Cut to the Heart

04-26-2023Weekly Reflection© LPi Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman

Everyone who has been married knows this feeling: you’re in the midst of a disagreement with your spouse. You’ve really dug in your heels. You’re ready to die on this hill. And you have the awful, heartbreaking realization that you are wrong. Whatever it is you’re arguing about, you’re wrong. You.

So where do you go from here? The only way forward is to own it. Fess up. Grab a fork and dig into that humble pie. It makes me cringe just to write about it, because it’s the worst feeling.

I use the example of marriage because it’s the one I’m most familiar with — my closest relationship, the one that teaches me the most about who I am and who God asks me to be. But this is a universal experience, and everyone — single or married, child or adult, lay or ordained — knows how badly it feels to realize that you’re wrong. You’re human. You messed up.

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I Am Not Afraid — I Was Born to Do This

04-23-2023Weekly Reflection ©LPi Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman

Have you ever felt like you weren’t doing the work you should be doing? We have all had jobs that leave us feeling unfulfilled. Bored. Dreading the next day. We may even experience a sensation of unfamiliarity, of being unable to recognize ourselves.

Most of us have also been lucky enough to have a job that we love — a vocation, a calling that makes us look in the mirror and think, This. This is who I’m supposed to be. I recognize this person.

For me, that work is the work of marriage and motherhood. The hours are terrible, the pay is even worse, and my coworkers are frequently disappointed in me — but it doesn’t matter. When I look in the mirror every morning and see my tired, wrinkled face gazing back, choruses of “I said I don’t want the BLUE SHIRT, MOMMY, ugh!” and “Honey, I’ve got an early meeting, I’m so sorry but I have to run,” ringing in the background, I think to myself: I recognize this girl. She was born to do this.

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The Doors We Lock

04-16-2023Weekly Reflection© LPi Colleen Jurkiewicz Dorman

As a child, and even for a while as a teenager, I experienced an enormous amount of anxiety whenever I went to confession. For so many years I feared it. For so many years I waited in the confession line trembling, feeling sick to my stomach. In the upper room after Christ’s Passion and death, the anxiety of the disciples was so strong that they locked themselves away. But still Christ found a way into their midst. He would not be prevented from bringing mercy and hope to a place shrouded in despair. No door barred in a moment of fear could keep him out.

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Against all Odds

04-09-2023Weekly ReflectionRev. Emmanuel I. Ihemedu

As the sun rose on that first Easter Sunday, the disciples of Jesus were filled with grief and despair. Their leader and friend had been crucified, and their hopes for a new kingdom had been shattered. But despite the overwhelming odds, something miraculous was about to happen.

In John 20:1-9, we read about Mary Magdalene's discovery that the tomb where Jesus had been laid was empty. She ran to tell the other disciples, and Peter and John raced to the tomb to see for themselves. They found the linen wrappings that had covered Jesus' body, but the body itself was gone.

At this point, the disciples were still struggling to understand what had happened. They had seen Jesus die on the cross, and they couldn't imagine how he could have possibly risen from the dead. But as they began to piece together the evidence, they realized that something incredible had occurred.

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40 Days of Gratitude - Palm Sunday & Holy Week

04-02-2023Weekly ReflectionRev. Emmanuel I. Ihemedu

This week, we will give thanks for the pearls of great price in our lives. (Matthew 13:45). As we prepare for Easter, we want to finish our gratitude journey by reflecting upon those things that matter the most to us.

Palm Sunday, Apr 2
SELF-CARE SUNDAY: Share one kind thing you can do for yourself today in thanksgiving for all you have done in the previous week.

Mon, Apr 3
TODAY, WE INVITE YOU TO GIVE THANKS FOR YOURSELF, YOUR HEALTH, YOUR ABILITY, YOUR MIND, AND FOR WHO YOU ARE.
It is easy to give thanks for others but often more challenging to sit and say thank you to ourselves.

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40 Days of Gratitude - 5th Week of Lent

03-26-2023Weekly ReflectionRev. Emmanuel I. Ihemedu

This week, we will give thanks for the ways we do not live by bread alone (Matthew 4:4). When Jesus suggested that man cannot live by bread alone, he was really talking about Scripture, but it’s also true that we need more than carbohydrates to keep us healthy. This week, we are going to take a look at our favorite foods and give thanks for them.

Sun, Mar 26
SELF-CARE SUNDAY: Share one kind thing you can do for yourself today in thanksgiving for all you have done in the previous week.

Mon, Mar 27
TODAY WE BEGIN BY TAKING STOCK OF OUR FAVORITE FRUITS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WE CAN ONLY GET AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE YEAR.
What fruits do you enjoy and look forward to with gratitude?

