#lovewins

RISE & PRAY

REFLECTIONS FOR AN AUTHENTIC CATHOLIC LIFE

Sarah Beth Dippel

Jun 7, 2020
2 min

CHILDLIKE TRUST

THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Three persons in one divine spirit. Many philosophers, theologians, bishops, popes, Doctors of the Church, parish priests and catechists have been trying to explain the Holy Trinity for centuries. It is impossible in the human concept. Three does not equal one. Any good elementary math teacher would flunk a kid if they gave that answer. And yet, three does equal one if we are talking about the Trinity. I con

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Sarah Beth Dippel

Jun 6, 2020
1 min

YOUR VOCATION IS LOVE

SATURDAY OF THE NINTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME Today's readings tell us being mediocre in our faith will not accomplish the mission of this life, eternal life with the Trinity. The first reading from St. Paul urges us to proclaim the word, whether it is easy or not. Hold others accountable when they fall away from Christ's teaching. Do not be one of those who become lukewarm about your faith and accept the world's beliefs over the word of truth. In the Gospel, Jesus notices the

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Sarah Beth Dippel

Jun 5, 2020
2 min

REJOICING IN THE ORDINARY LIFE

FRIDAY OF THE NINTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME Last night, Cris and I went on our first date night since March. Our favorite sushi restaurant offers take-out dining and beverage service on their outdoor deck in the evenings. The tables were well spaced, we placed our order online, and the server brought out our drinks and dinner. While I understand that many people are ready to spend time dining in, which is a high-risk environment, keeping our outings low-risk is important to us

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Sarah Beth Dippel

Jun 4, 2020
2 min

TEACH ME YOUR WAYS, O LORD

THURSDAY OF THE NINTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME Love. Love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself. If we understood charity, the act of love that pours forth from the Father into our hearts, imagine what the world would look like today. Charity is not a feeling or an emotion. Charity is an act. We chose to love the Lord. We decide to love others. God doesn't stop loving us if we turn away fr

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BEAR YOUR SHARE OF HARDSHIP FOR THE GOSPEL

Sarah Beth Dippel

Jun 3, 2020
2 min

BEAR YOUR SHARE OF HARDSHIP FOR THE GOSPEL

WEDNESDAY OF THE NINTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME Today is the Feast day of Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions. St. Charles Lwanga was a convert to the faith and a catechist to a group of twenty-two martyrs in southern Uganda. On June 3rd, 1886, Charles was burned to death for his belief. With his dying breath, he called out, "Katonga wange - Oh God!" St. Charles and the twenty-two martyrs gave up their lives, 134 years ago today, for their unwillingness to turn away from God. St

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Sarah Beth Dippel

Jun 2, 2020
1 min

PUT DOWN ROOTS

TUESDAY OF THE NINTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME Can you believe we are back to ordinary time? It's been so many weeks. It was before the pandemic changed nearly every aspect of our ordinary lives. The Liturgical color for Ordinary Time is green—a color associated with hope and growth. Yet Ordinary time is anything but ordinary. Ordinary time is when life happens. It is when through hope and grace, we deepen our life of faith. We cannot grow roots in our knowledge of Christ if we o

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Sarah Beth Dippel

Jun 1, 2020
1 min

MARY CARES FOR US, HER CHILDREN

THE BLESSED MOTHER MARY, MOTHER OF GOD (Memorial) "Behold, your mother." John 19:27 In yesterday's Gospel, we heard Jesus say to us, "Receive the Holy Spirit." Today, we hear His words from the cross, "Behold, your mother." To receive the Spirit and Mary, we have to be open; we have to prepare a home for them in our hearts. Receiving the Spirit and beholding our Mother are actions. One of the definitions for receive means to act as a receptacle. Act. To take possession of the

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Sarah Beth Dippel

May 31, 2020
1 min

COME, HOLY SPIRIT, COME

PENTECOST SUNDAY Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created. And you shalt renew the face of the earth. Come, Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit shines a divine ray of light upon us. The Spirit of truth dwelling within us heals our wounds, refreshes, and washes clean our souls, melts the frozen heart, and guides steps that have gone astray. Come, Holy Spirit. Jesus says

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Sarah Beth Dippel

May 30, 2020
2 min

WHAT CONCERN IS IT OF YOURS?

SATURDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER The living word of God speaks to all of us differently. If you read today's Gospel, a particular word or verse will draw your attention; this is God speaking to you. After reading today's Gospel, for me, this is the verse God asks me to talk to Him about right now, "What concern is it of yours? You follow me?" John 21:22 Ah. There it is, my brothers and sisters, my stumbling block. You know the one, we all have them. It is the sin we co

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Sarah Beth Dippel

May 29, 2020
1 min

LORD, YOU KNOW EVERYTHING

FRIDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you. Do you love me? Feed my lambs. Do you love me? Tend my sheep. Do you love me? Feed my sheep. Everything we've reflected on in these many weeks of Easter is coming together. If we love him, we will bring people to him. We will make disciples. We will feed His sheep. When we love the Lord, we desire to serve the Lord. The difficulty is that we have a million justifications for why we don't

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Sarah Beth Dippel

May 28, 2020
1 min

CONSECRATED TO THE TRUTH

THURSDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER In yesterday's readings, we heard the word "consecrate." To consecrate is to make sacred, or to dedicate formally to a divine purpose. In our faith, we consecrate altars, churches, chalices, the Eucharist, the sacred oils, and many other things that serve as part of our worship. Now I commend you to God and to that gracious word of his that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated. Acts 20:32 Consecrat

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Sarah Beth Dippel

May 27, 2020
2 min

YOU ARE THE BODY

WEDNESDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER Today's first reading blows me away. Paul is speaking to the Church of Ephesus before he leaves for Jerusalem. He knows this is the last time he will be with them. His final words are powerful and inspirational and apply to us today just as well as when Paul first spoke these words to the Church. I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. (Acts 20:29) Let us not forget that the

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Sarah Beth Dippel

May 26, 2020
1 min

GLORIFY THE FATHER

TUESDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER Our lives should glorify the Father. In today's gospel, we hear Jesus proclaim that His work on earth was to glorify the Father. In the first reading, Paul is about to leave for Jerusalem, where he knows they will imprison him. To this Paul says, Yet I consider life of no importance to me, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to bear witness to the gospel of God's grace. Acts 20:24 Both Jesu

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Sarah Beth Dippel

May 25, 2020
1 min

THE NATIONAL MOMENT OF REMEMBRANCE

MONDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK OF EASTER Blessings to you on this Memorial Day. The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in military service for our nation. While I found no concrete source for the reason 3 p.m. was chosen for the National Moment of Remembrance, my thoughts go to the sacrifice of the Lord on the cross, which we remem

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Sarah Beth Dippel

May 24, 2020
1 min

GO. BAPTIZE. TEACH.

THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD Go. Baptize. Teach. The Gospel for the Ascension of the Lord is from the Book of Matthew. Jesus takes the disciples up the mountain where they will witness His Ascension into Heaven. Before He leaves them, He commands three things of them. Go. Baptize. Teach. Go. The message is simple for us today; we must go out. Physically, and spiritually go out into the world with Christ's message. That might mean: writing a blog, serving a food bank, saying grac

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Sarah Beth Dippel

May 23, 2020
2 min

JOY COMES FROM KNOWING HIM

SATURDAY OF THE SIXTH WEEK OF EASTER Jesus's words today are some of my favorite in scripture,"ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete." (John 16:24) The Lord wishes to give us His joy, real joy. For a long time, I searched for happiness in this world. When I found the joy of living for and with Christ, I understood that not all prayers would be answered so that we may experience the pure joy Christ wishes to offer us. The pleasure we get from the things of

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Sarah Beth Dippel

May 22, 2020
2 min

JANE ROE HAS A DEATHBED CONFESSION

FRIDAY OF THE SIXTH WEEK OF EASTER As someone who works for a Pregnancy Resource Center, today's Gospel passage reminds me of all the women and babies I have had the pleasure of serving over the last year. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. John 16:21 In 2011, I went on my first March for Life. I can loo

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Sarah Beth Dippel

May 21, 2020
2 min

HANG IN THERE!

THURSDAY OF THE SIXTH WEEK OF EASTER In today's Gospel reading, Jesus says some things that confuse His disciples. "A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me." (John 16:16) Jesus knows the disciples are confused, so he gives them a little more to work with, " 'A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me'? Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices

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Sarah Beth Dippel

May 20, 2020
2 min

FOLLOWING THE RECIPE

WEDNESDAY OF THE SIXTH WEEK OF EASTER I have a degree from Le Cordon Bleu in Patisserie and Baking. Most people ignore the last part and assume I'm a cook. I'm a baker. Baking requires following a recipe, a set of rules that, if not followed, will create a mess instead of a beautiful French pastry. It takes a particular type of person to have the patience and discipline to be a baker; some people are more comfortable as cooks, a little of this, a bit of that. Recipes are guid

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Sarah Beth Dippel

May 19, 2020
2 min

PRAISING THE LORD FROM "JAIL"

TUESDAY OF THE SIXTH WEEK OF EASTER I felt a little familiarity while reading today's first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Paul and Silas are in jail when an earthquake strikes and frees them from their chains. Instead of walking out, they stay and speak the word of the Lord to the prisoners and the jailer. The jailer's family is baptized that night. And of course, Paul and Silas are invited into their home. My husband, Cris, refers to this whole situation as if feeli

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