All posts by Vicki Scheenstra

Vicki Scheenstra is a former Catholic Bookstore owner and has been active in Catholic Education.

Who Does Jesus say that he is?




Jesus Christ

There are many followers of Jesus. Who is he? Each church has their own beliefs about Jesus. Who does Jesus say that he is?

In the gospel of John, Jesus himself tells us who he is. There are seven “I am” sayings of Jesus. Each one gives us insight into the person Jesus himself claims to be.

The seven “I am” sayings are:

1. “I am the Good Shepherd. “Jn (10.11)

2. “I am the gate for the sheep.” Jn (10:7)“I

3. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” Jn (14.6)

4. “I am the vine, you are the branches.” Jn (15.5)

5. “I am the Bread of Life.” Jn. (6:35)

6. “I am the light of the world.” Jn (8:12)

7. “I am the resurrection and the life.” Jn (11.25)

Meditate on the PHOTOS as you read the gospel passages in Jesus own words.

Reflect on all the images Jesus gives us to help us know him better. How can we love Jesus unless we spend time with him and listen to his words?

Seven “I am” sayings; one saying for each day of the week. Spend a week reflecting on the sayings of Jesus.

Jesus, The Good Shepherd

I am the Good Shepherd

John 10:11

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away–and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.

I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord, I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

Jesus the Sheepgate

I am the Sheepgate

John 10:1

“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

So again Jesus said to them,

“Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

Sacred Heart of Jesus
Public Domain Image

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life

John:14

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again

will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.”

Thomas said to him,

“Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?

Jesus said to him,

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Jesus, The Vine and Branches

I am the vine, you are the branches.

John 15:1

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.

I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.

As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

Monstrance
Body and Blood of Jesus Christ

I am the Bread of Life

John 6:22

The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. Then some boats from Teberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

When they found him on the other side of the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them.

“Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has st his seal”

Then they said to him,

“What must we do to perform the works of God?”

Jesus answered them,

“This is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

So they said to him,

“What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'”

Then Jesus said to them;

“Very truly I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

They said to him,

“Sir give us this bread always.”

Jesus said to them,

I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.”

I am the Light of the World

John 8:12

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying,

” I am the light of the world.Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

Then the Pharisees said to him,

“You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.”

Jesus answered,

“Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards, I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge my judgment is valid, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.

Then they said to him,

“Where is your Father?”

Jesus answered,

“You know neither me nor my Father. If you know me, you would know my Father also.”

He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet com.

I am the Resurrection and the Life

John 11:25

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and meet him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus,

“Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.”

Jesus said to her,

“Your brother will rise again.”

Martha said to him,

“I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

Jesus said to her,

“I am the resurrection and the life.Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

She said to him,

“Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Catherine dei Ricci, Feast Day Feb. 13




St. Catherine dei Ricci 2

The feast day of St. Catherine dei Ricci is celebrated on Feb. 13.  She is the patron saint of the sick.

St. Catherine was born in 1522 in Italy. Her baptismal name was Alexandria, however she took the name Catherine when she joined the Dominican Order. As an infant her mother died and she was raised by her godmother. As a child she was known for her love of praying in solitude. She also talked to her guardian angel and learned to pray the rosary. At the age of six her father placed her in a convent in Florence, Italy, where her aunt was the Abbess.

Alexandria joined the Dominican nuns at Prat in Tuscany when she was 14 taking the name of Catherine. By he age of 25 she was the perpetual prioress. She had a great reputation for sanctity. Although they never met, she corresponded to St. Philip Neri, also known as the Apostle of Joy.

St. Catherine had a great devotion to the Passion of Christ. In 1541 she had a heartbreaking vision of the crucifixion which confined her to bed for three weeks finally recovering on Holy Saturday by a vision of St. Mary Magdalene and the risen Jesus. For 12 years she experienced ecstasy every Thursday from noon until Friday at 4 p.m. During the visions she received the stigmata, the wound in the left side and the crown of thorns. She offered her suffering for the Holy souls in Purgatory.

Many people came to witness her ecstasy, even though she did not like the attention it caused. One of her visions was of receiving a ring from the lord as a sign of her espousal to him.

Three popes were known to have asked her for her prayers; Pope Marcellus II, Pope Leo XI and Pope Clement VIII.

St. Catherine is the patron saint of sick people because she cared for the sick while living in the convent. She died after a long illness at the age of 68 in 1590.

“If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.”

Quote of St. Teresa of Calcutta; Feast day Sept. 5

February is the Month of the Passion of the Lord

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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: Our Lady of Lourdes, Feast Day Feb. 11




lourdes
The feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes is celebrated on Feb. 11.

Our Lady of Lourdes is the patron saint of bodily ills. Our lady first appeared to St. Bernadette in Lourdes, France on Feb. 11, 1858. Bernadette was a poor shepherdess who was only 14 years old. Our Lady actually appeared to her eighteen times.

