Weekly Reflections

Our Need for a Mother
By Julie Ratliff, Family Life Office Coordinator

The last couple of weeks have been a time of great transition here at the Ratliff home.  We have moved a daughter into her first apartment; our 18-year-old son is heading to his first year of college; and another son and daughter-in-law are getting ready to welcome a baby.  All of this is so good, but also has me contemplating my role as mother and grandmother.  Do we ever outgrow our need for a mother?

I remember my first days as a mama relying on my mom for advice on nursing, schedules, sleepless nights, and developmental milestones. As our children have grown up, I have come to also rely and count on Our Mama Mary.  I do not think raising children has ever been easy.  But it definitely feels like the number of dangers our children can fall into are numerous, and the anxiety parents experience greater than ever.  As I have walked this path of motherhood, I have offered numerous Hail Marys, 54-day Novenas, prayers to Our Lady Undoer of Knots, and a countless number of “please help me Mary.”  I have prayed over seemingly trivial events like finding a prom dress and driver license tests. I have prayed over bigger topics such as for each of them to know and accept the Love God has for them and for their hearts to be open to hearing their vocation.  I do not want to paint Mary as a kind of heavenly fairy Godmother but as a Mother who is always available, listening and ready to go to the Father for us. I can honestly say Mary has never failed. We found the perfect prom dress, one that my daughter loved AND that met my husband’s and my modesty guidelines; the kids passed their driving tests even if it took 2 trips to the BMV and some prayers I continue to offer and wait.  The graces I receive through her intercession have changed me, changed my heart, and increased my trust in God's timing.

Jesus knew we would always need a mother and so He gave us the best mother: His.
 

First Steps in Faith
By Katie Ryzenga
Baptism Coordinator and Director of Post-Baptismal Catechesis

Would you believe that more than seventy little ones have been baptized here at Saint Matthew in the past year? Our parish is richly blessed with a multitude of young families. Jesus calls the little children to come to him and we are all called to help these little ones meet Jesus, learn the Catholic Faith, and live as disciples. The young families in our parish need all of the prayers and support we can give them as they begin the holy and challenging task of forming their children in the Faith. All of us can help make our young families feel welcome at the parish by encouraging them when they are at Mass with active, wiggly, noisy little ones. We can introduce ourselves, offer a word of encouragement, and of course pray for them.

I am excited to announce a new initiative that will provide guidance and support for our young families. “First Steps in Faith” will be a monthly gathering of children ages 0 - 5 and their families. This program will parallel the “Family of Faith” program that school age children will participate in with their families. Both of these programs are designed to meet families where they are in their journey of faith and help them move forward together. Family catechesis is effective because it bridges the gap between what happens at church and what happens at home. It equips families to pray and learn together at home and in their daily lives.

At the monthly  “First Steps in Faith” gathering we will provide hands-on activities for parents and children to explore together; circle time with stories, prayers, and songs; and time for parent discussion and formation while the children play and learn together. Our hopes are:

• that the children will come to know and love Jesus, the faith, and our church,
• that parents will grow in faith and learn how to help their children grow in faith,
• and that connections will be made among parish families so that these young parents and children can truly journey together and support one another in faith.

As we finalize the details for this new program, we appreciate your prayers and support. Registration information will be coming soon. If you are interested in helping with the program, please contact me at [email protected].

"I am the Bread of Life"
By Ashley Allwein, Religious Education Coordinator

Who doesn't love free bread? You know when you've made it out for a nice dinner and they bring that free bread to the table before your meal? How often do we indulge in that free bread ... so much so that you find yourself asking for a second, or third basket? Then before you know it your entree has arrived and you're hardly even hungry for the meal you came there for. Maybe this isn't you, but I know it is me.

This weekend is all about the bread from Heaven. In fact, Jesus tells us that HE is the BREAD OF LIFE. He is the free bread at the meal table and with Him, we are meant to indulge... but do we? Do we indulge in His presence? Do we indulge in His selfless gift of love, of Himself? Jesus gives of Himself every day in the Blessed Sacrament, offering His love, grace, forgiveness, joy, and power. How often do we truly indulge, cherish, and enjoy this gift He gives us? How do we even do this?

When I think about how to indulge in Jesus I am talking about truly entering into/taking action in what He is offering to us: New grace every morning to start afresh, His presence available for us to receive each and every day at daily mass, asking for Him to work through us to do what is patient, holy, or caring in the times we are completely fed up, tired or on the brink of cracking. Indulging in the Bread of Life means trying to think and ask for Him and His goodness every moment of every day. It means acting on the opportunities He gives us to find Him in the daily moments. Jesus, Bread of Life, fill us now and in every moment - help us to indulge in Who You are and in the generous gifts You give.

Learning to Love Ordinary Time
By Michelle Dougherty, Office and Ministry Coordinator

We’re in the longest liturgical season, Ordinary Time, right now, and I confess that for a long time I considered Ordinary Time kind of boring. The more I learned about it, the more my attitude changed, however.

(Before I go on, Catholic fun fact: The word “ordinary” in Ordinary Time comes from the Latin word “ordinalis,” meaning numbered, so it’s not that Ordinary Time is ordinary; it’s that Ordinary Time counts the weeks that lead to the next liturgical season.)

One of the reasons I learned to love Ordinary Time is that I started to reflect on how busy Advent and Lent can be. Every year I vow to live these seasons differently and to embrace the deep rituals -- and I do. My family makes time to light the Advent Wreath, we increase our family prayer time, we receive ashes and fast -- but the rest of life marches forward, too, and so there are still presents to buy, trips to plan, cookies to bake, eggs to dye, etc. On top of all this normal preparation, these seasons are the busiest ones for parish staff, especially because we always have to be a step ahead.

(I’m in a couple parish staff networking Facebook groups with other parish staff from across the country. A couple weeks before each major holiday is when the memes start.) 

So, yes, I love the heightened ritual of the big liturgical seasons that lead up to the days that are foundational to the faith. But I also love the downtime, the time to breathe, to think, to reset.

The contrast between the way I experience Advent and Lent and the way I experience Ordinary Time has led me to reflect on what a gift the liturgical year is. We need points of contrast to draw our attention to the gifts of feast days. We need week after week of green vestments, so that we stand up and take notice when we see red vestments. We need moments of calm so that we can better experience the times of intensity.

Here’s my invitation to you: keep coming to Mass the rest of the summer. Enjoy the “ordinariness” of Ordinary Time. Give yourself the gift of experiencing the regular liturgical year (to the extent that the miracle of transubstantiation could ever be regular!) so that the intense seasons that are coming mean that much more. You are welcome here - even when there are no ashes, even when there are no palms, even when there are no nativity sets. You are welcome.