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Rejoice and Be Glad!

Written by Fr. Ben Hawley, SJ on Easter Sunday

Living a human life is harder than it looks. Young people have the great advantages of youth, idealism, energy, courage, and a sense that no mountain too high, no challenge too great, no barrier too obstructing. As we live, strive and struggle, we can sometimes find that in fact our lives can seem increasingly difficult and even impossible to navigate – friends, family, work, politics, and economics not fulfilling our needs or desires as we had hoped. At this point our Catholic faith, in particular, Jesus’ Resurrection from sin and death, reminds us that God knows our needs, and our ongoing reflection on our experience shows us that God is already acting to help us. God simply asks us to say Yes to God’s invitation to help us.

But is God big enough to handle the challenges we face, and is God’s guidance enough to enrich our lives beyond what we can achieve on our own? These are essential questions. Following Jesus through his public ministry in the gospel readings in Ordinary Time, we are invited to hear the message that, Yes, God’s presence gives us a richness of life we cannot achieve for ourselves. Following Jesus through his Lenten journey to his destiny in Jerusalem, which we relive moment by moment in the Triduum, we are invited to experience the reality that, Yes, God’s action can lift us through life’s challenges, privations, and hardships to a better life beyond – both in this life and in the afterlife.

In other words, in the celebrations of the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday we come to experience the reality that God’s life breaks through death, God’s love breaks through opposition or heartache, and that our lives of faith gather their substance from the reality of God’s existence and active pursuit of us. So, I invite you not only into the celebration of this great day but also in the following eight days – the Octave of Easter – and then into the remainder of the Easter Season – up to Pentecost Sunday, May 24 this year. In God’s world there is always more joy than sorrow, more Easter than Lent. Let us all rejoice and be glad.

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Fr. Benjamin Hawley, SJ
Fr. Ben has served as Pastor and Director of Catholic Campus Ministry since August 2010. As pastor his ministry focus is helping the parish be “the field hospital for the wounded,” per Pope Francis, where people discover Jesus’ liberation and healing. Following his ordination in June 2000 Fr. Ben served as President of Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School of Indianapolis until 2006. Prior to becoming Catholic in 1988, Fr. Ben worked for the Agency for International Development, the foreign assistance program of the US Government.
Email: pastorstmarys@gmail.com

God Sure is Good

Written by Davis Argersinger on Holy Saturday

Throughout much of my life, I never quite understood the relationship I had with God. I attended Christmas Eve and Easter services with my family at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, but I didn’t spend much time in church outside of those two dates. I knew God was somehow present in my life, but I had no formal way of growing closer to Him. That all changed though when I started dating my girlfriend Molly, whose passionate Catholic faith helped me understand that God was in fact working through her to lead me to the Catholic Church. She was, and is, a continuous example to me of how great life can be when lived with an unending appreciation of God’s grace. Towards the end of my senior year in high school, I had decided that I wanted to join the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) program at St. Mary’s. God had so graciously blessed me with the desire to become Catholic.

I soon realized that God’s blessings during my RCIA faith journey were only beginning to rain down upon me. My loving mom, Sarah, whose desire for faith was so similar to mine, had decided to join RCIA with me. Beginning our journeys together towards closeness to God, side-by-side, will always be one of the greatest blessings of my life. As RCIA I had begun, I was blessed with the fellowship of my sponsor Bart, whose enduring and enthusiastic Catholic faith I could only hope to someday parallel. I was provided with so much love and support. God sure is good.

As I reflect back on my first year in the Catholic Church, I have trouble expressing the thankfulness I have for God, and for all of His children who have helped me seek His closeness. As found in the readings for tonight’s Easter Vigil, “God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior” (IS 12:2-3).

Let us always prayerfully thank God for the wonderful desire He has given us to be Catholic.

Question for Reflection & Suggestion for Prayer:
In thinking about your Lenten journey, in what areas of your life do you desire further closeness to God?
Always thank God for the day that stands ahead of you.

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Davis Argersinger
Davis is a sophomore premedical student majoring in psychology at the University of Michigan. He entered the Catholic Church through St. Mary’s RCIA Program in 2014. Davis is incredibly thankful for the support that St. Mary Student Parish has given him during his first year as a Catholic.
Email: davisarg@umich.edu

First Things First

Written by Fr. Joseph Wagner, SJ on Holy Thursday

“What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.”

