Leave it all

In the midst of stumbling through a million (well okay, maybe not that many) messages from students on Facebook, I was scrolling through our team's newsfeed and I was reminded that it was St. Catherine of Siena's feast day. I momentarily shrugged it off, and then was caught by surprise with the quote that accompanied the post. 

"He will provide the way and the means, such as you could never have imagined. Leave it all to Him, let go of yourself, lose yourself on the Cross, and you will find yourself entirely." 

In that moment, it was exactly what I needed to hear. In the moment of feeling overwhelmed by a million little messages with questions I needed to answer, an overflowing task list, and running on only a few hours of rest with a head cold coming on, I needed to be  reminded that it's not all about me. It's not about my team. It's not about the ministry we are doing. It is all about Jesus Christ. It is all about leaving it all. It is all about the Cross.

In our team's desperate attempt to love those we minister to, how easy it is to forget the inception of love shown to us upon the Cross. We think that we can go about loving others by our own strength, but we forget that we are fallible. Sure, Jesus loved others using His own strength, but we are not Jesus. We are not God. So what happens when we fail in loving? Or fail in our tasks? Or fall into sin? We become discouraged, distraught, and upset. 

That's where the wise words of St Catherine of Siena come in. In our failures, weaknesses, and sufferings, God will provide a way provided that we willingly leave it all to Him. We don't have to do anything of our own accord than look to the Cross, and lose ourselves there. Not only will we find ourselves there, but we will also be provided for by the One who has given it all already. 

Lose yourself entirely and you will be found. Leave it all to Him and He will provide and way. 

Breaking Every Chain

Our team is back in Ontario until the end of our ministry. To get to the end, we have returned to our beginnings, so to speak. Recently, we did a short afternoon of prison ministry, and my experience was incredible.


Walking in, I was nervous, for pretty obvious reasons. Besides this being our first time as a team doing any sort of ministry to full-grown adults, much less to those in prison, it's not exactly as though a penitentiary is known territory for me. After the security check, we walked into the chapel with nothing except the clothes on our backs, our lunches, and a singular Bible. Kind of like how these men have nothing, I thought.


Mike on our team gave the talk, and it was a very appropriate one, entitled The Greater Mercy. I had been praying about mercy and forgiveness that very morning, and had realized that I am very unforgiving, mainly of myself. You see, the world, our experiences, our selves, and the Devil will tell us, all of us, lies. The lies we choose to believe become our anthem without us ever realizing it, and before we know it, we take vows of how we will live according to these lies.


For example, a lie that I have heard is, "You only let people down," and the unwitting vow I had taken because of that was, "I will not disappoint." And so I have become hard and unforgiving of myself, mostly because I expect little more from anyone else.


But that sort of vow-taking becomes like a chain that we bind ourselves with. How is God to break our hearts of stone if we have locked them away from Him? There is no 'spiritual S.W.A.T. team' that will force our hearts into the vulnerable open. Yes, only He can release us from the chains we bind ourselves with, but only we can give Him the key.


I had been bound by these chains without ever realizing it until I went to a NET retreat when I was in grade 12. During the women's session, the female NET team members told all of us women on retreat that we were loved by a God Whose love is so unconditional that there is nothing we could do to make Him love us any less, and there is nothing we could do to make Him love us any more than He does right now. I was so moved by this truth, and during the prayer time I can firmly say that I felt God saying that He loved me, that my desire to please God did not disappoint Him. I was enough for God, and in this realization, my chains were severed. Through the grace of that 'small conversion', I have been able to go on NET and bring that love to others, and that brought me to bring that grace to these men in the prison, some of whom were not just prisoners in the literal sense, but prisoners of their hearts as well.


After our retreat there, I approached an inmate who was standing aloof by himself. I introduced myself, he did the same, and we began talking. Eventually, conversation led to me asking the question, "So, what is your faith background?" to which he replied with an explanation of his upbringing torn between a Muslim father and a Hindi mother, until his parents separated. His only religion now is love, he told me, insisting that institutionalized religion was simply not for him.


I explained to him then that the religion I profess had been like that for me growing up as well: not necessarily an evil or a huge turn-off, but simply a list of boxes to tick off to be a good person. Something to do so I would not disappoint. Then I explained that I had experienced God's unconditional love, how I was able to draw so much closer to this God Who loves me through the Eucharist, and how I am trying to form a relationship out of a religion.


