Women of Easter, carrying hope

With continued talk of building a wall along our border with Mexico, we need to continue to oppose such efforts. It is easy to get disheartened at times, but we need to remember in this Easter season, we are people of hope. We proceed with joyful, hopeful and faithful hearts. These are the common attributes shared by the women in the book “The Women of Easter: Encounter the Savior with Mary of Bethany, Mary of Nazareth, and Mary Magdalene,” by Liz Curtis Higgs.

In April, some fellow poets and I visited the border wall near the Old Hidalgo Pumphouse in Hidalgo. As we walked the edges and went around the wall to explore the old trails overgrown now from disuse, I wondered how many more nature trails would be cut from our reach, and how unwelcoming and threatening our borders are becoming. As we read our poems to give others a glimpse of our Rio Grande Valley, we found comfort in knowing our words can impact the world.

Our actions, too, are important.

Bishop Daniel E. Flores in a lecture titled “The Politics of Human Dignity, Catholics and Immigration” which he presented at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Kentucky, said, “A Catholic must begin with hope which for us can only emerge from our contemplation of the One who watches in the night. For us politics can only really be about keeping faith with Him, and what he shows us about God, about ourselves and about our neighbor.”

Holy Week leading up to Easter left us also with some lessons we should remember throughout the year. Each of the Triduum celebrations had a common theme of coming together and of accompanying Christ on his way to Calvary.

On Holy Thursday, “The Lord washes the feet of his disciples, and he says at the end of it, ‘As I have done for you, so you must do for one another.’” Bishop Flores reminded us the Lord “wants us to wash each other’s feet in humility and in service.”

On Good Friday, as we accompanied Christ on the Via Dolorosa, we reflected on his humility and suffering. Bishop Flores pointed out in his homily on Good Friday, we need to recognize the humility of the cross and the hope it offers. “Only a people humble of heart really understand what the hope of the cross is.” He also said we need to seek God’s grace. “We need to seek, we need strength, we need love and we need the courage to be true.”

At the Easter Vigil Mass, we witnessed the power the Lord has over death, and that he is with us at all times. He is the light. “The risen one opens the eyes of the blind to what really matters.” It is up to us to share this news.

Daily we walk together, following Christ’s example, and the example of his Blessed Mother Mary.
Bishop Flores, in his lecture, said we can sometimes forget that “God’s governance in history expresses itself primarily through human agency.” He shared the story of his grandmother who “prayed that if ever they (her grandchildren) are in trouble, God would put a kind and generous soul in their path to help them.” “She was a woman of faith, and trusted to God that He would find ways to help them. Mostly, that meant He would put the right people in their path,” he said.

Bishop adds, “The mirror image of that kind of perception, available to anyone with faith and a little imagination, is that we are also all potentially answers to some grandmother’s prayer in some place far away. Indeed, the generosity God inspires in each one of us today is his answer to someone’s prayer.”

These words resonate. They imbue us too with responsibility as we consider how we can be the “answer to someone’s prayer.” I encourage you take some time to read the bishop’s entire lecture, which is posted on his blog.

“Even in a wounded world,” he notes, “people find themselves crossing paths with someone who will not abandon them to disaster.”

While some may insist on building walls, we must continue to be God’s hands and feet in the world, offering care to those who need it. We must move forward as joyful men and women of Easter carrying hope into the world.

(Originally published in May 2017 edition of The Valley Catholic newspaper) 

Finding focus in a world of distractions

Several years ago, I purchased some juggling balls along with an instruction booklet. Maybe I thought if I actually learned how to juggle, I could transfer the skill to help me focus on all that requires my attention.

We live in a world of distractions. Despite our best efforts to stay on course, an onslaught of diversions can halt our progress. Sometimes these diversions are beyond our control, such as emergencies or family needs; sometimes it’s the nature of our work and we must multitask as we carry out our responsibilities and tasks.

As much as I try to designate specific time for writing, my sentences are often paused in mid-thought so that I can respond to a request or tend to another matter. Stop. Start. Stop. Start. Some days feel like a game of tug of war.

My natural tendency to chase butterflies, or rather lose focus easily, does not help. To compensate requires some strategies to keep my attention where needed. The Lenten Season provides some helpful resources, as does the Easter Season. 

Four years ago, I completed an online spiritual retreat, “An Ignatian Prayer Adventure,” based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. The eight-week retreat asked participants “to commit to a regular period of prayer each day.”

