Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • May 4, 2018 14 Magnificat Breakfast held at Our Lady of Fatima April 21 Magnificat is the Canticle known as the Song of the Blessed Virgin Mary as she visited her cousin Elizabeth ... in Luke, chapter 1 ... “My soul magnifies the Lord”. On April 21, more than eighty guests attended the Magnificat breakfast given by the Gulf Coast Ministry held in Our Lady of Fatima Parish Hall to honor Mary. For those who haven’t yet attended one of these func- tions, it is a joyful opportunity for you to share in a lovely catered breakfast, meet new friends and listen to a guest speaker’s testimony. Flyers regarding the fall breakfast will be sent in the mail to announce the next date. Both men and women are welcome to come and grow in love with our Lady. KC Council #9958, St. Ann Parish, Lizana Knights of Columbus Council #9958 from St. Ann Parish in Lizana held its first Easter coloring contest with CCD students on March 23. Twenty- three children participated in the event. Plaques were awarded to winners in four different catego- ries. First place winners were Parker Lassabe (6-8 years old), Kaiden McGill (9-11 years old), Gavin Kinney (12-14 years old) and Olivia Cuevas (15- 17 years old). Robert and Michelle Lizana and St. Ann CCD teachers judged the contest. Father is a metaphor: Part Three A three-part series of reflections BY DEACON ED RAMOS 5) Father is a metaphor for hope. “Until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature man- hood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ. (Ephesians 4:13)” Do trust and faith always flow from the lesser to the greater, from the human to the divine? Are trust and faith “one-way” road signs? Could it be possible that God believes that I can attain to the spiritual maturity and full stature of Christ? When the father embraced him -- filthy, bloodied, emaciated -- the son saw that his father had never aban- doned faith in him. He saw that his father always har- bored a glimmer of hope. He saw that his father had always known this day, this poignant reunion would take place. But he still does not understand the essential nature of being a father. A father can never relinquish hope in his son. Hope is an essential and irreplaceable part of his being father. What father could possibly believe his beautiful wrinkled newborn could one day become a murderer? God takes a great risk with each of us. At every op- portunity, after every fall, he comes near with words of encouragement and consolation. He makes available his forgiveness and speaks gently to us. He reminds us of our dignity, of the fact that we are created in His im- age. He reminds us of our destiny to be sharers in the divine nature. He shows us the road to life, fulfillment and happiness. God believes that we can all grow up to be produc- tive spiritual adults. God believes in me more than I believe in myself. 6) Father is a metaphor for sacrifice. “For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)” Sacrifice is the supreme proof of faith, hope and love. I sacrifice be- cause I believe that my faith will not be misplaced because what I hope for arises from unconditional love. Some say that God is impassible, that he does not feel anything in the isolation of his majesty, the splendor of his glory, and the loftiness of his sublime holiness. It is said that the attribution of human feelings to God is something that cannot be done because it implies that God somehow “needs” human beings, and this would mean that God is no longer ab- solutely independent from any other being. Questions 1) But how does the Son’s revelation that God is “Father” challenge this view? 2) Why would the Son use such a word to teach us how to pray unless he wanted to convey within it a key kernel of the truth of eternal revelation? 3) Was it happenstance that he used a word that ev- ery human being would understand to overflow with human feeling? 4) As creator of the human heart, did not the Son know the human heart is incapable of disassociating feeling from this word? Feeling, urgency, solicitude, sorrow, delight, and joy in silent but passionate intensity are intrinsic to the word “father.” When a child suffers, the father feels the child’s pain with great intensity, and looks urgently for a means to relieve it. As the sufferings of his children are manifold, as they continually pierce themselves with griefs manifold, God has “compassion.” Compassion literally means to “suffer with.” St. Bernard of Clair- vaux says: “God cannot suffer, but he can suffer with.” 1 God’s will is intent on finding the means of rescue and relief for his children. This reflection on God’s compas- sion triggers further questions: 1) Is it logical to say that the passion of the Father is the reason why the Son chose to willingly undergo his Passion? 2) Is it logical to think of the passion of the Son as a “type” (a visible manifestation) of the passion of the Father? 3) Could it be that the passion of the Father gives rise to the ceaseless intercession of both Christ and the Spirit? The writer of Hebrews says of Christ: “There- fore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. (Hebrews 7:25)” And of the Spirit, St. Paul as- serts: “In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. (Romans 8:26)” The Son’s motivation for willingly accepting the Cross was nothing less than the Father’s joy at the rec- onciliation, redemption and salvation that only his sac- rifice could bring about. Because the Son’s supreme de- sire was -- at every moment and in every circumstance -- to do his Father’s will, the Father’s joy became an irresistible motivation that gave meaning to his human life. The Gospel for “Good Shepherd” Sunday (Year B -- John 10:11-18) reads: “This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.” May the Father’s compassion -- his “suffering with” us -- become our own personal motivation for being co-workers and ambassadors of Christ. May the Father’s compassion inspire us to willingly sacrifice by reaching out and becoming “good shepherds” in our own right. 1 “Impassibilis est Deus, sed non incompassibilis.” St. Ber- nard of Clairvaux Commentary on the Song of Songs; Sermo 26 #5. Deacon Ed Ramos is assigned to Most Holy Trinity Parish, Pass Christian. This is Part 3 of a three-part series. Guest Columnist Deacon Ramos