This man was speechless.


He seemed to consider my words for some time, then nodded and replied, "I guess you're right." And he did not argue my point, or even try to brush it off as 'okay for you, but not for me'. In fact, I ended up giving him a meditation book on the daily readings of the Mass, which he accepted with a smile.


I expect with the wounds he has against religion that the journey to healing, to breaking the chains and the false vows, and to accepting God's greater mercy, will be a long one indeed. But that is the thing about these journeys; though they are long and arduous, they are always worth it. The cost of picking up your cross and following God is incomparable with the reward of being with God forever, because He loves you so much and an eternity without you is unbearable to Him. And you are worth it to God, which is why He laid His life down on that Cross for you. So I encourage you to find your vows, identify your chains, and give them to God so He can break them, and release you into His love.


The joyful truth is that we were not made to be prisoners of our own souls or of any lies or false vows, so it is high time we give ourselves freedom. It is time to break every chain.


Peace,

Samantha Wigglesworth

Encounter 2

Passer le flambeau

Cherchez plus tôt parmi vous, frères, sept hommes de bonne réputation, remplis de l'Esprit et de sagesse, et nous les préposerons à cet office; quant à nous, nous resterons assidus à la prière et au service de la parole.  (Actes 6:3-4)

Je lis cette parole dans ma bible depuis quelques jours et ça me reste dans la tête. Quand je lis cela, je pense à nos leaders de la Beauce.  Mon équipe et moi, nous sommes comme les apôtres; on passe partout en proclamant la parole de Dieu.  Les apôtres ne pouvaient pas rester à une seule place pendant  longtemps.  Alors, ils ont choisi des personnes à chaque endroit pour continuer à parler de Dieu. 

Mon équipe et moi, nous ne serons pas ici pour très longtemps. Alors, nous avons demandé à quelques-uns de nos jeunes de prendre notre place.  Passer le flambeau peut être difficile à certains moments car je n'ai plus autant de contrôle.  Mais en même temps, c'est tellement beau de voir les leaders trouver des idées pour les soirées jeunesse et vouloir prendre le contrôle.  Ils ont le désir et la volonté de poursuivre l’apostolat jeunesse. En voyant leur désir et leur volonté, je suis inspirée à pousser encore plus et à finir l’année d’une manière complète et forte.  

Dieu m'a appelée ici. Il appelle aussi les leaders à continuer la mission dans la Beauce.  La fin de semaine passée, on a eu une rencontre avec nos leaders pour planifier un événement d’apostolat jeunesse.  C’était incroyable de voir combien ils ont grandi cette année. Ils ont grandi non seulement dans ce qu'ils peuvent faire, mais dans aussi leur relation avec Dieu.  Après la rencontre avec les leaders, on a eu un temps de louange avec eux.  Il y avait des jeunes qui levaient leur mains, pleuraient et laissaient l'Esprit Saint agir en eux.  À ce moment-là, j'ai réalisé que je peux grandir dans ma foi et aider les autres à grandir dans leur foi en même temps.  Je jouais le djembe et la plupart du temps, quand je joue, il est difficile pour moi d'entrer dans la prière. Cependant, cette fois-là, c’était incroyable!  Chaque fois que quelqu'un disait ou chantait un mot, c’était exactement les mots que je voulais dire.  Ceci m'a reconfirmé pourquoi je fais NET.

Souvenez-vous de vos anciens dirigeants, qui vous ont annoncé la parole de Dieu.  Pensez à la façon dont ils ont vécu et sont morts, et imitez leur foi.'' (Hébreux 13:7)

Que Dieu vous bénisse!

Lisa

Les équipes NET

Ressusciter avec Jésus

Les derniers mois ont été incroyables, ici, en Beauce. Je n'ai jamais été dans une communauté aussi pleine de vie et d'amour. L'année est très exigeante, mais je sais que la récompense est beaucoup plus grande! Nous avons fait de nombreux événements pour les jeunes, animé des messes jeunesse et des soirées d’adoration, et même dîné dans des écoles. Notre équipe est en train d'essayer d'aller à beaucoup d’événements dans la communauté. La Semaine sainte était un temps parfait pour cela!