Given that once the phone starts ringing before I even enter the office, my days lean toward the unpredictable. To avoid any interruptions, I made it a point to wake up an hour earlier during this time and set some other parameters in place to ensure my concentration. This experience invigorated me. By the time I left home, I felt accomplished, and this motivated me further to stay on course.

Part of the spiritual exercise called for taking note of the attachments in our lives. St. Ignatius referred to the things that keep us from God as “disordered attachments.” The constant distractions in our days can fall in this category.

Technology and social media feed our short attention spans. I know I am not the only one guilty of planning to spend only 10 minutes checking Facebook or Twitter. Then half an hour or even an hour later, we look up and suddenly realize how much time has passed.

Recognizing what attachments or addictions keep us from God and from other priorities in our life is a step toward making changes. From time to time, for example, I completely disconnect from social media. Sometimes for just a day or a weekend, sometimes for longer periods. As for the notification alerts, I keep those off at all times to avoid the distraction. Netflix is another temptation I have to limit. If I’m not careful, it’s too easy to binge-watch yet another series I find interesting. Shifting our focus from unhealthy distractions gives us more time to assist someone who needs our help or to concentrate on a project that requires our attention.

Rigoberta Menchú Tum, the 1992 Nobel Prize winner from Guatemala, spoke in March at a women’s conference, “Mujeres Formadoras de Paz” in Reynosa. I am thankful Sister Norma Pimentel, director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, attended the conference and recorded some of her talk.

Menchú’s talk has a number of points I plan to revisit. Two points resonate: First, she stressed the need for organization and clear goals and objectives. “Good intentions alone do not change things,” she said. Second, she advised women to distance themselves from vice, which keeps us from moving in the direction of our goals.

In this world of distractions, we can take steps to find focus. We can start by being intentional. This does require us to pause from the busyness of our day and find some quiet to concentrate. Turning to prayer has become my priority in this process. We can then proceed to making choices about what matters most as we set our goals for our faith life, families, vocations and health. Periodically we also need to pause, consider our progress, evaluate what changes may be needed.

The Daily Examen offered by St. Ignatius is another helpful practice. It includes five steps: 1. Become aware of God’s presence. 2. Review the day with gratitude. 3. Pay attention to your emotions. 4. Choose one feature of the day and pray from it. 5. Look toward tomorrow. More resources are available online at http://www.ignatianspirituality.com.

As for the juggling balls, I never devoted enough time to learn how to juggle. I am thankful, though, that I did learn how to focus when needed.

(Originally published in April 2017 edition of The Valley Catholic newspaper) 

Fasting year-round, learning to surrender

Because some things should remain private, I have hesitated writing about my devotional fast. However, I believe we learn from one another. Sharing helps us engage in conversations that lead to greater understanding.

I started fasting twice a week close to four years ago. I began not for the reasons one might think, but as a health measure. After watching the BBC documentary “Eat, Fast & Live Longer” by Dr. Michael Mosley, a physician and journalist, I wanted to try intermittent fasting. According to research, fasting provides time for the body to initiate healing.

“It’s not just about how we eat, but when and how we eat it,” said Mosley. In his documentary, he looked at the scientific theory that calorie restriction influences longevity in humans.

My mother died young. She was 50 years old. Since her death, I have been on hyper alert to ways of living healthier. Naturally, I wanted to reap the benefits of intermittent fasting. We take extreme measuring fighting an illness; why not take extreme measures at prevention?

Over time, my practice has evolved into a devotional fast, and I see it now as a gift.

I felt guilty that my fasting did not come prompted for spiritual reasons as part of my ongoing prayer life. Father Alex Flores, pastor at San Juan Diego Parish in McAllen, put me at ease one day when he explained, “Grace builds upon nature.” He said God is gentle and uses our natural inclinations to draw us toward him. So while I started this discipline for health reasons, God helped me understand there are greater reasons to fast.

Fasting is one of the three pillars of the Lenten season. Which draws me to the question I ask myself frequently, “Why fast?” Each week I find more and more reasons to continue my twice-weekly fast.

For thousands of years people have fasted – some for spiritual reasons, some for health. During Lent, we focus on Jesus Christ’s fast in the desert. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in his message for Lent 2009 said, “The Sacred Scriptures and the entire Christian tradition teach that fasting is a great help to avoid sin and all that leads to it. For this reason, the history of salvation is replete with occasions that invite fasting.”

