THOUGHTS ON SCHOOL OF LEADERS - MAY 15, 2020 by RONNIE MARTELLA

What a joy it was to see all those who were able to join us on the Zoom call last evening for School of Leaders.    

Each time we gather, no matter the medium, we are given a chance to learn and grow from each other.   We open ourselves to what God has for us, wants to tell us and give us though our time with each other and the talks.   Each talk touches on similar but different aspects of the theme for the time.  And the Holy Spirit does what the Spirit does and brings the talks together.

But in addition to that is the chance for those in community to respond to the talks, ask questions, seek clarification, and deepen the discussion with their own experiences and resources that have discovered, and last night was no different. 

Last night, the idea of praying our most well known prayers; The Our Father, The Hail Mary and others, using different words was presented.  What a wonderful way to break open a prayer, to really reflect on what the prayer means.  We also were told about The Chosen, the story of Jesus, told through the lives of those closest to Him.   At this link you can see something of a preview of the show.   

https://studios.vidangel.com/the-chosen

Thanks to Barbara Kittle, from the Diocese of Newark, for opening me up to these wonderful resources.

At the most recent Pennington ultreya, held by conference call, several of us shared different resources we’ve discovered or that have been recommended to us. As the question on the card for Piety asks:  what spiritual aids have been of help to you? And we shared on how these resources have been spiritual aids to us.  We were reminded that we are blessed to have so many options and chances to access that we can sometimes feel overwhelmed, but we need to discern which of the resources are meant for us, through which ones does God speak to us?   Good advice to follow.

Kathy, Robert and Bob- great job, thanks again for the chance to connect, share and be with each other.

Peace,   Ronnie Martella

MARY by RONNIE MARTELLA

Prayer:        

All praise and glory are Yours, almighty Father:

You have given us Your Son Jesus to save us from sin.

We praise You for choosing Mary to be His Mother,  for teaching her to believe Your message, for helping her accept Your holy will.

Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit to be like Mary:

To ponder Your word in our hearts,

To obey Your will,      To love Your Son,     To sing Your praises every day.

Father, we praise You through Jesus Christ, Your Son in the love of Your Spirit, for ever and ever.

Amen 

When Robert asked me to do a talk on Mary, two songs came immediately to mind:  I kept them in the back of my mind while I looked at the Catechism and other sources to prepare the talk- but the two songs stayed with me, coming to the front of my mind and on to my lips at different times.   I wondered why but I continued reading and preparing the paper….

The first source I went to was the Catechism.  For me the Catechism is something that at first glance is kind of cut and dry but when I read and really take in what is there I discover so much more.    

And the catechism tells us:

To be sure, there are as many paths of prayer as there are persons who pray, but it is the same Spirit acting in all and with all.   It is in the communion of the Holy Spirit that Christian prayer is prayer in the Church.

MARY, OUR MOTHER AND OUR FREEDOM by FATHER EDWARD BLANCHETT

Opening Prayer: 

O Mary, You shine continuously on our journey as a sign of hope. We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick, who, at the foot of the cross, were united with Jesus’ suffering, and persevered in your faith. 

Help us, Mother of Divine Love, to conform ourselves to the will of the Father and as at Cana in Galilee, to do what Jesus tells us. For he took upon himself our suffering, and burdened himself with our sorrows to bring us, through the cross, to the joy of the Resurrection. 

We fly to your protection, O Holy Mother of God; Do not despise our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from every danger, O Glorious and Blessed Virgin, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

May has historically been known as “the month of Mary”. We pay special devotions to her: we begin the month with a crowning of her image, there is special emphasis on the Marian devotion of the Rosary, there are litanies offered on her behalf, many times we end the month with – a personal favorite of mine – the feast of the Visitation. The question to ask is: Why? Why is May the month of Mary? 

According to many sources, one reason was because in ancient Greece (remember that the Church went to Greece in its earliest apostolic missions) May was the month dedicated to the Greek god Artemis (or Diana in Roman mythology), the goddess of fertility. Rededicating the month to the Mother of God was a way the early Christians looked to "baptize" pagan culture. But there can be so much more to it, and particularly to us during this time of the coronavirus pandemic, a time that is seen as a restriction to many of our freedoms in this “sheltered in place” environment; even as we slowly begin to open our churches (during the Memorial of the Apparition of Our Lady at Fatima, which was a very interesting coincidence), you won’t be able to even  step into a church building without following a lot of rules that could be seen as obstacles to your freedom. The reason I called this an “interesting coincidence” is because there is a close relationship to the view of freedom and our devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

So, to answer my first question “Why is Mary the Month of Mary”, I’m going to start with another question: What is Freedom? – there’s society’s definition, of which I looked up in the dictionary so that there’s no mistake: 

SCHOOL OF LEADERS COMING TO YOUR HOME! A NOTE FROM KATHY TUCKER, LAY DIRECTOR

Hello my Beloved Brothers and Sisters,

I hope everyone is healthy and safe.

We have a wonderful opportunity to have our SOL on Zoom! (Thank you Bob Morris.) We will have SOL on May 15, 2020 Friday night 7-9PM. You will be receiving an email on how to sign on your computer, iPad or cell phone.

We are hoping that we will be able to have our Quarterly Mass if we are freed from our humble abodes.

Thank you for your faith and prayers. We need to stay prayerful at this time. Continue to reach out to your fellow cursillestas!

Anyone need any shopping or medication please reach out to your families, friends and neighbors.

Any questions or issues please contact me directly.

Prayers and peace of mind to all!

Your Humble Servant, Kathy
908-415-6006