But why?  Why could Peter not understand “now” what Jesus was doing by washing his feet? We all understand, don’t we?

I think there is a very good reason that Peter did not understand, and I think it’s the same reason that many of us, many Christians, and far too many preachers don’t understand either.  At that moment, Peter had not yet seen what the next 72 hours would reveal.  Peter had not yet abandoned Jesus.  Peter had not yet felt the pain of loss, the sting of guilt, the utter absence of hope.  Peter had not yet seen what he, what the crowds, what the authorities were capable of doing.  Most importantly, he had not yet seen what God’s response to it all would be.

In short, he had not yet seen what Love beyond all love looks like.  He had not yet seen just how far God was willing to go to convince us of that love.  He had not yet seen, not yet felt, not yet accepted—not yet even imagined—how much forgiveness our God is capable of.  And because of that, it had not yet changed him.  Peter had not yet had his life turned upside-down by love.  He could not understand, as his feet were being washed, that the love of Jesus could become—if he accepted it—the same love that could flow through him.  He could not yet understand that only by allowing love to change him could he become the means by which love would change others, transforming their lives, healing broken hearts, feeding the hungry, forgiving enemies.

But not yet.  It couldn’t happen yet for Peter, as it cannot happen for any of us until we allow God’s love to transform us.  Until we accept it—until we place our faith in it in a way that makes a difference—until then, any call to us to wash each other’s feet will seem only like a nice gesture, like an empty task, like an intrusive burden.

Questions for Reflection:
Does the call to live your Christian identity feel like a burden or flow out of love?
Love cannot flow through you unless it first flows into you.  Are you willing to let God’s love for you transform your life?

*Image (above): The Washing of the Feet by Ghislaine Howard (2004)

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Fr. Joseph F. Wagner, SJ
Fr. Joe is a Jesuit priest and Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Xavier University, Cincinnati.  He is currently enjoying a research sabbatical in Ann Arbor, and enjoying even more all those he has met at St. Mary Student Parish.
Email: jwagner@smspnewman.org

Love One Another

Written by Aaron Skiba on Wednesday of Holy Week

So here we are; we have arrived at the pinnacle of Lent: Holy Week.  Tomorrow is Holy Thursday in which we celebrate the last supper and Jesus’ act of washing the disciples’ feet.  I find this act astonishing; the Messiah, the King of the Universe stoops down and washes His friends’ dirty feet.  When have you seen or heard of such a humble act being performed by a famous or powerful individual?  I imagine you can think of very few instances, since honestly I can’t think of any.  Taking this a step further, could you see yourself conducting such an act?  To be honest I can’t envision myself doing this, especially right before a celebratory meal.  However, such humble and loving acts are precisely what Jesus calls us to do.  Specifically, right after washing the disciples’ feet Jesus gives us the commandment to: “love one another.  As I have loved you, so you should love one another.” (John 13:34-35).

This notion of loving one another has been a paramount theme throughout my Lenten journey.  For in all honesty, at times I can be a rather self-centered and impatient person. Thus my goal this Lent was to give more time to those in need and to be more patient with others.  Though I still struggle to be patient and I often find myself focusing on my personal priorities rather than others’ (particularly those in need), just giving a small portion of time and simply being conscious of the fact that I’m called to sincerely love everyone has brought peace to my life.

To increase my awareness of this call to love, I have spent time contemplating what it’d be like to love every person I encountered on a daily basis. By love, I mean sincere love like the love a mother has for her son or a husband his wife or a father his daughter.  Think about it, what would this be like and how would you treat the individuals who crossed your path each day?  Genuinely loving everyone in this way is precisely Jesus’ commandment; and sadly it’s taken me this long to realize and appreciate it.  And I know it will take the rest of my life to learn to love in this way and even then I won’t be perfect at it because love is difficult.  Love takes time and effort and it challenges us to be selfless, which directly contradicts the ideas society imposes upon us.

However, we must not forget the key fact that Jesus loves us and even though we will never perfectly reciprocate this love to others our efforts to do so are very pleasing to Him.  Furthermore, through these efforts, though they are very difficult at times, we will be filled with the peace and joy God longs for us to experience.

