2015
God’s Voice in the Words of Others
Written by Andrew Brown on Saturday of the First Week of Lent
Studying social work in St. Louis among everything that has been happening in Ferguson (a suburb just north of the city) has been a powerful and challenging experience. Personally, I have felt called to participate in protests and stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Others have chosen to take various different stances. Amidst all of this diversity of opinion, I am deeply concerned about a troubling dynamic that I have witnessed and sometimes participated in.
I feel very strongly about my own perspective, and I have met many others with different stances that are equally passionate. These differences of opinion create a wonderful opportunity for dialogue and a deepened understanding of how God can work through us to solve complex social injustices and make us more loving and unified. Unfortunately, many people, including me, miss these valuable opportunities. I am guilty of creating inflammatory social media posts, judging people with different perspectives than me, and prioritizing making my opinion heard over actively listening to others.
Jesus’ example of silence in the desert is an example for me this Lent. I want to challenge myself to prioritize listening, even when the person I’m listening to makes me feel angry, confused, or hurt. I feel strongly about my own beliefs and values because I genuinely believe that God has guided me to those values. When I discuss difficult topics with others, I want to challenge myself to respect that their beliefs come from the same place of sincere reflection and thought.
Listening in this way is not a threat to my own beliefs. It will help me clarify and deepen my beliefs. I cannot assume that I have the right answer, particularly regarding complex issues. By engaging sincerely and earnestly with others with a real intention to listen, I open myself up to the possibility of hearing God’s voice through meaningful conversation.
Questions for Reflection:
Think about a time when you heard God’s voice in a discussion. What was that like? What about the conversation made you feel God’s presence?
How can you seek opportunities to listen for God’s voice in the words of others?
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Andrew Brown
Andrew is a 2nd year Master of Social Work student studying Social and Economic Development at Washington University in St. Louis. He graduated with his BA from the University of Michigan in 2012 and served as a Peer Minister at St. Mary Student Parish for the 2012-13 academic year.
Email: andrew.dwight.brown@gmail.com
*Ferguson photo taken by Chris Ahrens
2015
In the Silence
Written by Elaina Jo Polovick on Friday of the First Week of Lent
“Out of the depths I cry to you, O God;
God, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.”
-Psalm 130
This quote from today’s psalm speaks to our need for God to listen to us. I often find myself shouting at God “listen to me!” However, this week our theme is not “now is the time to be heard;” the theme is “now is the time to listen”. We are called to listen. Listen. Do you hear it? Do you hear God calling your name?
As humans we desperately want to be heard. Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, we all want to be heard. It is in our nature. Yet, in this Lenten season we are called to listen. We are called to a revolution of the heart where we focus on the peacefulness deep within us. When we enter into silence, when we listen, we can access a peace of heart that allows us to enter deeply into prayer and into relationship with God.
It is often the times when we are most in need of God that we struggle to listen to God. I know for myself in times of desolation I often spend all my time in prayer petitioning God instead of listening to what God may be telling me through the challenge I am facing. Although it is hard to remember, those times when I have been able to quiet myself and enter into silence I have found myself full of gratitude for God’s love and presence in my life. I have heard God calling my name in the silence, laying on my heart the knowledge of God’s abounding love. Silence does not mean isolation. On the contrary, when we enter into silence we open ourselves up to let the Spirit fill us.
Questions for Reflection:
How can you enter more deeply into silence today?
Think of a time when you have really listened to God. What was that experience like? Try and to spent ten minutes listening to God today.
Elaina Jo Polovick
Elaina Jo is one of the peer ministers at St. Mary Student Parish. She works with the special events team as well as a smattering of other programs.
Email: epolovick@smspnewman.org
2015
Ready to Listen
Written by Colleen McClain on Thursday of the First Week of Lent
“[God’s] will for us was the twenty-four hours of each day: the people, the places, the circumstances he set before us in that time. Those were the things God knew were important to him and to us at that moment… The trick is to learn to see that—not just in theory, or not just occasionally in a flash of insight granted by God’s grace, but every day.” – Jesuit Fr. Walter Ciszek
There are times when God’s voice is unmistakable; even then, it can be difficult to listen. I left for fall retreat exhausted amidst year two of graduate school, my personal and professional life moving faster than I could reflect upon.
The chapel was quiet as we moved around its perimeter, praying the Stations. As we reached the twelfth—Jesus dies—a rush of air blew through the rafters. Whether others heard it, I don’t know. But I prayed that weekend to hear Him more clearly in returning to “normal” life. Quickly, though, daily stressors closed in.