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40 Days of Gratitude - 4th Week of Lent

03-19-2023Weekly ReflectionRev. Emmanuel I. Ihemedu

This week, we will give thanks for everything new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9) by reflecting on technology. Each day, we want to reflect on the technology we use, and not only give thanks for the things that help us, but also the things that are no longer serving us well that we might need to let go of with gratitude.

Sunday, March 19
SELF-CARE SUNDAY: Share one kind thing you can do for yourself today in thanksgiving for all you have done in the previous week.

Monday, March 20
TODAY, CONSIDER YOUR PHONE.
In what ways are you grateful for your phone, the apps on it, the photos, and what things around the use of your phone might you be willing to let go of with gratitude?

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40 Days of Gratitude - 3rd Week of Lent

03-12-2023Weekly ReflectionRev. Emmanuel I. Ihemedu

This week, we will give thanks for the goodness in our communities (Psalm 133:1) by reflecting on our communities and those people who make our lives easier, better or more functional.

Sun, Mar 12
SELFCARE SUNDAY: Share one kind thing you can do for yourself today in thanksgiving for all you have done in the previous week.

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40 Days of Gratitude - 2nd Week of Lent

03-05-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Emmanuel I. Ihemedu

This week, we will give thanks for the home we live in (Psalms 127:1) by reflecting on the blessings that are found within our homes.

Sun, Mar 5
SELFCARE SUNDAY: Share one kind thing you can do for yourself today in thanksgiving for all you have done in the previous week.

Mon, Mar 6
TODAY WE BEGIN BY GIVING THANKS FOR WHAT IS OFTEN CALLED THE HEART OF THE HOME: OUR KITCHENS. Even if you do not like to cook, your kitchen offers things to sustain you. What appliances are you thankful for in your kitchen? What things in your kitchen bring you joy? What is the silliest thing in your kitchen that simply brings you joy?

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Hold Tightly to God's Word

02-26-2023Weekly Reflection© LPi

The Spirit leads Jesus into the desert to be tempted by the devil, and we hear this: “He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.” Seems like a questionable battle preparation plan. When I fast, I usually feel grouchy at best, and at worst, like I might pass out from longing for a hamburger. Isn’t it better to be well-fed and fully hydrated, especially to face spiritual struggles? Why fast?

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40 Days of Gratitude - 1st Week of Lent

02-26-2023Weekly ReflectionRev. Emmanuel I. Ihemedu

This week, we will give thanks for how ‘in rest’ we are saved (Isaiah 30:15) by reflecting on and giving thanks for the ways that we practice rest and relaxation.

Sun, Feb 26
SELF-CARE SUNDAY: Share one kind thing you can do for yourself today in thanksgiving for all you have done in the previous week.

Mon, Feb 27
TODAY, WE INVITE YOU TO CONSIDER THE BOOKS YOU HAVE IN YOUR HOUSE. How many books do you own? Which one is your favorite? Which one reminds you of a moment in time that you are thankful for? Which one do you have that makes you laugh just to see it?

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40 Days of Gratitude

02-22-2023Weekly ReflectionRev. Emmanuel I. Ihemedu

For this week, we will give thanks for the ways we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 149:13)

Wed, Feb 22
TODAY, WE INVITE YOU TO NOTICE AND GIVE THANKS FOR THE WAYS THAT YOU NOTICE STRENGTH IN THE WAYS YOU ARE FRAGILE.

Thu, Feb 23
TODAY, REFLECT UPON: WHAT GIFTS DO YOU OFFER AT WORK, SCHOOL, OR IN PLACES YOU VOLUNTEER IN THE COMMUNITY?

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40 Days of Gratitude

02-19-2023Weekly ReflectionFr. Emmanuel I. Ihemedu

Dear Church Family,

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” And I agree.

To connect more deeply with God during this Lent, we as a parish will practice gratitude for the 40 days of Lent. Reflecting on how much God has blessed us is one way to deepen our relationship with God.

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Love Demands Extraordinary Things

02-12-2023Weekly Reflection© LPi

It’s often said that the Catholic Church lays heavy rules on her members, rules that can almost seem impossible. Mass every Sunday? No lying ever? Sexual purity all the time? I recently said to some non-Catholic friends that more than fifty adults were baptized at my parish at the Easter Vigil. One responded spontaneously with shock, “Why would anyone do that?” In other words, why would someone willingly place themselves in a system with such demanding and rigorous rules?

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Be Salt of the World

02-05-2023Weekly Reflection© LPi

I recently decided to learn to cook. As I sit at the feet of various YouTube cooking masters, I notice how much of cooking is adding ingredients that don’t provide any more nourishment, like herbs and other seasonings. But man! They make all the difference because they make the meal delightful to eat and share. Jesus calls his disciples “salt of the world.” No one eats just salt. So, Christians are not meant to replace or do away with the world. They are meant to be agents of preservation and glorification.

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