“If I’m going down, it will be doing what God built me to do.” – Simon

We can strive and work, trying to figure things out on our own. On the best days, we feel successful and pride ourselves in our accomplishments. When things don’t go our way and we get desperate, we start compromising our dignity, our values, and our faith. Anything to get ahead. Anything to survive.

God doesn’t want us to live like this. But more often than not, He allows us to feel the emptiness and rock-bottom desperation so He can fill our boats and prove to us that He is the one to provide for all our needs.

Episode 4 opens with the crisis of a self-sufficient fisherman who is up to his neck in trouble. His brother excitedly announces the arrival of the Messiah, but he is too caught up in his own concerns to listen. So the call of Simon had to begin with a miracle to catch his attention. Does it always happen this dramatically? No. For every heart who has turned to Jesus, there was some kind of divine encounter with truth, love, or mercy. In many cases, it was a gentle revelation; for others, it was a miraculous collision between Heaven and earth.

But no matter the experience, it is always enough to shake us up out of our disillusionment and launch us into a journey of conversion and transformation. When status quo isn’t good enough anymore…when the ache is too heavy to bear…when the darkness is darker than night…Jesus caters His calling unique to us as individuals. It is so personalized that His voice penetrates our souls in a way so different from every other person in all of history.

How we respond to that call is our gift back to Him for the freedom He has secured for us both in this world and in eternity. And what joy it is to offer Him our “fiat” as we live with faith…with hope…with love. Out of the wealth we’ve inherited through our union with God, we give to our brothers and sisters through our prayers, acts of charity, and fight for justice.

And when it gets tough because we forget what He has done, may we return to the Gospels to remind us of His wonders and once again believe that we have a God who saves.
#thechosentvseries #thechosen #getusedtodifferent

“Everyone has a much larger job than just their trade.” – Jesus

I’ve been doing a lot of sorting through, praying through, and pushing through some tough emotional stuff in the past couple of weeks since my last post on The Chosen. What’s interesting is that I needed to come back to the heart of my own inner child and reclaim the trust shattered and innocence lost such a long time ago.

Part of me believed that Episode 3 was more fitting to speak to my own Dyogi kids who have watched it MULTIPLE times. They absolutely love how Jesus spends time with the children…how He teaches them and entertains them…just as I’m sure He would if they were to encounter Him today.

Now that I’m choosing to give Jesus my pain for the umpteenth time, I’m learning how to better listen to Him with childlike simplicity. The girls have come to me lately with very complex wonderings about the faith and things they experience in their spiritual life, and I’m lifting it all up to Jesus as this little group of youngsters do.

Sometimes answers are not meant to be given to us now. But I must tell you that the faith of these kiddos living in our household carries me through some pretty dark moments. I’ll share with Gary something they said or wrote, and we’ll just look at each other in astonishment. I personally never encountered anything like this before as a child. They really BELIEVE.

The Lord is ministering to them as closely as He is ministering to me in prayer, if not more, because of their openness to His word. I love how Jesus always focuses on His greater mission and encourages them in theirs.

So instead of being overwhelmed by negativity, difficult situations, and external circumstances I cannot control, this is reminding me to set my eyes on the One who offers the peace that this world cannot give. Not just for the powerful and the wealthy, but for all who seek His face.

“Let the little children come to me.” (Matthew 19:14)

”He called me Mary. He said I am His. I am redeemed. … I was one way, and now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between was Him. So, yes, I will know Him for the rest of my life.” – Mary Magdalene

These have to be my favorite lines from the entire Season 1 from The Chosen. When I tell stories about my younger days and decisions that I made, people don’t often believe me. A dear priest close to my heart once told me as much after my general confession.

“Yes, it is all true,” I said. “All of it.”
“A lot of very bad things could have happened to you,” he replied. “I want you to go out there, look at the crucifix, and ask Jesus why He spared you.”

I have tears in my eyes as I write this. There was an immense conviction I felt that day because I finally understood the mercy of God and knew I couldn’t keep it to myself. Being yoked to Christ, I needed to share the truth, goodness, and love that was poured into my heart that day.