Yet I’m grateful that God works in ways that are not ours: Even when I let His voice seem faint, it remains a constant whisper of truth in each day. As I sat with fellow parishioners on Ash Wednesday, I heard God simply and profoundly. My realization:
This Lent will change me, if I let it.
It will transform me in ways I desperately long for and those only God knows I need. But the first step is mine in our covenant: Be aware of God’s presence. Not only when it’s easy, when surrounded by believers, or when things are great; in the subzero walk to class, when fears take over, and in every frustration and triumph.
I pray for strength in that journey. True, active listening is difficult. It requires openness in moments I’d rather crawl under a rock or believe my way is best.
And it’s terrifying—but beautiful—as vulnerability in any relationship is.
I’m fully aware of challenges ahead. But I know that as I continue to hear Him, my heart will grow strong and supple. I’m grateful Jesus meets me in struggles and fears, embracing me for them. As my mind turns to “what-ifs,” he says: Listen.
Pope Francis asks us to let our hearts “be pierced by the Spirit, so as to bring love along the roads that lead to our brothers and sisters.” Christ walks with us along these roads, speaking within and through us; awaiting the moment we begin not by talking, but by listening.
I’m ready to listen; to say yes; to be changed.
Questions for Reflection:
When do you find it hardest to listen for God’s voice?
Pray the Examen and be aware of God’s presence. What is He saying to you?
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Colleen McClain
Colleen is a second-year graduate student in the Michigan Program in Survey Methodology, and a member of the graduate student/young professional and Small Church Community lead teams at St. Mary Student Parish. She has been a resident of Ann Arbor for ten years and can’t overstate the impact St. Mary has had on her life.
Email: camcclai@umich.edu
2015
A Lenten Examen on the RCIA Experience
Written by Paul Parker on Wednesday of the First Week of Lent
Recently I have had the privilege to participate in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) through St. Mary Student Parish, led by Rita Zyber, Fr. Eric Sundrup, S.J., and many dedicated volunteers. When I started college, I entered a period of my life in which I neglected God. Back then, He was something I could put on hold: “I’ll go to church, right after this big exam,” I would often say to justify what was actually lack of interest in God. That all changed when I attended a St. Mary’s Mass by way of a Catholic friend. For the first time in several years, I felt completely at home in a church community. The welcoming parishioners, ministers, and priests, were quite a surprise to a Protestant-raised boy like me, who previously only saw the Catholic faith as stiff, antiquated, and living up to the, “smells and bells” stereotype.
At St. Mary I soon found God gradually making his way back into my life. The Masses at St. Mary touched me and allowed me to reflect and think about my life, how I had drifted from the Lord, yet how I was still serving him at the same time. I found that simple prayer and listening to the liturgy being celebrated each week to fill me with such a sense of peace and belonging. I began seriously considering the Catholic faith as more than just another denomination, but an ancient tradition with incredible devotion to Christ, one which I began to desire to become a part of. By last summer, through listening to God’s call and his blessings in my life, I knew: the time had come for me to become Catholic myself.
Since beginning the RCIA process not long ago, I could not be happier with my choice. Listening and reflecting on God’s call to enter this faith, the wonderful staff who leads RCIA, as well as my sponsor, Andrew Morris, have more than convinced me this is my church home. I look forward to this Lenten season as a time to further grow in my faith in preparation for my final sacraments of First Eucharist and Confirmation, and finally enter into full communion with the Catholic Church.
Questions for Reflection & Suggestion for Prayer:
How do you see God calling to you? In what ways can you listen to his call and understand the blessings he bestows?
Say a prayer asking God for clarity, for the sense to listen to him and understand the way he’s working in your life.
Paul Parker
Paul is a senior at the University of Michigan, studying Cell & Molecular Biology and Biomedical Engineering. After graduating with his Bachelor’s this May, he will return to the University of Michigan next fall to be a graduate student, getting his Master’s in Biomedical Engineering.
Email: prparker@umich.edu
2015
Taking the Polar Express to Alternative Spring Break
Written by Omar Mahmood on Tuesday of the First Week of Lent
There is a train called the Polar Express that only those who believe in Santa can see or hear or ride. Chris Van Allsburg tells in his book of little Billy, who boards that train to the North Pole.
When he finally meets Santa, Billy wants nothing fancy. So Santa gives him a sliver bell from his sleigh. Billy is honored, but ends up losing it as it slips out of his ripped pocket. After so many misadventures, Billy makes it home for Christmas morning. He is surprised to find the bell under his Christmas tree. When he rings it, his parents hear nothing. Only Billy and his little sister can hear the tinkling of the bell. Only those who believe, only those who listen, can hear it. By the end of Billy’s long life, he has still held onto his faith. His friends and his sister no longer can hear the bell. But he believes, and so he can hear it tinkle still.
