what reminds me to be real

“Peace comes about through acceptance of truth; if we accept the truth of ourselves—the shifting truth of what we are from moment to moment—and constantly give it over into the truth of peace and wholeness in Christ, to which we have access in the church, then we shall be in fact in peace, whether or not we feel ourselves to be at peace. Peace is, then something which enfolds us rather than something which we grasp. Peace is being what you are, what you really are, what you are in God, what you are in obedience to the creative Word of God, the ‘implanted Word’ which is the law of your freedom.”

~Father Simon Tugwell, O.P.

[as published in Magnificat,

May 5, 2013]

  

I get called Beautiful all day long.

I’m not kidding. Here’s how it came to pass. When two and a half year old Elena started talking, she began to call me “Buela,” from Abuela, or Grandma in Spanish.

Except what Elena said sounded exactly like “Bella,” which means beautiful in Spanish! I hope I never stop smiling when I hear her call out for me across the room, “Hey Bella!”

A few weeks ago I listened to a TED talk by author Brené Brown on “the power of vulnerability.”

Imagine this academic researcher setting to study and collect data on our neurobiological design to “connect” with one another in order to predict and control how this takes place—only to find out after six years of gathering thousands of stories, that her premise was all wrong. What leads people to feel connection, this genuine love and sense of belonging, was actually not only intrinsically connected, but also a result of, authenticity. And authenticity is based on vulnerability.

Brown points out that this discovery led to a personal “spiritual awakening” that transformed her personal and professional perspective, and reoriented her research.

Vulnerable people become what Brown calls whole-hearted people, people courageous enough to be imperfect.

More often than I care to admit, all I can see is the things about me that I don’t like, all the ways that I fail constantly at loving the people in my life. But here was another reminder that, even fixing myself is out of my power. Rather than numbing myself or denying my feelings, my task is to turn over to God my imperfections—and practice the grace of vulnerability, letting myself “be seen” as I am. This is authenticity. 

I think this is part of what Fr. Tugwell describes when he says the “truth of ourselves,” the “shifting truth of what we are from moment to moment." Because "peace is being what you are, what you really are, what you are in God…”

Thank God I have Elena to remind me simply by calling my name.

Introducing: "Catholic Mom's Café"

It is my pleasure to introduce to you my friend, best-selling author Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle, and her latest project, Catholic Mom’s Cafe: 5-Minute Retreats for Every Day of the Year.

Donna is a renowned speaker, blogger, EWTN host, and author of numerous books, including Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship. Although we’ve never met in person, I’ve had the pleasure of calling Donna my friend as well as my colleague for many years.

Donna writes and speaks about faith and family in her numerous blogs—check here and here, for example—always with a special fervor for Catholic motherhood.

This post is part of a Blog Tour launching Donna’s new book. Drop by her Catholic Mom's Café blog and Facebook page to check out the rest of the stops on the Blog Tour—as well as Catholic ideas, book excerpts, reviews, inspiration, news, and recipes.

As a mother of five, Donna knows what it’s like to be a busy mother who has to be deliberate about carving time out of her day for the Lord—or it just won’t happen.

Catholic Mom’s Cafe: 5-Minute Retreats for Every Day of the Year is a 365-day devotional book for busy Catholic moms. The daily reflections highlight the virtues of faith, hope, and love, and are brief enough to be enjoyed in just five minutes.

“The focus in this book is about living lives of faith, hope and love within the vocation of mothering our children. God as a free gift gives us these wonderful theological virtues at our baptism. These virtues are key to living a Christian life, and I think sadly sometimes we forget about them. I thought it would be helpful to write a book in this way, which offers the busy mom a chance to discover the virtues already present in her life, but unfolding more and more each day. I think the book can be a reminder to "flex" a particular "muscle" of virtue each day to "grow" the virtues! Practicing these virtues makes us more like our Creator.” 

~Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle

Donna describes the meditations as “spiritual daily vitamins” to energize you and help you find “the faith, hope, and love you’ll need to be the mom God wants you to be – today and every day.”

By the way, Donna will be hosting on EWTN an upcoming five-part television series by the same name, "Catholic Mom's Café." Check your local listings for details.

One more thing—autographed copies of Catholic Mom's Café are available for purchase at Donna-Marie's website. You can also purchase the book through the publisher, Our Sunday Visitor.

Here's a sampling. Today's meditation in Catholic Mom’s Cafe: 5-Minute Retreats for Every Day of the Year:

April 23rd

Ponder
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." 
~Hebrews 11:1

Offer
I used to visit an elderly blind man at a nursing home. My first time visiting him, he reached his hands forward and ran them all over my face. That's how he "saw" me. It was the first time I had ever experienced something like that, so it was a tad startling.

In a way, his gesture demonstrates how difficult faith can be: Even when we are literally blind, we struggle to "see." And yet God calls us to have conviction about faith--these "things not seen"--even though we cannot put our hands out and "feel" it. Let's trust that He will help us grow in faith and pass it on to our children.

Pray
Lord Jesus, strengthen my faith in you so that I may share it with my family and others. Act of Faith, Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Savor
I want to reach out in faith as the blind man did.