Holy Saturday Sampling

Walk In Her Sandals Holy Saturday Reflection

Gifts are only useful if they are received, opened, and used. The gift of prayer is no different. Imagine a friend arriving at your door with a colorful, neatly wrapped, shiny bow on top of gift. It is not a special occasion nor have you recently tackled or completed anything present worthy, so you decline the gift, and send your friend away. Who would do that? Certainly not me. I would have the gift opened before the friend even made herself comfy. If the gift happened to be a bottle of wine, the top would be popped and glasses poured before we’d finished with our initial greetings. Like gifts, prayer should be gratefully received and not left unopened or unused. This week’s reflection will focus on The Gift of Prayer section in Walk in Her Sandals written by Pat Gohn.

Gifts are Meant to be Used

“What is the gift of prayer?” is the first question asked in the Walk in Her Sandals’ journal with regard to Pat’s reflection. Personally, I see prayer as part of what I’ve dubbed, “The Grace Trifecta.” This trifecta consists of one engaging in prayer, participating in the Sacraments, as well as reading and reflecting on Scripture — prayer, Sacrament and Scripture. It truly amazes me that God allows us to communicate with Him in this intimate way. What a gift that he allows us to enter into conversation with Him.

When I was a child, my mother would wrap every single item in our Christmas stocking. Opening each individual present was what I looked forward to the most about Christmas; I enjoyed it so much I continue that tradition today with my own children. This is how I have experienced prayer in my life — as many small gifts. The first prayer gift to be unwrapped was opening up a more frequent line of communication with God. This came after reading St. Paul’s words in 1Thessalonians 5:16-18, which reads:

“Rejoice always;
pray without ceasing;
in everything give thanks;
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

After contemplating St. Paul’s words, I decided to change my self-absorbed habit of constantly talking to myself …. Read What The Holy Spirit Inspired me to do over on WINE

Zilpah is Anah’s grandmother and the mother of Miriam. Although she is ancient, she sees much: Anah’s pain of childlessness, Miriam’s worry for her sons, Huldah’s loyalty, and even Veronica’s fear of her husband.
As Holy Saturday dawns amid despair and grief, it is Zilpah who remembers God’s faithfulness through all the long years of her life. Now—when it seems that there is no hope left—it is she who reminds her family to pray and to wait, that the story of Jesus is not over . . . in fact, it may just be beginning.
~ From Stephanie Landsem’s Biblical Fiction in Walk in Her Sandals — READ MORE

For anyone entering the
Catholic Church this evening – WELCOME!
Here is a wonderful piece by Kirby Hoberg ~ Under thy Roof – that you may find very helpful!

We’re on the edge of Holy Week y’all!
This year I have been helping out with our parish RCIA program. RCIA is near and dear to my heart. My mom is a convert and so are some of my best friends. Hanging out with people who genuinely want to learn more about the Catholic faith and are seeking understanding is a great experience for re-lighting your own faith fire!
But there are a lot of little things involved in Catholic practice that might not get communicated in RCIA classes … READ

And Mary? Where is she? John tells us that from the hour of Jesus’s death, he “took her to his own home.” We can see John, the disciple Jesus loved, and Mary, who undoubtedly loved Jesus more than life itself — two who were joined as family by Jesus’s final act on the cross — observing that Sabbath together. I would like to have been the proverbial “fly on the wall” in John’s house that day. When people love and are loved like those two were, what do the hours after the loved one’s death look like?
… Read Sarah Christmyer’s Reflection

Have you ever gone through a time in your life where you just wished you could see how it all worked out in the future?
Often when we struggle, we hear people say, “Everything happens for a reason.”
I have refrained from punching those people many times. You?
There were times in my life where I wished I could fast-forward, or at least look into a magic mirror and see how it all panned out.
I wonder if that is why some say with age comes wisdom. We are not able to look ahead, but we are able to look back. As I look back, I see the fruit the struggles bore . . . and I see how some crosses were actually blessings. …Read MORE