I have been honored in the past few months to have been welcomed into the folds of St. Mary, no less as a Muslim student on campus. The climate here in Ann Arbor, at least among students, is overwhelmingly rebellious, disdainful of traditional institutions like religion. And yet here we strive for God. In everyone there is a holy spirit, the very breath of God, and we all breathe it.
As we prepare for ASB, I remind myself and my friends that we must listen too to those whom we help. They are helping us too, maybe more than we can ever help them. I have spent some time working with eye patients in impoverished parts of the world, with Unite for Sight. Their stories move me still, and remind me that I am nothing before God, and they break my heart in the best of ways. I share here one conversation with a lady in Honduras, that I wrote about in a blog I kept there:
I sat down with a thin woman of a smaller frame. She was 47, but I would have guessed her to be at least 60. She had never been to school. I felt that at some time long ago she must have been pretty. Her smile was soft, but gave way to a glint of silver on her right canine, as much of the women here kept a casing of sorts for dental fashion.
Her boyfriend had left her some years ago. I asked about her house. She explained that she had none, and that she would get by renting rooms day by day if she could. Her water came from the river. She washed clothes in that river, she said. I asked her what she had to eat yesterday. “Nothing,” she said in a soft tone that was blunt in its own way. I would have liked to think she was exaggerating, but she said it over and over again, softer each time. “Somos pobres.”
I could muster nothing but “Que Dios le ayude”.
To know our weakness is to know God’s greatness. In those moments of knowledge, of heartbreak, Billy’s bell rings still.
Questions for Reflection:
If you were in The Polar Express, would the bell still ring for you?
Do you ever feel that your religious identity is in conflict with the campus culture? What is your response?
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Syed Omar Mahmood
Omar is an alumnus of Detroit Country Day School. He wishes he lived two hundred years ago, although a log cabin in God’s Country does have its merits. He is a junior studying Comparative Literature & Evolutionary Anthropology.
Email: syedom@umich.edu
2015
Listen Up!
Written by Rita Zyber on Monday of the First Week of Lent
When I was younger, I never quite understood how people could “hear” God speaking to them. I remember a friend who once said, “The Lord told me to cut my hair.”
I smiled politely, but I was really thinking, “geez, doesn’t God have bigger stuff to deal with – like war and famine and disease?” Looking back now, I can see that I was wrong. After all, didn’t Jesus tell us that every hair on our head is counted? (Mt 10: 30).
Also, I can see now that my friend’s hairstyle was only part of God’s transforming work in her life. She had been making some big choices and big changes. She was not only experiencing a new look, but a whole new outlook.
Deacon Romolo here at St. Mary’s has a wonderful way of explaining divine inspiration. “The Lord laid it on my heart,” he often says. It sounds a little saner than telling people you hear voices. It makes better sense to me, too. We may not hear an actual voice, but in some situations, we feel moved to do or say something. Somehow, we just know what’s right.
It takes a little work, though, and the right attitude. I’ve learned that when I’m able to open my mind and heart, that’s when God is able to open my ears. Recently, he’s been sending me an earful. No static, just a strong signal telling me not to sweat the small stuff and not to fear the path I’m on.
For me, the messages usually come through scripture. Makes sense. I’m a word person and God tends to meet us in a way that fits us best. A few months ago, I happened to encounter the same passage from St. Paul three times in two weeks. It’s the one where he tells us to think about “whatever is honorable… whatever is lovely… and worthy of praise”. (Philippians 4: 8-9). Then, another random thing happened and I was confronted with a similar line from St. Paul, “hold on to what is good.” (Romans 12: 9).
So that’s what I’m doing; just holding on to the good – and noticing, more and more, what an abundance of good there really is in the world. So thanks, God, for the tender care you show us. I’m glad we had this little talk.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqF4N7rdV-w]
Questions for Reflection:
How do you hear the voice of God?
Does God speak to you through other people, or maybe through nature, art, music?
When does it seem easiest to hear God’s message?
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Rita Zyber
Rita joined the St. Mary Student Parish staff in June to assist with RCIA sessions. She has previous staff experience at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Ann Arbor, as well as years of volunteer service in religious education, stewardship, music ministry and RCIA. She is also a freelance writer and former newspaper reporter. She and her husband, Frank, have two college-age daughters, Claire and Lauren.