During the first vision Bernadette saw a bright light and a beautiful lady dressed in a brilliant white dress adorned with a blue ribbon. A long veil covered her body from her head to her feet. Her hands were clasped as if praying and she carried a white and gold rosary with a gold cross in her hands. Bernadette took her rosary out of her pocket and guided by Our Lady they prayed the rosary. After praying, the vision ended. Bernadette asked the girls with her if they had seen anything and they said no. She told them not to say anything however her sister told their mother who did not believe the story.

On Feb. 14, Bernadette returned to the Grotto where the vision had happened. She asked those with her to pray the rosary. When Our Lady appeared again, Bernadette’s face was transfigured. She sprinkled the holy water which had been given her and said, “If you come from God, come near us.” The holy water touched Our Lady and she smiled and came closer. They began to pray the rosary together.

On Feb.18, St. Bernadette was accompanied after Mass by a lady and a religious. When she began praying, Our Lady appeared again and they all prayed the rosary. Our Lady asked Bernadette to return for 15 consecutive days. Bernadette promised she would do so. Our Lady said, “I also promise to make you happy, not in this world, but in the next.”

Bernadette went to the Grotto with a lit candle for the next 15 days. Hundreds of people began coming with her. On Feb. 21. Bernadette observed that Our Lady seemed sad. She asked her “What is wrong? What can I do?” Our Lady said,

 

“Pray for sinners.”

A doctor examined Bernadette and concluded there was nothing wrong with her. Bernadette was ridiculed nonetheless. On Feb. 23, Our Lady requested that a Sanctuary be built on the site. She told Bernadette to talk to the priest. When the priest asked her the name of the lady Bernadette did not know. The priest told her he needed a miracle and she should ask the lady for the rose bush to blossom.

On Feb. 25, Our Lady told Bernadette to drink from the fountain. Puzzled, Bernadette looked around for water. She discovered water coming up from the ground which soon became a pool of water. On Feb. 26 Our Lady revealed to Bernadette her name saying, “I am the Immaculate Conception”. During one apparition people witnessed Bernadette praying for fifteen minutes with the candle flame burning through her fingers. She remained unharmed.

The last apparition occurred on the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. Many miracles of healing have been attributed to he healing waters of Lourdes.
St. Bernadette joined the Sisters of Charity seeking God in the silence of the convent. She died on April 16, 1879. The message of Our Lady of Lourdes is timeless…….Pray for sinners!

 

Death came through Eve,  Life through Mary.

 Quote of St. Jerome; Feast day September 30

 

lourdes8

February is the Month of the Passion of the Lord



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Benedictine Spirituality



St. Benedict
St. Benedict

St. Benedict was born in Nursia in 480 to upper class parents. He attended university in Rome. To escape the vice he was surrounded by he fled Rome and spent 3 years in seclusion. After these three years he founded the monasteries he is famous for.

 

St. Benedict is considered the founder of western monasticism. His monasteries were based on the principles in his book The Rule of Benedict. This book begins with this prologue: “Listen carefully, my son, to the masters’ instructions and attend to them with the ear of your heart. (R.B. Prologue)”

 

His rule begins with the word LISTEN! The monasteries have a very strict discipline. They focus on daily personal and liturgical prayer. Singing of the Psalms and reading the Divine Office is practiced daily. Listening to the word of God is the primary focus of their spirituality. Lectio Divino is slow reading and meditation on the scripture. Benedictine spirituality also demands obedience, hospitality, and service.

 

St. Benedict died while standing in prayer before God.

 

The feast day of St. Benedict is July 11th. In the Eastern Church it is celebrated on March 14th.
St. Benedict is the patron saint of students and Europe.


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Prayers, Quips and Quotes: St. Scholastica, Feast Day Feb. 10




St. Scholastica Public Domain Image
St. Scholastica         Patron Saint Against Storms

The feast day of St. Scholastica is celebrated on Feb. 10.   St. Scholastica was born in central Italy. She was the twin sister to St. Benedict who founded the Benedictine Order. Their parents were affluent. After Benedict left for the monastery, Scholastica founded a monastery for nuns within five miles of St. Benedict’s monastery. St. Benedict was the spiritual director for her monastery.

Benedict and Scholastica were only able to visit with each other once a year. Because she was not allowed in his monastery, they met in a farmhouse where they visited and discussed spiritual matters. According to the Dialogues of St. Gregory the Great the two saints spent their last day together in prayer and visiting. Benedict refused her request to stay another day, however a thunderstorm arose preventing him from returning home. St. Scholastica claimed the storm was a result of her prayers. He stayed another day visiting through the night, returning to the monastery the next day.  St. Scholastica died three days later in 543. St. Benedict’s brethren brought her body to his monastery. She was buried in the tomb he had prepared for himself.

St. Benedict had a vision of her soul ascending to heaven in the form of a dove. St. Scholastica is the patron saint against storms.

