in never-ending.  To know that you are loved that way and to look forward to eternity in that love is indescribable.

Tina originally posted this at Parish Book Clubs.