​I’m not always as inspired by the Holy Spirit as I would like to be. Then again, maybe I’m just not listening hard enough. But yesterday’s readings really resonated with me so I thought I’d write down a few of my thoughts.
 
In the gospel reading yesterday (Luke 10:1-12), we hear that Jesus sends out 72 of His disciples because “the harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.” Seasonally, the harvest is abundant here in Wisconsin.  The time of the year has come to reap the benefits of the seeds planted in the spring. And when we pray Psalm 27, “I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living” at this time of year, we do tend to see all the good parts of the earth that God has created for us.  Food like apples and pumpkins….sustenance for the animals like hay and corn….leaves changing colors which reminds us that God has the best set of crayons…..
 
But what else are we supposed to harvest? What seeds have we planted?  I’d like to suggest that we use our stories to ‘harvest’ the seeds we’ve planted in others to bring them closer to Christ. Because those people are also the “good things in the land of the living” (Psalm 27) and unique, beloved members of the Kingdom of God.  And we should use our stories to rebuild the Church because at this time in history, although the Kingdom of God is at hand (Luke 10:9), the Church is struggling to survive in a world that loves materialism, relativism, individualism and selfishness.
 
But the harvest requires work….hard labor….persistence….and perseverance. We have to be ready to answer Jesus’ call…to go out…to forsake distraction, to forsake sin and do this work.  We have to be open to letting Christ rebuild our souls so that we can help rebuild His Church.  And we should look towards saints like St. Francis of Assisi (feast day-Oct 4) and St. Faustina (feast day-Oct 5) who inspire us and challenge us to be like the 72 disciples that Jesus sent into the “land of the living” because the “harvest is abundant.”
 
May we all be inspired by the Spirit to answer God’s call and enter the harvest.
 
Peace and blessings,
Deborah Gretzinger (No R.E.-Gretz)

Early this morning, I found myself awake…a victim of insomnia at 2am. I laid awake for almost an hour before deciding to get up and pray. I started with Blessed is She, my favorite devotional website. I read through the readings of the day and then the reflection posted by Joan Geiger. The question she posed was based on today’s Gospel reading of the ten virgins – five who were wise and five who were foolish (Mark 25:1-13). The question Joan posed was this: what fills your spiritual lamp?  And that got me to thinking.

One of the things that fills my spiritual lamp is providing service to others – using my time, talent and treasure – to help those in need. This past Wednesday, my children and I got the chance to help with an ecumenical service project through cityServe and work at Jefferson Elementary School in Green Bay helping a special education teacher named Kathy set up her classroom. We spent two hours doing menial tasks for her: testing markers, sharpening pencils, building a cart, assembling binders, etc. And while none of the tasks were difficult, ultimately they made her life easier and allowed her to get her classroom ready on time for open house that night.  It was a great feeling to know that we had helped Kathy and her students in some small way.

And through my ministry at St. Agnes, I try to provide many opportunities for students and their families to serve others both inside the parish and outside in the community. To give them a chance to fill their spiritual lamps, as it were. Our website has a flyer of options that can be downloaded under the ‘Youth Ministry’ tab.

But maybe service doesn’t fill your spiritual lamp.  Maybe it’s spending time in prayer, going to Mass or Adoration, participating in the Sacraments, listening to Christian music or podcast, or reading a book that brings life to your soul…whatever it is, take some time today to figure out what fills your spiritual lamp because our Lord tells us “therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour" when He is coming.

Peace and blessings,
Deborah Gretzinger (No R.E.-Gretz)

Our gospel reading for this weekend begins with unbelief. “The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’” (John 6:52) And last weekend, we found that they struggled with belief as well when they murmured among themselves (John 6:41). As we have heard the last several weeks, Jesus teaches the crowds and His disciples that He would feed them not with perishable bread, but with the bread of life that would enable them to live forever. But in the Gospel we hear their response—or at least the response of most of them: “No way! This saying is too hard.”

Quite naturally, we don’t want to admit that this might be too hard.  On the surface, it looks pretty easy. We want to accept Jesus’ word and receive the bread of life. We want to believe in the Eucharist. We want to believe in its awesome, saving power to transform us. We want to believe that Jesus is really present in it. We want to believe that it is the bread of life.