He adds, “Fasting represents an important ascetical practice, a spiritual arm to do battle against every possible disordered attachment to ourselves. Freely chosen detachment from the pleasure of food and other material goods helps the disciple of Christ to control the appetites of nature, weakened by original sin, whose negative effects impact the entire human person.”

I remain in awe of how God works in our lives and by how our Blessed Mother calls us closer to her son. Early in my fasting journey, my husband and I made plans to visit Croatia. While our original plans did not include Medjugorje in Bosnia, the site where apparitions of the Blessed Mother began in 1981, the proximity prompted us to include a side journey.

It truly felt like our Blessed Mother was guiding us toward Medjugorje. She was also helping me gain a better understanding of the discipline of regularly abstaining from food. I did not realize at the time Our Lady of Medjugorje is calling for fasting twice a week, on Wednesdays and Fridays. I still can’t seem to trade my Tuesday fast for Wednesday, but at some point I may be ready.

To date, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has not issued a doctrinal judgment on the apparitions. However, on Feb. 11 Catholic News Agency reported Pope Francis “appointed Archbishop Henryk Hoser of Warszawa-Praga as a delegate of the Holy See to look into the pastoral situation at Medjugore, the site of alleged Marian apparitions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

This does not diminish the call for fasting. While I sometimes fail, the weekly practice of abstaining from meals keeps me aware of the graces that flow from this devotion.

For one, fasting compliments prayer on multiple levels. It is a great gift to offer up a fast when someone has asked for a specific prayer intention. I am becoming more aware as well that fasting is part of my ongoing surrender to God. Learning to rely on him for strength, each fast brings some insight to a moment before me or to a lesson on my spiritual journey.

Second, fasting keeps me in balance by helping me focus on what is important. I’ve learned to better appreciate the blessings before me. I have also become more aware of the needs of others.

Often fasting serves as a reset button for times when I overindulge and have committed gluttony or when I veer off course from healthy eating. Not only does fasting keep me in check, it makes me more mindful of my meals on the days I don’t fast. I have a greater appreciation for the foods I consume.

Third, fasting offers health benefits for body and mind. Scientists continue to study this and find more and more proof of the merits of periodically abstaining from meals.

Hippocrates, an ancient Greek physician known as the Father of Modern Medicine, advocated for fasting. He noted, “The man carries within him a doctor; you just have to help him do his work. If the body is not cleared, then the more you feed it, the more it will be harmed. When a patient is fed too richly, the disease is fed as well. Remember – any excess is against nature.”

What a blessing. Fasting does not need to be reserved for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. We can incorporate the practice year-round. I will likely continue to stumble at times, but I trust God will set me back on the path, however many times it takes.

(Originally published in March 2017 edition of The Valley Catholic newspaper) 

Why we must march with love, respect

Thousands of women marched on Jan. 21 to raise their voices for human rights. In Washington, D.C. and across our nation, women came together in solidarity.

On that same day, I marched in McAllen for my beliefs along with hundreds of others in our community who joined the Diocese of Brownsville’s annual Pro-Life March. Had I been in Washington, I would have marched in the Women’s March, but not for all the reasons organizers of that particular event supported in their platform.

The question for some on that day, as reported in the L.A. Times: “To march or not?” The headline continued: “Some women are staying away from women’s rally because of a rift over abortion.” Organizers decided not to include groups with a pro-life stance as partners for the event. So it seems the Women’s March did not aim to include all women’s voices.

“It’s frustrating and insulting,” said Meg McDonnell, executive director of Women Speak for Themselves, that you would claim to be inclusive and for human rights and yet leave out women who are defending the rights of humans in the world.”

Helen Alvaré, a law professor at George Mason University and founder of the Women Speak for Themselves movement, also pointed out in a piece published on Crux, a Catholic news site, the Women’s March raised a number of questions – questions the media rarely pay attention to when it comes to what women “really want.” The article is available at https://cruxnow.com/commentary/2017/01/17/womens-march-raises-questions-answers/

“I realize that no one wants to organize a march called “The March for Some Women’s Ideas, Some of which are Good, Some Vague, and Some Truly Terrible.” But that would be a more fair characterization of the 2017 Women’s March.”

Moving forward, I say given any opportunity, we should march. We should show up and stand for our beliefs regardless of what the organizers try to set forth at the dominant agenda. The Women’s March organizers showed their card by removing pro-life groups from their list of partners, but we must not be bullied to the sidelines.

All women have the right to speak and uphold their convictions. No one can dictate my beliefs or silence me. I am a pro-life feminist who promotes life at all stages.