The confession of every single one of my sins committed in my lifetime was not meant to shame me and leave me in the mire of guilt. It – and every confession before and after – had the purpose of showing me that after every turn I made away from Jesus, He was still loving me through it all…waiting for me to come back. And when it happened, He was the one who pursued me.

I couldn’t deny Him anymore. He was too important. It was too painful to do life without the Him. There would be fierce battles to fight against habits, behaviors, and a very negative mindset, but the Lord gave me the grace to show up everyday and seek His face. And now I see it more as a process of becoming. He and I working together – Him doing more of the molding and conquering while I do the yielding and obeying.

The evidence of Mary Magdalene’s redemption in Episode 2 reminded me of God’s simple work in my heart. I would be the one to complicate things, but every time I made a choice to return to Him and honor Him and His commandments, I would recognize His presence once again…not that He ever really left.

I love the character development in this show. The writers do a beautiful job of drawing out their personalities and daily experiences that make these biblical figures come alive. It is also calling me back into the richness of Scripture, opening my mind again to the Word of God in a way familiar to the early days of my conversion.

And Shabbat…yes, I am praying for its meaning and purpose to truly direct our family’s celebration of the Lord’s Day. It was so central to the lives of the Jews, as they gave worship and thanks to God for all His benefits. Sunday Mass has always been important to us, but even beyond this sacred hour, what else is He calling us to do with one another? This is something we will be listening for in the next few days…
#thechosentv #getusedtodifferent

“What do we do when we are scared?” … Adonai’s words: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you. I have called you by name. You are mine.” – The papa of little Mary Magdalene

I committed to this series of reflections on The Chosen episodes, and in light of the recent church vandalism at Ss. Peter and Paul here in Wilmington and St. Catherine of Siena in Reseda – on top of the increasing hatred, violence, and destruction wreaking havoc in our country – this seems to be perfect timing.

Episode One tells the story of Mary Magdalene who we know from Scripture was possessed by seven demons. Mind you, hers is an intense journey with a heart-breaking beginning eventually leading to a beautiful ending. (Be forewarned – our children hid under blankets during particular scenes)

Other characters are introduced, wrought with inner turmoil and desperate situations. As the minutes went by and a vivid depiction of human brokenness was clearly drawn out for us, the kids kept asking me and Gary, “When is Jesus coming? When is Jesus coming?” because they know by both knowledge and experience that Jesus makes everything better. When the Lord finally makes His presence known, there is a spark of hope and a torrent of tears upon seeing how divine goodness and power heal through love.

On more than a few occasions I have witnessed demons torment people, showing intense resistance to releasing the poor souls they have been attached to for so long. It always takes faith in the name of Jesus, focused prayer in the Holy Spirit, and the Father’s merciful hand to finally free them from their deep-rooted anguish. And we would thank Jesus every time for the peace that would follow. Straight out of the Gospels is how I would describe these encounters where the glory of the kingdom is made as real on earth as it is in Heaven.

The words of Nicodemus in this episode ring true: “Only God Himself could have drawn them out.” These spirits exist, and they are very active in our world. Those of you who know me well understand that I would not make this up. For 20 years, I have read, studied, and “sat at the feet” of mentors and spiritual directors who are trained to meet pain and evil face-to-face. It is an important part of my spiritual formation I don’t openly share, but given the present state of our times, I have realized that the bushel basket needs to come off.

Why? Because I cannot sit back watching more of our brothers and sisters struggling alone without meeting the Love who can save them. There is still work to be done in my own heart…deeper wounds that this quarantine has brought to the surface…but at this point I know too much to keep the fullness of the message to myself.

So praise God for Dallas Jenkins, Jonathan Roumie, and the rest of the cast and crew of The Chosen. In the following episodes and coming seasons, they will show us who we really are and who He really is. If you need to rewatch the show multiple times like I do, feel free to download the app on your phone…and as I said before, make sure to grab some tissue before you hit play. It’s that good.

#thechosentv #getusedtodifferent