Je n'ai jamais connu une Semaine sainte aussi douloureuse, mais également aussi joyeuse. Notre équipe a assisté à chaque célébration et à presque chaque messe au cours de la semaine. Le soir du Vendredi saint, nous avons même eu l’occasion de marcher en silence avec un groupe d'environ 200 personnes d'une église à une autre avec une croix et des pancartes! En réfléchissant beaucoup à la mort et à la résurrection de Jésus, j'ai eu une grosse prise de conscience. Nous savons que lorsque Jésus est ressuscité, il est venu dans son corps glorifié. Cependant, pour nous sur cette terre, eh bien... nos corps humains sont périssables et faibles.

Ainsi en est-­il de la résurrection des morts. Le corps est semé corruptible; il ressuscite incorruptible; il est semé méprisable, il ressuscite glorieux; il est semé infirme, il ressuscite plein de force; il est semé corps animal, il ressuscite corps spirituel. S'il y a un corps animal, il y a aussi un corps spirituel. (1Cor.15: 42­-44)

Nous ne pouvons pas avoir nos corps glorifiés en ce moment, mais nous pouvons définitivement travailler à rendre notre âme propre. Jésus veut que nous devenions la meilleure version de nous-mêmes. Dieu veut que nous renoncions à chaque petite chose à laquelle nous sommes attachés sur cette terre afin que nous puissions tout simplement devenir plus conscients de l'endroit vers lequel nous nous dirigeons. Ce que nous possédons peut finir par nous posséder. Nous devons nous donner totalement au Christ.

En tant que catholiques, nous devons choisir de ressusciter avec lui et de devenir une nouvelle personne! Si vous voulez être changés par Dieu, vous ne pouvez pas oublier que vous avez d’abord besoin d'être crucifiés. Je dis toujours à nos jeunes que sans la souffrance, vous ne pouvez pas vous rapprocher de Dieu. Sans être crucifiés, vous ne pouvez pas traverser dans les portes du ciel. Avec tout, nous devons nous débarrasser de ce qui est en train de nuire à nos âmes pour pouvoir être ressuscités avec le Christ.

La Semaine sainte est un temps de renouvellement. Un temps pour renforcer notre foi en Dieu. J'ai dit oui. Oui, je veux être la meilleure version de moi-même. Je veux être plus affectueuse, fidèle, généreuse, patiente, pure, et sainte!

Que Dieu vous bénisse,

Josée

Les équipes NET 

God's call in my life

Playing pickle ball 

Over the past few days I have been focusing a lot on God's call, hearing that call and responding to it. You see, sometimes it can be really hard to know what God is calling you to, and for me, this has been something that I have been struggling with. But part of that is listening. There are so many things that can distract us from hearing God’s voice, and lent was a great time to reflect on this and try to rid myself of these distractions, and put God first. For myself, prayer is a time when I can become very distracted with other things, but my team helps me with that, by asking me about my prayer and how it is going. They hold me accountable and help me to continue to reflect on it and grow in it. There are many ways to hear God, and this past week I had asked God to help me to hear Him and to know what He wants.

He answered me by showing me. My host home had their grand daughter and her father over for dinner one night and God used this to show me myself and Him. I was the little girl and He, the father.

Having fun at a furniture store 

The little girl was 2 and had a bunch of energy. She constantly wanted to play and do things her own way. Her dad was always there, he was aware of where she was and what she was doing, but he let her go and play as she pleased. He would ask her to do things and help guide her in the right direction but never forced her. He let her learn what worked and what didn’t and was always there when she asked for help.  Towards the end of the night her dad asked her if she was ready to go and get ready for bed. The little girl said no and continued to play, ignoring him when he asked again. A few minutes later he told her to get her snowsuit on and she ran away. She could not see past the fun at grandma and grandpa's house, where as her dad could see what she needed--sleep.

Still having fun at a furniture store 

God is always there. He knows us and what we have done, are doing and will do. He knows what is best and wants that for us. He will tell us his will, but will not force it, it is our choice. Like the little girl I have the choice to listen to my Father, to choose His will or my own. His will is the one that is best for me, whether I want it in that moment or not. The little girl helped me to see that there are times when God is speaking but I don’t take the time to listen, I am distracted by the things in front of me and choose to focus on that.

God was showing me that it is my choice to hear and listen to him. Like the little girl’s dad, he will not force us to listen, it is a choice we must actively choose.

Thanks for reading and God bless 

Olivia from iNFUSE NORTH