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Scroll down for Laura's weekly articles.
Laura Stierman is our new Director of Evangelization. She will begin working for our parish on June 28. She brings a lot of experience from parish life and has a great zeal for evangelization. Laura will help us develop and implement an overall evangelization plan which corresponds to our mission and vision. She will be part of a team that will develop and implement the curriculum for all our adult and youth formation so that it is missionary and evangelical. Welcome to SEAS, Laura!
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June 20, 2021
We’re at the Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time, and what do the readings reflect? Simple sermons about fig trees and mustard seeds? Sharing meals with friends and frenemies? Relaxing in the shade of olive trees? Sorry. We get storms, waves on high, and violent squalls. Is that what comes to your mind when pondering ‘ordinary time’? Those aren’t the first thoughts that come to my mind. Ordinary time is when the day-to-day tasks of life take on a simple rhythm of their own. Routines have a little more margin for error and life feels a bit more weighted with calm.
Why would the Church, in her infinite wisdom, conjure up images of thick darkness, waves breaking over boats, and perishing under the weight of distress as we enter the long gentle season of ordinary time? It’s true that having Jesus in your lifeboat brings a sense of safety to your adventure. It’s also true that Jesus has-your-back and will quiet the storms of your life. It’s even true that Jesus has the power to work miracles in his authority over nature, having been its Creator. Yes, Jesus is there in the middle of our squalls. It’s absolutely true that storms arise without warning. All are authentic pondering points of the readings today. But let’s look a bit deeper here and veer off course a bit.
The disciples sitting in the boat have been following Jesus around for a little while now. They’ve seen him heal Simon’s mother-in-law, heal a leper or two, cure a paralytic, and tell some great parable about a sower and seeds. There’s something about Jesus, but they can’t quite put their finger on it. He’s different, for sure, but they aren’t sure how different. Until the quieting of the raging sea and then saving them from imminent death. Now they are in awe. Now they get it.
Jesus is not only a preacher and a healer, he’s a Savior. He saved them from drowning, in both a literal and spiritual sense. And the course of their life is forever changed. I wonder if ours can be too. #clearingapath
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June 13, 2021
When I worked at the University of St. Thomas, I would make the daily drive from Mahtomedi to St. Paul. It wasn’t a bad commute, but I there was no ‘easy’ way to get there. I tried freeways, frontage roads, neighborhood roads, and even a bus route, but every path was fraught with either road construction or congestion. There simply wasn’t an easy way to get there. Much like the road to heaven, yes?
I eventually found a path that was right for me. One where my prayers would bear fruit, I felt the shade of the Lord in the heat of the commute, and my lowly withered attitude-tree blossomed. It was an Ezekiel-inspired route that included up-and-down climbs and long lazy roads with a few stoplights to help keep me focused. It became familiar. Comfortable.
Then one day, as I was making my way down Pierce Butler, a new fenced in section over rocky land appeared, with a great big sign that read, “Future Home of Piercing Faith Church.” I smiled. Piercing Faith. Super cool. I couldn’t wait to see how the building would look, who I might see working on it, what their charism was, and how they might change the culture of Frogtown. I drove by every day with anticipation. Only… nothing ever happened. Weeks, months, years went by. No cornerstone, no workmen, no excitement. No trees, no shade, no plantings, no fruit. There was nothing other than an empty field with a chain-link fence in all those many years.
Our faith life can be like that. We’re comfortable. We know the way to our destination and there’s no reason to shake it up. We have a routine and it works for us. We know where the rocks in the field are and the only kind of seed that will grow in that soil, and it’s not mustard in Minnesota.
Or is it? What if the mustard seed is the kind of faith that probes our soul and searches our hearts? A piercing faith that moves us to build something beautiful for God? #weareunderconstruction
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June 6, 2021
My dear friend posted a Facebook photo of transplanted daisies that belonged to her mom, and memories of summers spent on her parents’ farm floated before my eyes. I spent many childhood summers on that farm under Eleanor’s care, while my mom worked two jobs to support me and my two brothers. I remember the scent of homemade apple butter, the pale look of thick potato soup, and eating eggs every which way. I learned how to get chickens from the coop to the plate, when to walk the beans, and the delicate art of peeling apples with a paring knife. I found it interesting that the first thing I thought of when I saw the daisy photo was food. When I think about it, food is the first thing that comes to mind at special events, yes? We all have something in our culinary history that makes us close our eyes and smile.