Contact: rzyber@smspnewman.org
2015
Create a Desert
Written by Brendan Dailey on the First Sunday of Lent
What is Lent all about? Frankly, I kind of struggle with this question. Growing up, it was that slightly inconvenient period where I gave up pop and chocolate so that 6 or so weeks later, I could get rewarded with a whole bunch of chocolate that some gigantic (yet impossibly discreet) bunny had cleverly hidden around my house. Clearly I wasn’t quite getting the point then, but even in more recent years, I’ve still spent my Lents ‘sacrificing’ different things, or trying to ‘fix’ some of the things I do that I shouldn’t. And that’s fine, but that’s not exactly the model that Jesus gives us in his own Lenten journey.
Today at Mass we hear that “the Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert” for forty days. Deserts are empty, just barren wastelands. Jesus didn’t go out there to heal anybody or perform any great miracles. Rather, he went there to be alone, with God. Chronologically, Jesus had just been baptized, his public ministry only just beginning. He is retreating to the desert, presumably to discover what God wants for him.
I think this is a part of our Lenten call too. Find a way to create a modern day barren wasteland. Take some time away from the TV, from the computer, from whatever it is that consumes our time, and retreat to that space where God waits for us, in the silence. Once we’ve peeled away all of the distractions, the superficial desires, the things our culture might tell us we want and need, only then can we really discover what our true desires are. Then can we know what God wants for us, and to where God is calling us. God speaks in a whisper. It is up to us to turn down the volume of all the white noise, so that we might be able to listen.
Questions for Reflection:
How can I create a ‘desert’ in my every day life?
What do I truly desire out of life?
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Brendan Dailey
Brendan is an alumnus of the University of Michigan, where he works as an IT professional. He is a member of the Graduate/Young Professional group lead team at St. Mary Student Parish.
Email: bdailey@umich.edu
2015
Waiting Patiently
Written by Karen Thomas on Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Patient waiting is not something that came easily to me as a child. I snooped around for my Christmas presents, asked the annoying “are we there yet?”, and prayed as I waited to not be picked last for playground games.
As I transitioned into adulthood I slowly discovered that periods of waiting offered me a chance to savor the present while preparing for an exciting opportunity. Finishing assignments and packing bags as I awaited ASB trips rooted me in my life as a student who had the privilege of sharing my spring break with new communities. Ten minutes of downtime between a busy work day and meeting a friend for dinner evoked gratitude for the gifts of work and friendship. The months of pregnancy prior to the birth of my children deepened my love for my husband and acclimated me to the physical sacrifices of parenthood.
As I prepare for Lent this year, I consider what the Lord is inviting me to and how he is asking me to live out my faith. I wonder how my time of preparation might help me to more fully savor the joy of Easter. Lately, I have been meditating on these words from Psalm 40:
“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.” -Psalm 40: 1-3
In preparing for Lent, let us not forget that the Lord patiently waits to hear our voice and to hear our prayers. As our relationship grows with Jesus this Lent, may we trust that he will make our steps secure and that our lives will be an instrument to sing his praises.
Questions for Reflection:
How can I grow in my trust of the Lord this Lent? What prayers or practices might deepen my trust in Him?
Where and how is God asking me to share my song of praise this Lent? Who in my life needs to hear about the goodness of the Lord?
I invite you to listen to and watch this version of “40” by U2:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB4kxMj0-IE]
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Karen Thomas
Karen is a native of Southeast Michigan and a graduate of the University of Michigan. Prior to her work at SMSP, she served and worked with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, completed an MA in Pastoral Ministry at Marygrove College in Detroit, and was trained in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd method of religious education. She serves as the Campus Minister for Family Faith Formation and lives in Ann Arbor with her husband Mike and two daughters.
Email: kbthomas@umich.edu
2015
Weekly Bulletin for February 22, 2015
This week’s Lenten theme is now is the time to listen. Take time this week to listen for Jesus, and keep in mind he doesn’t always speak to us with words. This week we have the Catholic Volunteer Network visiting us after the 5 PM, 7 PM, and 9 PM Masses. We also have Mark & Amy Rolfes in from South Africa to speak to their experiences serving God through Open Arms home for children Thursday at 7 PM.
2015
Journey with Jesus
Saturday, March 14 2015
Click here to sign up
Journey with Jesus is a self directed experiential retreat through the life, ministry, sentencing and death of Jesus. As we prepare for the holiest of weeks, take the time to engage deeply in prayer and reflection.
Journey with Jesus is composed of 10 interactive stations throughout the parish building. All participants will be given a reflection booklet to guide them through a hands-on experience of prayer which engages all of the senses.
Participants will begin at 10:00 AM in the church and conclude the prayer experience with a Lenten lunch and small group discussion by 1:00 PM.
Due to the nature of this prayer experience, spaces are limited to the first 100 parishioners. There is likely to be a waiting list, so if you realize you are no longer able to participate, please let Kelly Dunlop know ASAP to ensure maximum participation.