But for many of us (and those around us), we are like the people in the Gospels….we murmur, we mutter under our breath, we quarrel among ourselves that this saying is too hard…because our culture, our society, our friends, our family tell us to take the easy route….to think it’s a symbol or a sign of Christ’s presence.  But the truth is…we have been blessed with the Bread of Life…the real presence of Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist…not a sign or a symbol…..so we are sent forth to make Christ’s presence real to others. As Christ the Bread of Life has given us Himself to make us His own…to be food for the journey of our lives, we are sent forth to feed the hungry people we meet on our respective journeys. At the end of every Mass, the priest or deacon tells us, “The Mass is ended. Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” So the Eucharist never simply ends, like a play, movie or sporting event ends. No, instead we are all sent forth….sent forth with a mission…to be the bread of life for others.

So this week, take a moment to stop the murmuring, muttering and quarrelling that this saying is too hard and ask Christ instead for a deeper appreciation of the Eucharist. Pray for the grace to make His presence real to others. Share the knowledge that the Eucharist is a gift, and in this life, there is no greater gift that we could ever receive.

Peace,
Deborah (No R.E.-Gretz) Gretzinger

With the summer solstice right around the corner, I figured there would be plenty of time to write a blog post. Time…get it…ha, ha! 😊
 
Summer can be a time of rest for us. There is work to be sure, but there is, too, a laziness about summer. The busyness of the school year is over. Vacation beckons—road trips, camping, plane rides, family time, reunions….
 
The fullness of creation beckons in the summertime. The days are long, and the nights are shorter. The grass and trees are green. Warm nights invite us to gaze at campfires or at the stars. Our summer encounters with creation can serve both to enrich our own relationship with God the Creator and to open us to new ways of bringing that creativity into our lives.
 
God models for us, in the first creation story in Genesis, the rhythms of work and rest. In God’s good creation, human beings are given everything we need before we ever put our hands to work. We were made to enjoy the natural world, walking in peace and friendship with God (see Gen. 3:8).  And God rested on the 7th day…the Sabbath…..and we should remember His example.
​
So take some down time this summer and meditate on the vastness of God’s creation. What do the big things speak to you about the nature and character of the One who has created them? What do you notice about yourself as you spend time with this facet of the Creator’s revelation in creation? Or meditate on the intricacy of God’s creation. Who is this God who made and set in motion a world and universe for our bodies and souls to inhabit? What does God have to say to you?
​
You might be surprised at how much time you have!

Peace,
Deborah Gretzinger (no R.E.-Gretz)

​I’ve been sick for almost three months now…I’ve been frustrated, overwhelmed, and loved beyond measure by my husband, family, catechists, RE/YM students and families.  This blog is to thank you for your understanding and patience.
 
Next weekend, we will hear of the beginning of Jesus’ mission.  Jesus’ desert experience raises important questions for all of us, including me. What are some of the “desert” experiences I have experienced in my life? What desert experience am I living through right now? When and how do I find moments of contemplation in the midst of a busy life? How have I lived in the midst of my own desert wilderness? Have I been courageous and persistent in fighting with the demons? How have I resisted transforming my own deserts into places of abundant life?
 
My time of illness now is like Jesus’ time to the desert.    Throughout this time, He’s taught me to step back.   To let Him take control.  To let go of my pride and say yes and no more often.  To take more time for Him.  This has been a difficult test for me and my family  to endure, but I don’t know where I’d be without Him.
 
As Christians, we are in a constant fight with the desires born of our sinful natures.  We are unable to resist temptation without God’s grace. We are called to trust the Lord (not ourselves) for strength to resist temptation before it becomes sin. It is not the temptation itself that leads us to sin, but the lack of resistance and trust in the Lord for deliverance.
 
Lord, lead us not into temptation!  Rather, guide us into the pathways of justice, love and peace during these Lenten days.  Give us the grace and fidelity to be faithful to our God and Father in heaven.  Give us the courage to accept who we really are and where we should be.

As I starting thinking about this blog post, I found my thoughts drifting to recent events that took place at religious education classes a few weeks ago. It was a stressful, chaotic night, but amid the stress and chaos, God made His presence known very clearly. One God moment I was able to experience myself; the other two were shared by a parent and catechist, respectively.