Closer to home, the annual Pro-Life March in our Diocese is held in solidarity with the national March for Life. Father Alex Flores emphasized it was a “peaceful and prayerful march.”

This year the national march was moved from Jan. 22 to Jan. 27. As we reported in the January edition of our newspaper, it is held in reparation for the more than 58.5 million babies who have been killed in the United States since abortion became legal as a result of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision on Jan. 22, 1973.  

Interesting what the media pays attention to when they cover an event. Most reporters and photographers in McAllen on Jan. 21 were not at the start or the finish of the pro-life procession. They did not hear or report on the testimony of a father who adopted a baby whose mother considered an abortion and opted instead to give him life. They did not hear the songs of love, faith and hope of those who witness to life. They hovered instead at the intersection near the abortion clinic on Main Street and Houston. They wanted to see a confrontation as the voices of those who support abortion tried to drown out the song and prayers of the pro-life march.

Talking to pro-life supporters who gathered at St. Joseph the Worker Church before the procession, Bishop Daniel E. Flores acknowledged, “We are living in a country right now where we see a lot of anger for a lot of different reasons.”

He stressed, “We must be a people who do not let our anger move us, but we let our love move us. Let us be the witness of a people who march through the street, in a procession, singing praise to God, praying and asking God for the grace to make this a world that is first of all hospitable to unborn life.

“As we pray, pray for each other, for those whoever they are who may be contemplating abortion, pray for those who are undecided, and pray for those who are angry at us. One thing Jesus made very clear; we have no right as Christians to answer anger with anger.”

How can we expect peace in the world, if we cannot create it here in our communities? As someone who is not comfortable with confrontation, with people screaming in my face, I prefer to sit together and talk with one another. There is no need to scream. I can hear you better when we dialogue. Let’s remember we are brothers and sisters. We may have different views, be we can still love one another and respect our differences. Bishop Flores reminds us, “Responding with love triumphs with the grace of God.”

(Originally published in February 2017 edition of The Valley Catholic newspaper) 

Walking together, raising our voices

Hope is one of the gifts brought by a New Year. But before we rush into the new it’s healthy to stop and reflect on the past year we traversed, give thanks for the blessings, consider the lessons learned, and acknowledge the people who walked with us.

Some of the standout moments for my 2016 are those spent with family and friends. As much as I value quiet spaces to think and write, I also treasure the time spent in community with others. I think this is one of the reasons I never tire of participating in outdoor processions during special feast days or for an important cause. We are family, in good times and in bad times, walking together on this pilgrimage.

St. John Paul II in his encyclical Sollicitudo rei socialis said it best, “We are all one family in the world. Building a community that empowers everyone to attain their full potential through each of us respecting each other’s dignity, rights and responsibilities makes the world a better place to live.”

Pope Francis called for a “revolution of tenderness” as we participated in the Jubilee of Mercy in 2016. He wants this revolution to continue.  “Mercy cannot become a mere parenthesis in the life of the Church,” he said in his apostolic letter “Mercy and Peace.”

“Like a gusting but wholesome wind, the Lord’s goodness and mercy have swept through the entire world,” he said. Now we must put that mercy into action.

At the closing of the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis said that while the Jubilee ended and the Holy Door is closed, “the door of mercy of our heart continues to remain wide open. We have learned that God bends down to us (cf. Hos 11:4) so that we may imitate him in bending down to our brothers and sisters.”

He pointed out, “The culture of extreme individualism, especially in the West, has led to a loss of a sense of solidarity with and responsibility for others.” He added, “Mercy impels us to roll up our sleeves and set about restoring dignity to millions of people; they are our brothers and sisters who, with us, are called to build a “city which is reliable.”

In December, two young women whose parents and grandparents have been in exile in the United States, worked with interfaith leaders to organize a prayer vigil at the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle in solidarity with the people in Syria. Families there have been devastated by a five-year civil war. We came together, people of all faiths, to pray for the people of Syria. We came together in solidarity. Throughout this New Year, we can find ways to express our solidarity with others, to walk with them sometimes on roads paved in uncertainty.

As Pope Francis notes, “We are called to promote a culture of mercy based on the rediscovery of the encounter with others, a culture in which no one looks at another with indifference or turns away from the suffering of our brothers and sisters.”

Following a procession in December for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Bishop Daniel E. Flores reminded us “we walk together as brothers and sisters, as children of God.” And this requires, he said, “that we respond with care to those who are suffering, those who are living through difficulties and darkness.” In his homily at the Mass for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, he said we must raise our voice to protect those who are vulnerable.

