Facilitating Connections

Facilitating Connection 

    Children need to have a connection with their Grandparents, and other relatives. We parents have a tremendous responsibility in facilitating that relationship, those experiences. A child who doesn't have a sense of their heritage and a connection with it suffers a great loss. Similarly we parents must do the same with our child's/childrens' connection with God and faith. We have that tremendous responsibility to connect our child/children with God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) and God's faith family. Again, without that, a great loss has occurred. 

    Why do I minister how I do, the way I do it -- There is a Bible passage that reads -- "I myself will shepherd them for others have led them astray." I never want to have God say to me, "I myself had to shepherd them because you were leading them astray." 

We must encourage and support the faith connections/relationship. We are all connected.

I have helped with many retreats, and have facilitated many small groups.  God has shown me:  "We are not supposed to 'love facilitating'; we are supposed to facilitate loving.

Disciples and Apostles

Disciples and Apostles

Are you one of these?  Are you both of these?

I would suggest that we are both:

Disciples – “Followers” to learn from; eg. Jesus.

But also consider that we are disciples of our parents.  Just like Jesus prepared His disciples (and us) our parents prepare us in various ways for things, events, activities that will come later in our life.

Also disciples and discipling can be closely related to “discipline/disciplining”.  But don’t just look at discipline/disciplining in a negative way.  It can also be for teachable moments, possibly helping us to improve/change ways we do things.

Apostles – “Ones who are sent”; Jesus sent His apostles on missions

We too are prepared for and sent on missions, from various groups (family, Church, work-related, etc.).  And our “mission field” is immense/vast.

At the end of each Mass we hear “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord,” or “Go and live the Gospel with your lives.”  The words at the end of the Latin Mass are “Ite misio est” (Go and share the mission).  We are missionaries (by our Baptism/faith), sent out to bring Jesus (who we have received) to all those God brings to our path.

Be disciples (continually/constantly), be Apostles (mission-minded, mission-able)!

Exodus -- Passover -- connecting to our Mass

Exodus – Passover – Connecting to our Mass

        In our Confirmation Readiness Interviews there are some Bible stories with which the youth are asked to be familiar.  One of them is the Exodus story and its significance with Passover.

        In the story we talk about Moses’ birth, growing up in the Egyptian Pharaoh’s house, realizing he’s Hebrew, killing an Egyptian guard (who was beating an Israelite), running away from Egypt, getting connected with a wealthy family, conversing with God through the burning bush, his return to Egypt (to help free the Israelites), the plagues, freeing the Israelites (with the last of the plagues, the killing of the 1^st born), crossing the Red Sea, the 10 Commandments and the Promised Land.

        But Israelites are spared from plague # 10.  Their last meal included the “unleavened bread” and the roasted flesh of an “unblemished lamb”.  The blood of the lamb was rubbed on the doorposts (verticals) and lentil (horizontal); thus the Angel of Death “passed over” the Hebrew households.

        Pharaoh’s son was killed (Egyptians didn’t get the ‘blood on the doorposts’ message), and he is so enraged he tells Moses – get these people out of here.  So the blood of the unblemished lamb helps free the Israelites from their slavery.

        Our Mass, patterned after many things in Jewish history/heritage has several connections with the Exodus story.  One is Jesus, the unblemished Lamb of God (the sinless One) is sacrificed to reconnect us with the kingdom of God.  So Jesus shedding his blood frees us from the slavery of our sins.

        I have seen/heard this this story many times, but in these last few days (March 2020) God revealed something different.  I have been doing the Readiness Interviews for our Confirmation youth, so this story has come up several times.  Then on Sunday March 29^th, as I listened to the Mass God showed me something new.

        The significance of the “blood on the doorposts/lentil” became alive and renewed for me.  When we receive Holy Communion, and we receive the Precious Blood, even just touching our lips, the Blood of the Lamb of God marks us with protection from death and frees us into a connection with eternal life; saving us from our sins was a component of that.

        Jesus, in His own words (which I refer to as His mission statement) from John 10: 10 – “I came that you might have life, and have it abundantly (or “to the fullest” ).  Jesus’ objective was a bigger picture, to reconnect us with the kingdom of God, with eternal life.

Also crossing the Red Sea (a connection)

        As the Israelites fled from their slavery, Pharaoh’s Egyptian army chased them.  God gave them a dry path through the Red Sea, protecting them from Pharaoh’s army.  When the Israelites had crossed the Egyptian army was allowed to follow, into the riverbed, but their chariot wheels got stuck.  God, used Moses, to close up the riverbed, drowning all of Pharaoh’s army.

        We too, when connected with God, travel through, and our enemies do not.  We are blessed with our community connection with God and God’s family.

A huge part of our faith journey is to stay connected, and our call/challenge is to encourage and support one another to do the same.

Be still and know that I am God

"Be still and know that I am God," is from Psalm 46: 10,

but more importantly ...

We will come to know, more and more, Who's we are!

Meditate on --
Be still and know that I am God
Be still and know that I am ...
Be still and know ...
Be still ...
Be ...

And a new revelation from 3 weeks ago --

Know that I am God, and still be
Be faithful, be loving, be hopeful
Be caring, compassionate, kind
Be _________ (other positives)