The first moment involved a new catechist. He’s been very nervous about teaching as this is out of his wheelhouse. I met with him before class, reviewed the lesson with him, gave him a pep talk and prayed with him, specifically invoking the presence of the Holy Spirit. Afterwards, he came to me unable to speak but very clearly shaken by something that had occurred in the classroom. I gave him a few minutes to compose himself while I handled some other business. When he collected himself, he shared an experience that gave me goosebumps.

When he started class, he almost let his nerves overwhelm him. But he prayed for strength and suddenly, for the first time ever, felt confident enough to push the nerves aside and proceeded to teach an excellent lesson (confirmed by two other adults present in the room). After the students were dismissed and he went back up to the classroom to clean up, his strength left him and he was unable to breathe or stand. He sat with his head in his hands while he collected himself. He was convinced he was filled with the Holy Spirit during that class, and that everything he learned in his 13 years of Catholic school education culminated in that experience because for the first time he knew God was real. This was beyond head knowledge. He felt like everything suddenly made sense. And he was visibly moved by the experience.

For me, it was the first time in my career I was blessed to witness that realization for someone. I never thought in my lifetime I would ever seen the fruit of seeds that I knew I had planted. It was amazing.

The second experience was shared by a parent who is attending the adult faith formation classes offered at the church at the same time we hold religious education classes for the youth. She said because of these classes her husband is now a recovering alcoholic and is much more comfortable with his faith so much so that he is pursuing RCIA.

The third experience was shared by a high school catechist who had forgotten to close class with a prayer and dismissed her students early. As she stopped to pray about it, she heard the students coming back up the stairs. They had gone down the wrong staircase (the creepy one according to one of the girls) and were coming back. This catechist brought them back in the room to pray and shared with them that God had answered her prayer and sent them back to her so they could end class properly.

I drove home that Wednesday night in tears, crying out my gratitude to God for His generous blessings.

In my silent reflection today, God reminded me that even in the stress and chaos, He has things under control. His blessings may come when we least expect them, and maybe when we feel we least deserve them. But in His mercy and because He loves us so much, He continues to show us in ways we understand.

Peace,
Deborah (no RE-Gretz)

“WWJD?” “What would Jesus do?” This question brings to mind the parable in this coming Sunday’s gospel in Matthew 21: 28-32 – the parable of the two sons. In this story, Jesus contrasts the first son, who initially refuses the request of his father to work in the vineyard but then thinks about it and obeys that request, with the second son, who initially says yes to the request but disobeys his father in the end.
 
It would be nice to have instant acceptance of things in our lives that we find difficult. Whether it is a situation like that of this father or making a choice to do what we believe is right in the face of criticism and opposition from others, we would like to be able to move into immediate acceptance. But often the process of discerning and accepting the will of God takes some time and involves a bit of struggle. It is truly a process. But if we are open to the grace of God in our lives…if we bring our concerns and struggles honestly to God in prayer… if we take one step at a time in acting on our Catholic Christian instincts, we can be confident that we will be able to do God’s will.
 
Like the first son in Jesus’ parable, we too will find our way out into the vineyard. God makes sure that He meets us where we are and knows how to move us forward in this process of challenging us to discern, and eventually understand, His will so we can be partners with Him in building the Kingdom on earth. The most important thing is for us to remain open to the workings of God in our lives, to stay in constant communication with the Lord through prayer and then invite God to lead us and transform us so we can become the best version of ourselves…the person God intended us to be. Usually that happens through small steps rather than giant ones.  What small step are you willing to take towards God today?
 
Peace,
Deborah Gretzinger (No RE-Gretz)

So in last month’s newsletter, the main theme focused on staying holy through prayer over the summer. But one of the best ways to be holy through prayer is by going to Mass. Even in the summertime.  And even on vacation. (I can hear the gasps already. ;-))

Being a parent and raising a family is hard work.  Especially when you’re trying to juggle everyone’s schedules.  Suddenly even sitting down for a meal as a family seems impossible, let alone getting to Mass on the weekend.  And trying to find a church in a new town, state or country while on vacation can seem overwhelming. So it seems easier to just skip Mass.
But it’s not impossible.  Sometimes it’s as easy as putting it in the schedule. Even when you’re on vacation.

