Sunday, 5/26/19 – Constant Renewal

I look back and I see them now. They’ve come and gone over the years, ever since I was a child. Moments of peace. Moments of revelation. Moments of renewal. Moments where I really didn’t see it at the time, but only realize after the fact. Moments where the Holy Spirit was coming back to me – teaching me, renewing my faith, renewing my relationship with God – taking it to a whole new level.

As I mentioned before, I am a cradle Catholic, but it wasn’t until the last decade where I truly became practicing – but the foundation was always there, comprised of the graces I’d gleaned growing up. Graces from my baptism. My first communion. My confirmation. The lessons I had been taught in catechism while not realizing it. Those seeds of grace that were planted in my soul for later in my life when they would grow and bloom just when I needed them.

The seeds were watered by experiences, the times where I’ve literally felt the Holy Spirit in my life, good times and challenging times. The time I saw Pope (now Saint) John Paul II with my parents and the rain clouds part above him when he spoke. Seeing Pope Francis 30 years later with my own family.

The History of Religion class I took in college that made me think and ask questions, and seek why it is that I have this yearning for Catholicism, the faith I was raised with, even though I really did not know a lot about it. Those other religions have a lot of good parts, but nothing as a whole, is on the same level as our faith.

The time I met the woman who would become my wife. The accident that almost killed us. The day we took those vows. The day she became Catholic. The birth of our son.

The financial challenges we had. Our renewal retreats – Christ Renews His Parish and Worldwide Marriage encounter. My battle with anxiety and depression.

The list goes on and on. And it will continue to go on and unfold.

These are all experiences in my life – both joy and pain – that have made me who I am, and have been constant renewals. God has used these to bring me, and those around me, closer to Him. He’s the master gardener of our soul. Those times when we’ve received the Sacraments, those times where we experience Him and His Spirit – he’s watering and fertilizing the seeds He’s sown, and He’s planting new ones.

Jesus says in the Gospel today, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you… You heard me tell you, ‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’”

Our lives are like the seasons. Some of us have more seasons than others. Some of us have warmer summers, some of us live in a drought. Some of us have longer winters. But from time to time – we all have a springtime – a period of renewal where Jesus comes back to us, to cultivate us, to teach us something after a long, cold winter. These renewals are also times to show us the joy of the blooms of those seeds He planted long ago. These are times where Christ comes back into our heart, and plants more seeds – where He leaves His Peace with us – for a time later in life when we will need it, when it blooms in our soul.

Our lives are lives of constant renewal. God uses things that happen to us for the very reason that they will bring us closer to Him. I firmly believe that. Everything happens – and God uses those circumstances for a reason – a reason to enter our lives. Deep down, I feel it is largely through these peaks and valleys, these seasons in our lives, where God draws us closer to Him, and where He has us do His work, and be His instrument – and His gardener.

Jesus said it best in the Gospel today – it’s through these times where the Holy Spirit comes to us and teaches us everything, and then reminds us of all He has taught.

Life is full of constant reminders. Some of us need more than others, and God knows exactly what we each need, exactly when we need it. He knew exactly when I needed to experience certain things in my life, and He knew the exact seeds to plant when life events happened. He knows that for all of us.

He knew that for the Apostles and all the disciples in today’s first reading. Gentiles were being converted, and suddenly, Christian communities were comprised of people from many different backgrounds. There were many different opinions on what all this meant, what rules and traditions should these new converts follow. There were surely several heated arguments and many frustrations.

But Christ used this time flawlessly. He used this formation, and this challenge as a time of renewal, a time to truly define what it means to be a Christian. He used this time of dissention as a time to create His Church – the Catholic Church. Ever since then, the Holy Spirit has been flooding the world and the hearts of billions over the centuries, even in the midst of a fallen world. From time to time, we get a glimpse of the renewed Jerusalem that John shares from His vision in Revelations. These are the times when we are flooded with the love of the Holy Spirit and have those experiences that fill our soul with a grace that words cannot describe.

Life is a constant renewal where Christ leaves the seeds of His peace in our soul, and the Holy Spirit comes back to water them and show us the blooms from time to time, and often pull out the weeds. When we’re in the midst of it, it just seems like work. The renewals lead to harvesting the fruit, and then pruning the plants and loss of our foliage, and then the dormancy of winter. And this cycle continues. Sometimes, the work is harder than at other times. But wow, are the renewals amazing! And if we let the Spirit guide us and we open ourselves up to Him, the things we can learn and understand and changes we can experience in our lives are limitless. Often though, we keep our head down, focused on the immediate task at hand.

But if we just pause, and take a step back at those times of renewal in our lives, raise our head and look out, we’ll just see the great and beautiful garden that our life has become. And then we let the Holy Spirit plant those seeds for the seasons to come.

Today’s readings for Mass

About the Author

My name is Joe LaCombe, and I am a Software Developer in Fishers, Indiana in the USA. My wife Kristy and I have been married for 19 years and we have an awesome boy, Joseph, who is in 5th Grade! We are members of St. Elizabeth Seton Parish in Carmel, Indiana where we volunteer with various adult faith ministries. I love writing, and spending time with my family out in the nature that God created, and contemplating His wonders. I find a special connection with God in the silence and little things of everyday life, and I love sharing those experiences with all of you.

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9 Comments

  1. Joe, what a beautiful and inspiring reflection of the word of God. I love it. God bless you.

  2. Thanks for your deep thoughts. I can totally relate them to my own life. God bless your work!

  3. Joe, been reading your posts for awhile and I think you hit a high note today! Very meaningful and a mirror to almost anybody’s life; so therefore an excellent piece of writing. Thanks and God bless!

  4. Dear Joe, I just love this. When the first paragraph brought tears to my eyes, I knew this was going to be special. Then I was able to read about St. Philip Neri in the Universalis:Today. That made me laugh. A wonderful way to start our Lord’s day. Prayers for all our men and women who gave their lives for our world’s freedom and their families and friends.

  5. Joe, I love your imagery of the seeds of grace being watered by the Master Gardener of our souls. And capturing last week’s Gospel reading of pruning to bear more fruit.

    Life is in constant renewal even when we are not fully aware of it. We experience it in times of suffering and upheaval, personally, as a community, and in the world as a whole. These times of renewal are often met with anger, frustration, despair, but somehow we manage to get through it with prayer and perseverance. Then we rejoice when it passes. Then the cycle of renewal begins again. Over time, when we remember to let the Holy Spirit guide our hearts and minds, each season of renewal is a reminder that it’s time once again for pruning. And, yes, Oh What a Wonderful Feeling.

    Pk, I too, read about St. Philip Neri. The description of him as a secular priest made me wonder why we don’t have priests like him. On the other hand, more than likely they exist. Yesterday I attended a memorial mass for a cousin who passed away. Her son who was ordained a priest a couple of years ago gave a very inspiring, uplifting homily/eulogy. He is barely 30 years old! I said to my cousins sitting next to me, I would like to attend his Church. But, he lives in New York. We need more priests like St. Philip Neri and this young priest to help us through the pruning times.

    Blessings for a glorious Sunday, and a week of abundant fruit after the pruning!

    God bless.

  6. The above comments led me to read a little about St. Philip Neri. I see some similarities between what I read about him and what I’ve read about Pope Francis. Both men attentive to the poor and good with people. Both look to initiate change within the church.

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