Eternal praise and honor be to you, Lord Jesus Christ, for each and every hour that you endured such great bitterness and anguish on the cross for us sinners.

 Quote of St. Bridget of Sweden; Feast day July 23

 

 February is the Month of the Passion of the Lord

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Praying with the Poetry of the Mystics

St. Francis raphaelgallery.org Public Domain Image
St. Francis
raphaelgallery.org


Get to know the mystics! The mystics are saints in the Catholic Church who have had visions and personal experiences with the presence of God in their lives. Many of the Saints have written of their love of God. It can be contagious!

The following five poems are written by mystics of the Catholic Church. They are inspired by their own personal relationship and experience of God. Because their joy could not be kept to themselves, they became radiant lights to the world.

The different types of prayer are petition, intercession, thanksgiving, adoration, praise and glory. Their poetry uses all these types of prayer and can help lead us to a personal relationship with God.

St. Francis was born in Assisi, Italy in 1181. He is known for his love of animals and the suffering. He is the founder of the Franciscan Order. While praying in front of a crucifix, Jesus spoke to him saying, “Francis, rebuild my church!”

St. Teresa of Avila was born in Spain in 1515. She helped reform the Carmelite order. The poem in this collection shares one of her experiences during prayer.

St. Catherine of Siena was born in 1347. She began having visions as a young child pertaining to heaven and hell.

Bernard of Clairvaux was born in 1090 in Burgundy France. He wrote a treatise called Degrees of Humility and Pride which analyzed the human character. He also wrote many hymns.

St. Augustine was known for his conversion during the fourth century. He became a famous bishop. His poem Beauty ever ancient and so new is well known.

Learning about the spirituality of the saints can help us develop our own prayer life. Meditating on these prayers will change the course of your life.

 

St. Francis with Birds Public Domain Image
St. Francis with Birds

Canticle of the Creatures

All Praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars; in the heavens you have made them, bright, and precious, and fair.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brothers wind and air, and fair and stormy, all the weather’s moods, by which you cherish all that you have made.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Water, so useful, humble, precious and pure.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom you brighten up the night. How beautiful is he, how cheerful! Full of power and strength.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth, who sustains us and governs us, and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through those who grant pardon for love of you; through those who endure sickness and trial. Happy are those who endure in peace, by You, Most High, they will be crowned.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Death, from whose embrace no mortal can escape. Woe to those who die in mortal sin! Happy those she finds doing your will! The second death can do them no harm.

Praise and bless my Lord, and give him thanks and serve him with great humility.

St. Francis of Assisi

St. Augustine of Hippo by Sandro Botticelli Public Domain Image
St. Augustine of Hippo
by Sandro Botticelli

Beauty so ancient and so new

Late have I loved you, Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved you!

Lo, you were within,
but I outside, seeking there for you,

and upon the shapely things you have made
I rushed headlong – I, misshapen.
You were with me, but I was not with you.

They held me back far from you,
those things which would have no being,
were they not in you.

You called, shouted, broke through my deafness;
you flared, blazed, banished my blindness;

you lavished your fragrance, I gasped; and now I pant for you;
I tasted you, and now I hunger and thirst;

you touched me, and I burned for your peace.

St. Augustine

St. Bernard of Clairvaux Public Domain Image
St. Bernard of Clairvaux

O Sacred Head Surrounded

O sacred head, surrounded by crown of piercing thorn!

O bleeding head, so wounded, reviled and put to scorn!

Death’s pallid hue comes over you the glow of life decays, yet angel hosts adore thee and tremble as they gaze.

I see thy strength and vigor all fading in the strife, and death with cruel rigor, bereaving thee of life;

O agony and dying!

O love to sinners free!

Jesus, all grace supplying, O turn thy face on me.

In this thy bitter passion, Good Shepherd, think of me, with thy most sweet compassion, unworthy though I be,

beneath thy cross abiding forever would I rest, in they dear love confiding and with they presence blest.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

St. Catherine of Siena Public domain Image

Consumed by Grace

I first saw God when I was a child, six years of age.

the cheeks of the sun were pale before Him,

and the earth acted as a shy girl, like me.

Divine light entered my heart from His love
that did never fully wane,

though indeed, dear, I can understand how a person’s
faith can at time flicker,

for what is the mind to do
with something that becomes the mind’s ruin:

a God that consumes us
in His grace.

I have seen what you want;
it is there,

a Beloved of infinite
tenderness.

St. Catherine of Siena

St. Teresa of Avila Public Domain Image
St. Teresa of Avila

 

Laughter came from every brick

Just these two words He spoke changed my life,

Enjoy Me!.

What a burden I thought I was to carry, a crucifix, as did He.

Love once said to me,

“I know a song, would you like to hear it?”

And laughter came from every brick in the street and from every pore in the sky.

After a night of prayer,

He changed my life when He sang,

“Enjoy Me!”

St. Teresa of Avila




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