My family and I recently went to Minnesota for the weekend on a mini-vacation.  And before we left, we planned out all the things we wanted to do.  So on Friday we drove to Eden Prairie, checked into the hotel, ate dinner and went to a rodeo in Waconia.  On Saturday we went to the Mall of America and checked out the aquarium (twice!) as well as the stores and swam in the hotel pool.  And on Sunday, we went to Mass at Pax Christi Catholic Church in Eden Prairie (where we met a wonderful young priest who’d been to Green Bay and preached on growing in our faith) before walking around the Minnesota Zoo and driving home.

With today’s technology, it’s super easy to find Catholic churches near you.  You can Google it.  Or ask Siri.  Or go to www.masstimes.org. There’s even an app for that: Catholic Directory Mass Times.

So the next time you’re tempted to skip Mass on the weekend this summer, whether you’re at home or on vacation, try putting it on the schedule. You might just be surprised that’s there’s time for Mass after all. :-)

By Deborah Gretzinger (No RE-Gretz)

Looking at life in our house, I’m pretty sure that my children (ages 10 and 8) do not see the rules their father and I have created as providing freedom.  Like most kids, I think they see our household rules as preventing them from their true ability to enjoy life and doing the things they think will make them happy (I know I did when I was their age J). Of course I hope and pray (as I’m sure my parents did for me and my sisters) that there will come a day when they will look back at the way they were raised and be grateful.  They will understand that what their father and I put in place actually provided them with a means to stay safe, to make good choices, and to succeed on the journey.

But we aren’t the only parents who have rules for their children. We’re told in the Old Testament (Exodus 20) that God the Father gave Moses the Ten Commandments as a means for His people to be safe, make good choices, and succeed on the journey. 

And the United States of America was fashioned in the same way.  It was shaped by our Christian forefathers displaying wisdom, knowledge, and understanding…all gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Building on Judeo-Christian foundations, they planted the seeds for future generations to live faith-filled lives, freely and without cause for concern.  And they set up laws like the Constitution and Bill of Rights under which they knew our country could prosper.

But when we bend the rules, whether we’re at home, as Catholic Christians or as Americans, in such a way as to suit our own needs or justify our choices, we are really only pushing our chance for real happiness further and further away.  There is no freedom in that. True freedom exists within a structure created on the premise that there IS a greater good and that everyone MUST contribute to it, not detract from it.

So as we celebrate our nation’s independence today, let us remember that we are only truly free when we understand that the laws are meant for our peace and prosperity and only enslave us when we use them to justify our collapse into sinful behavior.  And if we really want change, we ought to turn, individually and as a nation, back to God because, as Scripture says in Matthew 19:26, with God all things are possible.  Maybe that’s the change that will make a difference…the change that will set us free.
​
By Deborah Gretzinger (No  RE-Gretz)

Scholars tell us that the first Pentecost took place during the Jewish Feast of Weeks where the first fruits of the harvest were offered to God in thanksgiving. But on this particular day, instead of giving our first fruits to God, He gave his first fruit—the Holy Spirit—to us.
 
And what an amazing gift the Holy Spirit has been! It is His power that has kept the Church on track, despite human sinfulness and brokenness, for two millennia. It is His grace that has strengthened us, revealed Jesus to us, moved us to serve, and convinced us that Jesus will indeed come back to bring heaven down to earth. To put it quite simply, Pentecost is all about the fact that Almighty God has come to live in human hearts, making ordinary people into extraordinary saints.
 
After Jesus rose from the dead, he appeared to the apostles, breath­ed on them, said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22). Just as he did at that first Pentecost over 2000 years ago, Jesus wants to breathe God’s energy into our hearts every day. The spiritual dynamic that was present at that first Pentecost, mov­ing people to love God, to seek out holiness, and to come together as a church, is still at work today.
 
How can we tell if this breath of God is active in our lives? We will feel energized by the Spirit, and we will want to set our sights on being like Jesus. We will feel moved to go to work for God to build the kingdom here on earth, relying on the Spirit’s power and guidance. We will try to be more loving, more kind, and more patient...relying on the Spirit for strength when we think we don't have any more left to give.
 
So right now, stop and take a few deep breaths. Know that what you are breathing in is pure, holy, and exciting. Jesus has great plans for every member of his church. And that includes you!

by Deborah Gretzinger (no RE-Gretz)