In January each year, we celebrate a March for Life giving voice to the unborn and to remember the millions who have been lost to abortion. In our diocese, we will walk together on Jan. 21 from St. Joseph the Worker Church to Sacred Heart Church in McAllen.

“The Power of One,” the national theme for the march scheduled Jan. 27 in Washington, D.C, recognizes “One person can make a difference in the world, whether in the life of one person or many,” as noted on their website. “Sadly, in the U.S. alone, one million babies are not even given the opportunity to live and change the world each year,” according to organizers. “Building a culture of life and ending abortion takes each and every person. Starting with your family or neighborhood, our collective efforts will change hearts and minds, save lives, and build a culture of life.”

Pope Francis in his message “Overcome Indifference and Win Peace” for World Day of Peace 2016, said, “There are many good reasons to believe in mankind’s capacity to act together in solidarity and, on the basis of our interconnection and interdependence, to demonstrate concern for the more vulnerable of our brothers and sisters and for the protection of the common good.

For me the words of Elie Wiesel in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986 also resonate. He said, “Our lives no longer belong to us alone; they belong to all those who need us desperately.” This is certainly counter culture in a world drunk on individualism and indifference.

In this New Year, I recognize more than ever I cannot stand on the sidelines. We cannot turn away with indifference from our family close to home or in other parts of the world. We walk together, we practice mercy, we raise our voices. For our New Year’s resolutions let’s look for ways to include more moments of solidarity, mercy and action.

(Originally published in January 2017 edition of The Valley Catholic newspaper) 

Finding joy in the ordinary

Sometimes we take for granted the joy of sorting and washing laundry or ironing clothes. On a rare weekend with some extra time at home I experienced the simple pleasure of caring for our home. Often cleaning can feel like a chore, something I have to do between rushing from one activity to the another.

But the simple act of slowing down this particular weekend allowed me to appreciate a quiet peace. The clean smell of laundry, the pressed shirts ready for the week, life neatly sorted, gave me a new appreciation for the housework before me. The moment reminded me cleaning can be a form of prayer. It also reminded me that every moment is sacred.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux taught us her “little way” of doing every act, no matter how small, with love. Every act we do for our families at home exemplifies St. Therese’s self-surrender “to offer our Lord the flowers of little sacrifices.” Even St. Teresa of Calcutta worked alongside her sisters and maintained a cleaning routine.

These days we live in a culture fixated on attention-seeking moments. Many of the women I admire are not looking for the spotlight; they work behind the scenes. Take for example Bertha Garcia, 83, who has been a member of the altar society at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen for more than 50 years. She said washing the altar linens and decorating the altar gives her time to pray, sing and think.

Bertha finds pleasure knowing her work is appreciated. She shared a story about a child who asked her mother how it was possible that the altar was always decorated with flowers when she never saw anyone changing the arrangements. Her mother’s explanation: little angels came at night. Our parishes, our homes, our communities are filled with “little angels” whose work does not make headlines.

When it comes to our own homes, we cannot neglect our safe havens. Pope Francis in his encyclical “Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home,” devotes a section on the “Ecology of Daily Life” in which he addresses the “setting in which people live their lives.” “These settings,” he said, “influence the way we think, feel and act.”

“In our rooms, our homes, our workplaces and neighborhoods, we use our environment as a way of expressing our identity.” He adds, “…when it is disorderly, chaotic or saturated with noise and ugliness, such over stimulation makes it difficult to find ourselves integrated and happy.”

I am guilty of neglecting my home at times. Guilty too of consumerism which has contributed to some cluttered spaces. For a year now I have been trying to declutter. While I have made some progress, I have much more work to do.

In “Laudato Si’,” the Holy Father also addressed the need for moderation. “Christian spirituality proposes a growth marked by moderation and the capacity to be happy with little. It is a return to that simplicity which allows us to stop and appreciate the small things, to be grateful for the opportunities which life affords us…”

He goes on to talk about the need for inner peace, which he notes, “is reflected in a balanced lifestyle together with a capacity for wonder which takes us to a deeper understanding of life.” “Many people today,” he said, “sense a profound imbalance which drives them to frenetic activity and makes them feel busy, in a constant hurry which in turn leads them to ride rough-shod over everything around them.”

