Learning to be Quick to Listen

In the parish hall of St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Northwest Portland, nearly 140 people gather by candle light for dinner each week during Lent. The group is not your typical Bible study. It's not the week's readings or the latest papal encyclical being discussed. The discussion is foundational. Who is Jesus? Why does my relationship with him matter? These are just a couple of the questions asked during the 10-week course, called Quest. Quest is designed to draw people from all backgrounds. And it does. The gently lit room on the evening of February 3 was packed with people. Tables dressed with linens and candles spread across the entire floor. Not all of the attendees are parishioners of St. Patrick's. Not all of them are Catholic. But they were all there for an evening of dinner, song, discussion, and prayer. Quest was born as a place for seekers to learn about Catholic beliefs, to encounter God, and to sit with others who may be on a similar journey. "...

After months of anticipation, the date of Mother Teresa’s canonization has finally been announced. It falls on Sept. 4, which this year will also mark a special jubilee for workers and volunteers of mercy. Though it's been rumored for months that Mother Teresa’s canonization will take place Sept. 4, the Vatican made the date official during a March 15 consistory of cardinals. Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu Aug. 26, 1910, in Skopje, Macedonia. After joining the Sisters of Loretto at age 17, she was sent to Calcutta, where she later contracted tuberculosis, and was sent to rest in Darjeeling. On the way, she felt what she called “an order” from God to leave the convent and live among the poor. After she left her convent, Mother Teresa began working in the slums, teaching poor children, and treating the sick in their homes. A year later, some of her former students joined her, and together they took in men, women and children who were dying in the gutters along the s...

Sister Anslem, Sister Reginette, Sister Judith, and Sister Marguerite were serving as caretakers at the Missionaries of Charity's convent and nursing home in Aden, Yemen. These sisters left their homes in India and Africa to serve the poor, elderly, and disabled in the war-torn country of Yemen. They worked together with volunteers at the convent's home care center, where they served around sixty to eighty patients of all religions. “They were serving all poor people irrespective of their religion. Their duty was to help the poor,” a representative from the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia told CNA. But on March 4, the convent was attacked by two gunmen who killed Sr. Anslem, Sr. Judith, Sr. Marguerite, and Sr. Reginette, along with sixteen other victims, including volunteers from Ethiopia and Yemen. Each victim was found handcuffed and shot in the head. No residents of the nursing home were harmed. Pope Francis called the sisters “martyrs of today” who “gave their b...

How did you get to this point in your life? Looking back at the trajectory of your life can help you to understand why God is putting you in certain situations or bringing certain people into your life. What are the life experiences you have had and what choices have you made that brought you to where you are today? Don't stop there. Take a look into the future. Where is God calling you to be? Do you like the type of work you are doing? Are you surrounding by people who are lifting you up or dragging you down? What are you doing in that situation to change it? Are you praying for people who are causing you strife? What is most important to you? How can you look at past mistakes and sins and learn from them? Take a look at Matthew 22:36-40 and 26:26-28. Pray on those sacred words and ask God to help you with this examin. The answers we seek are with God and all we need do is ask. I am praying that your Lenten journey brings you closer to God.

The Prodigal Son gospel reading always provokes a lot of reflection. We all know the story but different parts of it speak to us individually. The father in the story is the personification of what Pope Francis is asking us to do during the Year of Mercy. The father not only loves his two sons but he provides for them and (most importantly) forgives and welcomes them back into his heart even after they have hurt him. The father's mercy to both of his sons provides us with a solid model for building a life based on mercy to others. Now some folks really identify with the younger brother who takes his inheritance early and strikes out on his own. Ending up working in a pig sty is not the life he would have chosen and the metaphor is not lost on us. When we wallow in sin, our lives become like the wayward son, disgusting, depressing, and directionless. But God is there with outstretched arms to welcome us back to the fold. Not only that, but God will meet us right where we are. That i...