Jesus did too, I imagine. As a Jewish boy, he grew up with the scent of homemade bread, the sound of the presses turning olives into oil, and the sight of lambs led to the slaughter. And that Passover meal, full of memory and aroma: zeroah, a lamb's shankbone; beitzah, a roasted egg; haroset, a paste of fruit and nuts; mar'or, a bitter herb; and last, but not least, the unleavened bread called matzah and the four cups of wine, called arba kosot. It is here, amongst the scent of childhood and the smell of familiarity that Jesus chooses to change the meaning of bread and wine.
Because we don’t need what Jesus did as an example for us, we need who Jesus is to abide within us. We need to be sustained and nourished by the Lord himself. Yes, we are earthly creatures who need the fruit of the earth, but we also need the angel’s bread of sweetest grace, the bread and wine we hallow, the heavenly feast of living bread. It is here we receive the strength to follow the Lord wherever he leads, to be disciples of the Lord. #tasteandsee
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May 30, 2021
The Easter season has come to a close. How do we know? Because we hear from the Old Testament once again. #bestillmyheart Of all the Old Testament readings, where do we begin? Genesis, Jeremiah, or Judith, the amazing books of new beginnings? Nope. Job, Judith, or Tobit, the delightful books of struggle and starting over? Guess again? How about Susanna, Sirach, or Esther, those lovely books containing words of wisdom and encouragement for the faithful? Oh, gosh no. We get Deuteronomy, the opening lines of the final book of the Pentateuch, containing all of the laws of the fledgling Israelite community. Ummmm. Okay?
Definitely okay. It’s the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, and each of our three readings brings out something we need to know. Matthew emphasizes the mission of the church to make disciples for the Son of God. Paul’s letter to the good people of Rome emphasizes the power of the Holy Spirit to ward off fear under intense suffering and persecution. Our Deuteronomy reading reminds us that God the Father is indeed powerful and His commandments are worth living – and dying – for. It’s perfect.
Mostly. You see, because of the magnitude of Paul’s letter and Jesus’ final words of commission to make disciples, our little Deuteronomy reading is often ignored. But if we look closely, it’s the basis for all we know. Moses has led the people out of slavery and is preparing their hearts to receive the rules by which they should orient their lives. He reminds the Israelites of God’s strong hand and amazing miracles for the journey. He recalls the terror unleashed upon their enemies. He recounts the experience of hearing God speak to him. He tells the people that God created man upon the earth, then chose them, and only them, to change the world.
Therein is the soul of the matter. God has chosen you for something big. Yep. You. God is looking right at you with a twinkle in his eye and a ‘we can do this together’ attitude. Moses asks, “Did anything so great ever happen before?” We might do the same. #pondering
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May 23, 2021
One of the things you’ll learn about me is that, like Fr. Dave, I’m a fan of The Chosen series. I love how it blends the theological imagination of the Scriptures and the historical realities at the time of Jesus. As I’m praying my way through the readings lately, I hear the voices of the disciples in disagreement with each other, then asking the answer of the Master. Sometimes Jesus is pretty straight-forward, “Come and see.” Sometimes his answer is a question, “How many loaves do you have?” And every once in a while his silence means, “We’ll talk about that later,” and something exciting is about to happen.
This week’s Pentecost readings marks the end of Eastertide. We’ve been walking alongside Peter, James, and John, and all the other disciples who have been hanging on Jesus every word, watching miracles, healing the sick, sidestepping Sadducees and challenging Pharisees. We saw the disciples go two-by-two to teach and preach and heal on their own. We heard Jesus’ talk of vines and branches, sheep and Shepherds, narrow gates and open hearts, and how to love each other as he has loved us. We watched the unfolding of betrayal, abandonment, cruelty, and certain death. Then we heard the amazing news from Mary Magdalene, and listened incredulously to the men who recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread. He. Is. Risen! Alleluia!
So where do we find our intrepid disciples in today’s reading? Rejoicing on the streets? Shouting from the rooftops? Winning folks for the Lord? Nope. Not yet. You see, they still need something else. They need the presence and peace of the Lord, the grace of confession, and the strength of the Holy Spirit to rock their soul and challenge their world. That’s what we need too. We need the Spirit to take hold and take charge, so that we can change this world for the better, each in our own way and using our own gifts. That’s what a “Director of Evangelization” helps with.
How might that look here? Well, we can chat about that when I arrive. #adventures
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