This Advent season, as we wait and prepare for the light of Christ, we need to slow down and appreciate the moment before us. It is easy as we prepare for Christmas to get caught up in the rush of decorating and shopping, just as it is easy throughout the year to rush from one project to another.

Pope Francis writes about “an attitude of the heart, one which approaches life with serene attentiveness, which is capable of being fully present to someone without thinking of what comes next, which accepts each moment as a gift from God to be lived to the full.” (Laudato Si’ #226)

Sometimes it seems we are chasing the grand moments of life and forget about the ordinary, everyday moments. Advent and Christmas remind us to pay attention. Note that Jesus, the savior of the world, was born in a simple manger in Bethlehem. I imagine his Blessed Mother Mary must have taken great care of their home throughout his childhood.

We are fortunate to have a home to keep in order. I think about the hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Central America who have left everything to find a safe place to raise their children. To date more than 57,000 people have received assistance at the Immigrant Respite Center at Sacred Heart Church in McAllen. Looking at the global picture, 65.3 million people have been displaced from their homes by conflict and persecution according to a Global Trends report. Their lives have been disrupted. The simple pleasure of cleaning their homes does not exist.

We are fortunate to have our homes, fortunate to have some stability; how can we not honor the blessing of keeping what we have in order for ourselves and for our families? Our homes are a safe haven, a place for peace, it is up to us as good stewards to maintain them as sacred spaces. And as Andrew Motion, an English poet, advises “honor the miraculousness of the ordinary.”

(Originally published in December 2016 edition of The Valley Catholic newspaper) 

Celebrating what's right, counting our blessings

What do your eyes see when you go about your day? St. Ignatius of Loyola said God is in everything.

When my daughter was young we played a game each evening to see how many blessings we could count in our day. The Daily Examen, which is part of the Spiritual Exercises developed by St. Ignatius encourage a similar approach. However, sometimes we can grow blind to the beauty in our lives, to the blessings we receive throughout our day.

Pope Francis, in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium challenges us to live the joy of the Gospel. “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew.” (1)

He reminds us also, “The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. This is a very real danger for believers too. Many fall prey to it, and end up resentful, angry and listless. That is no way to live a dignified and fulfilled life; it is not God’s will for us, nor is it the life in the Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen Christ.” (EG 2)

Pope Francis writes, “There are Christians whose lives seem like Lent without Easter. I realize of course that joy is not expressed the same way at all times in life, especially at moments of great difficulty. Joy adapts and changes, but it always endures.” (EG 6)

“Sometimes we are tempted to find excuses and complain, acting as if we could only be happy if a thousand conditions were met.” (EG 7).

As we rise to the pope’s challenge as Easter people, I say we could each count 1,000 plus
blessings daily. At the top of my list are the people in my life, family, friends, coworkers, and others I meet. Add to that an awe for the innumerable gifts of beauty nature gives us. I find I need frequent doses of the outdoors to reenergize. It’s also a good way to slow down and take notice of what we might miss in our rush. For me each gardenia blooming outside my kitchen window, the salmon-colored bougainvilleas, the lizards scurrying on the window screens, are simple surprises I appreciate.

Our lists keep growing the more we take notice. From people and nature’s wonders to our health and the gifts we have each been given by the Holy Spirit to serve.

Yes, life is messy; we can’t ignore the realities of manmade disasters and those from Mother Nature. We can be blindsided, tempted into cynicism from all the pain and suffering in the world.

If we get caught in the undercurrent of negativity, we run the risk of becoming paralyzed and avoid finding ways to make a difference in the world. Dewitt Jones, a freelance photographer for National Geographic has a film titled “Celebrate What’s Right with the World” and now a workshop. “Celebrating what’s right” he said, “helps us recognize the possibilities and find solutions for many of the challenges before us.”

“By celebrating what’s right we find the energy to fix what’s wrong,” he said. In his approach, Dewitt notes, “To celebrate what’s right in the world means: believe it and you’ll see it; recognize abundance; look for possibilities; unleash your energy to fix what’s wrong; ride the changes; take yourself to the edge; be your best for the world.”

In this ever changing world and its varied moments of highs and lows, let us celebrate what’s right, counting each blessing. Social media sites make use of hashtags to link related subject matters and challenges are often issued to share moments of our lives. Wouldn’t it be nice to see a stream of posts utilizing some of the following hashtags #CountingMyBlessings, #LifeIsGood, #CelebratingWhat’sRight.

Let’s start counting.

(Originally published in October 2016 edition of The Valley Catholic newspaper)