Therefore, as we enter into the Triduum, I humbly invite you to reflect upon the love you have experienced and provided throughout this Lenten season.  In light of your reflection I hope and pray that you may fully appreciate the love Jesus showed us through his Passion and death so that you might be motivated to love everyone you encounter throughout the Easter season.

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Aaron Skiba
Aaron is a PhD student at the University of Michigan studying Aerospace Engineering.  He has been a part of the St. Mary’s community since he started his undergraduate degree in 2007 and is currently part of both the Graduate/Young Professionals and SCC lead teams.  
Email: skiba@umich.edu

Be Not Afraid

Written by Peggy Sheagran on Tuesday of Holy Week

Today’s gospel reading acknowledges Jesus’ awareness that Judas would betray him.  “One of you will betray me…” I often try and picture this scene, especially during Holy Week.  Imagine the disciples glancing around the room, wondering who Jesus’ betrayer might be.  A few disciples may have even feared that they themselves might be Jesus’ betrayer, given the fear and uncertainty they all were undoubtedly experiencing.  Imagine the disciples thinking – I want to trust, to unconditionally believe, but I get scared sometimes.

In the 1998 bestseller, Who Moved My Cheese?, the author asks a profound question:  “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”  The disciples had reason to be afraid as they listened to their beloved friend forecast his impending death at the last supper.  They had reason to be afraid as, while their friend reassured them that he would “rise in three days”, what in the world did that even mean?  They had reason to be afraid, after hearing that someone in the room would hand Jesus over to individuals who would eventually take his life.  While perhaps not to this extreme, we all have reasons to be afraid.  But, do we allow those reasons to prevent us from living the life Jesus has in store for us?

So, what would you do if you weren’t afraid?  If you wholeheartedly trusted that Jesus was protecting every hair on your head, what would you do differently in your life?  Would you change majors to follow your heart? Would you express your feelings more truthfully at the risk of not being “liked”?  Would you forego some income to redirect your career to find your dream job?  Would you let go of an addiction despite the fear of embarrassment or exposing your need for help? Would you acknowledge Jesus’ soft (or sometimes not so soft) nudge to go in a different direction at the risk of being less “in control”?

Maybe it’s time to make a spiritual bucket list of the things you’d do if you knew Jesus would guide and protect you every step of the way…because He would.

Question for Reflection & Suggestion for Prayer:
What would you do if you weren’t afraid?  Find some quiet time to make a list.
Read/sing the words to the song: “Be Not Afraid”.

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Peggy Sheagren
Peggy grew up in Ann Arbor and has been a resident for all but eight years of her life.  She’s a grateful wife and mom (2 boys), and a proud UM alum.  She currently works in UM’s School of Kinesiology.
Email: sheagren@umich.edu

Carry the Wisdom

Written by Jeff Hatgas on Monday of Holy Week

As Easter rapidly approaches, I look to how I might carry the wisdom of Lent beyond these 40 days. During these past few weeks, I recommitted myself to intentional conversation with God. Not surprisingly, these conversations allowed me the space to reflect on my day-to-day experience, but also enabled me to re-center myself. As a result of this practice I found myself asking for eyes to see in a new way. Having just lived through the harshest winter of my life, I’ve quickly grown into mental frame of cold and gray. I’ve missed opportunities to be grateful. I’ve allowed myself to quickly compartmentalize all that I experience—to live it and move on. My prayer pushed me to try on a different frame of mind: to soak in the encounters of my day, push past those things which get under my skin, to see the “god-ness” in those that get on my nerves, and to praise God in the complexity and beauty of creation (yes, even in the snow and slush).

Today’s reading furthers this challenge. Not only are we called to say, “yes” to opportunities to love, but also asked to do so with passion. Although our responses may not always be as monumental as Mary’s towards Jesus, I look to her example as one to emulate. I pray that I have an everyday courage to greet the truth in every day. While each of us has a unique set of gifts, we are filled with the Spirit. Our ways of embodying this Spirit in our happenings will undoubtedly play out differently, but we are all called to be light to all we encounter.

Question for Reflection:
How do I not only recognize, but also anoint the Jesus that I meet in all of creation?

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Jeff Hatgas
Jeff is currently pursuing his Masters in Theology and Ministry at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. He worked as a Peer Minister at St. Mary Student Parish during the 2013-2014 academic year.
Email: hatgasj@bc.edu