Where We Need to Go

"We are in such urgent need of an education toward inwardness. We need to be taught to enter into the heart of things." Joseph Ratzinger

Last Sunday was First Communion Sunday at All Saints. That day is always a beautiful one. The girls had their hair all done in curls and veils, while the boys sported handsome ties and shirts, and some boys even wore full white suits! But even these glorious outside garments displayed only a dim reflection of the disposition of these joyful children.

I just wanted to share a few memories (so I don't forget). Several years ago, a fifth grader named Emma who was receiving her First Communion gave me a gift of a wrist corsage and a card that said, "Don't ever stop doing what you are doing." Memories like these make me want to continue in this work forever.

• Two different parents told me that their child woke on Sunday morning and said, "I have been waiting for this since I was born!" 
• On our retreat the day before First Communion, the children received their First Reconciliation. One of the parents told me that her daughter was so excited about the gift of absolution and being made clean again that she wanted to go again the next day!
• Another child drew this picture during the time of Thanksgiving after Mass on Sunday. I asked her about it and she said that the figures are of her and Jesus. There is a road to hell (that goes up the page), but Jesus is taking her on the road to heaven.

• A boy was a little restless when he began a work called "prayer writing" in the balcony on the retreat. He didn't know what to write. Before long, he had written four prayers. One of them recalled his study of the True Vine during the weeks leading up to this day. He wrote "my fruit is love."
• A catechist observing the sweet responses and the depth of the children's insights wiped her eyes and leaned over to me, asking, "How do you not cry with joy all of the time?" While another catechist poured out her joy at the gift of being able to serve these children who are such a witness of joy.
• One of the presenters at the May parent meetings told me that he had to completely change his presentation because the parents in the class were nothing like he expected. He thought he'd have to talk them into attending Mass regularly and to entering into this experience with their children. The parents completely knocked him over with their faithfulness and joy.

There are many who look at the world and worry about the future, but from the perspective of one who works with young children and their families, I do not worry about the future. I see such a great hope in those little faces. I am confident they will lead us where we need to go.

"Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,

and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat;

The calf and the young lion shall browse together,

with a little child to guide them." Isaiah 11:6

Congrats to the New Catechists!

Last weekend was a bit bittersweet, as we completed a 90-hour formation course and certified 11 new catechists in our region (8 of whom are either parishioners or have already committed to serving All Saints parish!) It was an interesting journey, watching a room that is filled with a diverse crowd including a restaurateur, an information technologist, a few stay-at-home moms, a dad who just wanted to do this to be a better dad, folks who do theology for their hobby, folks who do catechesis for their jobs, and even a Computer Science professor as they worked together and came away with a renewed sense of wonder at the mystery of God and the children they will care for. I hope you will join me on congratulating them on finishing this first part of their journey, but more importantly, praying for them as they step softly into the world of serving the 3-6 year old child's spirituality. 

It was also a special moment for me as I bid adieu to Ms. Elizabeth Stone, whom some of you know from her time working here when she was just 17 years old, and again for a year after graduating from college. She assisted me in this Level I CGS course, and I was so grateful to have that time with her before she moves on to her new life. This weekend, on May 13th, she will celebrate the Sacrament of Marriage and become Mrs. Elizabeth. Godspeed, dear friend! We were so blessed to have you here, even if only for a little while. 

Fly Higher

I have to admit it. I've never done a pull-up in my life. I know that doing one pull-up was a requirement in school for getting the Presidential Fitness Award, but I never got one. I even played Division I sports. I did power cleans and I used the bench press regularly for years. I could hit a volleyball pretty darned hard. But never, not once, did I manage to do a pull-up. I wasn't even trying because it didn't seem possible. Most girls I know can't do them, and presidential fitness awards aside, I got it in my head that pull-ups are pretty much impossible and only ridiculously fit women (who make doing pull-ups their day job) can do them. Cue my baby sister...

About 2 months ago, my little sister did her first pull up. She's been working out a lot, and she was quite proud of this feat. Wow, I thought, she could get a presidential fitness award now. Good job. Then about a month later, she did 15 pull-ups in a row. What?! That's not even possible, is it? While I still haven't seen a video, she did send some photographic proof of the award she won. I'm printing it off and keeping it close to remind me that hard work really does pay off!

Our Friday morning book club (which meets at Main Street Cafe in Ankeny at 6:20 am if you're interested!) we are reading the book Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila. I love St. Teresa. Her spunk and wisdom make her someone I both love to read and love to keep close in prayer. But sometimes the descriptions of the advanced spiritual life that she gives are about as realistic to me as the idea of doing a pull up. Impossible. Over and over in this book, however, she says how important it is to write about the spiritual experiences that those who are advanced in the spiritual life have obtained through God's grace. She reasons that if you put limits on what God can do in your soul, you need not worry that He will ever accomplish anything in you.

I got to thinking about my little sister. I was so inspired by her hard work and the incredible payoff that she had in seeing such concrete progress in her physical fitness. I need role models like that to help me realize that I can do something to make myself better. It's just the same in the spiritual life. If you think you're already "close" to God and that there really isn't much more that can happen in your interior life, you are about as likely to ascend to the heights of contemplation as I was to do 15 pull ups in high school or college.

So I've decided. I'm tucking my little sister's photo into my worn out old copy of Interior Castle. We all need our role models to call us to expect more of our lives. I'm lucky to have these two incredible ladies to look up to. They both remind me that I can always fly higher.