Preaching the Truth in Darkness: Caldwell Campus Ministry

Today's Readings:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/033021.cfm Sometimes, I wake up and go about my day wondering "what I am even doing? Is this worth it? Am I wasting my time? How am I helping anyone? Am I even helping myself?" Nowadays, the days seemed to be blurred together, I keep telling myself it will get better even though it's not right now. Some days are dark and other days I see the brightest light. I was blessed with the opportunity to reflect on a few readings from the Bible. Seeing the command, "Lord, in your great love, answer me," put me in a slight state of shock. This past year, I've been praying and asking for an answer to "why?" and "how?". The reading from Isaiah gave me an answer to those questions: "The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue; That I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them." I was brought into the world for a reason and I am working hard for my educati...

 Today's Readings:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/033021.cfm In today's first reading, we read about God sending a servant to rescue the Israelites. He states “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” As we know this light or servant God is sending, is Jesus. For God is not just sending Jesus to rescue the Israelites but God is sending Him to reach the ends of the earth, which is referring to all humanity.  During Holy Week, we acknowledge Jesus sending His light to the nations as we see Him offer Himself up for us. We watch Jesus forgive all those who have forsaken Him and we watch Him conquer all sin and death. For it is Jesus, the light of the world, who saves the nations. Jesus not only saved those during His time, but he saves us during our time as well.  May we pray, Jesus I have forsaken you, allow Your light to shine over my darkness. In the Gospel reading we hear the story of Jesus stating that o...

Today's Readings:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032921.cfm As we enter into Holy Week, we are reminded that the Lord chose us and is well pleased with us. We are meant to be a light for the nations and to be a good example to all who observe us and come in contact with us. In the first reading, we hear, that we are meant to “ To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement,   and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness” (Is 42:1-7). Look around you. There is darkness all around- in the hate, the sickness, the poverty. As Catholics, we are called to share our time and talent to serve others. Our lives should be examples of love and compassion, just as God loves us and sacrificed so much for us, in sending His one and only Son to save us. So at the start of our Holy Week, let us pray, “Lord, let them see You in me. Let them hear You when I speak. Let them feel you through my acts of love. And let them come to know you through my unshaken fai...

Today's Readings:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032821.cfm  “Your life requires your mindful presence in order to live it. Be here now.”  ― Akiroq Brost A favorite parable of mine is titled The Precious Present by Spencer Johnson. This short story reminds me of the power of being in the moment, the here and the now. It’s a meaningful concept as we prepare for the journey of Holy Week where Jesus, in great love, suffers and gives himself over for all of us. Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem is a much needed moment following the week of preparing his disciples for what lies ahead. We find celebration, joy, and hope. This is a true metaphor for the victory of Easter. The experience of Palm Sunday is a moment of celebration that provides a source of hope and belief that the victory of life over death prevails. Let us look back on Palm Sunday when the heaviness of suffering, pain, or disbelief may consume and joyously welcome Jesus with the belief that life a...

Today's Readings:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032721.cfm In today's gospel we learn of the plot to kill Jesus. Caiaphas, the high priest, notes that "it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish." While the Pharisees and high priests saw Jesus' death as a way to stop the Romans from taking their lands and nation, it does foretell the sacrifice that Jesus will make not just for all Jews at the time to keep their lands and nation but the sacrifice Jesus will make for all people, for us to be saved.  Where can we look to in our lives that allow us to make sacrifices to assist others? How often do we ask God for something in our prayers, but do we need to continue to know that God knows what is best for us and provide for us? Each of these questions are true in our lives today, have we been able to make sacrifices in our daily lives to help slow the spread of the pandemic, have we been able to ...

Today's Readings:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032621.cfm John 10:31-42: “If I do not perform my Father’s works, do not believe me; but if I perform them, even if you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may realize and understand that the Father is in me and I am the Father.” In today’s Reading, Jesus is being stoned by the Jews for blasphemy, even though he has “shown you many good works from my Father.” This Gospel Reading teaches us that actions speak louder than words, a reminder more critical now than ever. As our country fights the COVID-19 pandemic, issues related to social justice, and the urgent climate crisis, we must remember that it is within our power to make a difference. We must do more than decry injustices and turmoils; we must act on them. Our good deeds toward positive change and our works of love are examples of the good of God.  Let us remember that each of us has the power to make a difference in the world because God is within al...

Today's Readings:  https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032521.cfm What follows is a powerful poem written by my sister, Rea Nolan Martin and published in Preaching the Poetry of the Gospels: A Lyric Companion to the Lectionary by our own Sister Elizabeth Michael Boyle, OP in September 2003.    The Annunciation These beads we finger like distant stars— why are they still called mysteries? Is her story any harder to grasp than fractals, fields of consciousness, or intelligent energy? Who among us has not known chaos— neutrinos, undetected, blowing through us like wings flapping; the rearrangement of protons and electrons; or the ecstatic surrender to anyone’s mercy?   This is not a parlor game—nature acting out a charade. The clues are assembled in equations that add up to intuition. Do the deaf not hear a deeper voice? And what is faith but the science of infinite possibility— new birth and the atomic force of redemption? Copyright 2002 Rea Nolan Martin   - S...