Month: June 2023

A Vacation from God?

Author: Catherine Loh, Diocese of Palm Beach Director of Marriage, Family Life, Faith Formation, and Youth Ministry 

As summer vacation stretches out before us, beckoning us to locales far and near, we relish the promise of relaxation and release from the demands of our everyday lives, even temporarily.  However, while some ‘demands’, like school or work, can be placed on hold for a time, others do not diminish or release their hold on us.  Some of those demands are ontological (fundamental), they are part of our nature, who we are, our relationships with others.  Can a mother or a father ever stop being a mother or father?  Can a daughter or a son truly erase that relationship?  What about a priest who, through ordination, has become a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek? (Psalms 110:4) We can take a vacation. We can stop doing, but we cannot stop being.

When we are baptized, we become adopted children of God, co-heirs with Christ, and temples of the Holy Spirit, forever changed by the sacramental graces. Even if we turn our back on our baptismal promises, we cannot erase the nature of our relationship with God.  But we can affect the impact or fruit of these graces in our lives depending on if and how we respond to the gift.

Just what is the nature of this gift, how far-reaching is it? From the very beginning, we understand that our life, our very being, is a gift from God, and it is only through God that we continue to exist.  The Creation account from Genesis 2:7 tells us: “then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”  In a reflection on this truth, the psalmist praises God: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”  (Psalm 139:13-14) St. Paul the Apostle attributes our continued existence to God as he evangelizes in Athens: “Yet he [God] is actually not far from each one of us, for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’…” (Acts 17:27b-28a) Paul returns to this theme in many of his letters to the church communities he establishes on his various journeys to share the Gospel. Indeed, God both gives us and continues to hold us in existence.

We have so much to thank God for. Scripture tells us that everything we have comes from God. “Do not be deceived…. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:16-17).  Every good gift comes from God.

So, why would we even consider taking a vacation from God? If God holds us in existence, how can we expect to survive, let alone flourish, without him? What if he took a vacation from us? If every good gift is from him, even our vacation is a gift from him. Why would we exclude him? The only right response is gratitude, not neglect.

Let us resolve to observe the commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy, and invite God to accompany us on vacation, so we can show him our gratitude for every good gift. And where can we find him, body, blood, soul, and divinity? At Mass, in the Eucharist, in every Catholic Church in every corner of the world.  As Catholics, we keep the Sabbath holy by attending Mass where participation in the Eucharist is an act of thanksgiving for all that God has done for us. Finding a local Mass is simple; check this link:  MassTimes – Find Catholic worship times for Mass, Confession, Adoration and Holy Days

Here’s what the Scriptures have to say:

Acts 17:27b-28  – Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

1 Corinthians 8:6 – …yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and from whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

Colossians 1:17 – And he [Christ] is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Deuteronomy 5:12 – Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you.

In the Name of the Father

Author:  Beth Zanotelli, Family Life Coordinator for the Diocese of Palm Beach

When we make the Sign of the Cross, we pray, “In the name of the Father”, so we begin this prayer with the Father.  God, our Father!  He is the beginning, our beginning, He is our Creator.   God the Father is our true source of strength, and God is Love.  He hears our prayers and knows our joys and our sorrows.  There is nothing that can compare to God’s great love! Most important, there is nothing that can separate us from God’s great love – nothing.

When we pray the prayer that Jesus taught us, again we begin with “Our Father who art in heaven. We give him the praise that is due when we pray, “Hallowed be thy name”. He should be our most important relationship, and we revere Him with the utmost love and loyalty.    

So, how do we learn about God’s great love?  How do we know the love of the Father?  How do we appreciate the gift of our life, given by God the Father?  One, very important way that we first come to know the love of our heavenly Father….is through our earthly father.  The gift of fatherhood is such a special role and so often overlooked.  Our Heavenly Father loves us, so too our earthly dads love us giving us a glimpse of the Father’s great love for us!  Earthly dads can be our biological dads or sometimes we have “father-figures” who are our spiritual dads.  These great men have a special role to play in their children’s lives.  Our earthly fathers are called to sacrifice for us, to teach us, and to bear witness to the faith.  They point us to our heavenly Father.  If our families could be seen as a team, dads would be the most beloved coach of our family team.

The role of fatherhood is daunting and is filled with many joys, sacrifices, and trials.  We know our earthly father can only give us a glimpse of God.  Our dads are human, and they need a Savior, just like us.   Often our earthly dads need to learn how to love rightly.  They may not understand how to love as the Father has loved us.  

Pray for fathers! Pray that they find healing from any brokenness. Pray that they can inspire their children; pray that they can forgive like God the Father; pray that they can be supportive and understanding.  Pray for fathers to always be concerned for others, especially the members of their family so they can be a witness of the strength and love of God, our heavenly Father.  Pray for fathers that they can love their heavenly Father, their wives and in turn their children with Christ-like love.  Take the time to say, “thank you and I love you”.  Thank them for their sacrifices, for teaching us, and for giving us a glimpse of God the Father’s love. 

 Here’s what the scriptures have to say:

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

1 John 4:8-10 – Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.  In this way the love of God was revealed to us:  God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him.

Deuteronomy 4:29 – Yet there too you shall seek the Lord, your God; and you shall indeed find him when you search after him with your whole heart and your whole soul.  In your distress, when all these things shall have come upon you, you shall finally return to the Lord, your God and heed his voice.  Since the Lord, your God is a merciful God, he will not abandon and destroy you, nor forget the covenant which under oath he made with your fathers.

 John 13:34-35 – I give you a new commandment:  love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.  This is how all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.