Let Me Listen, Before I Speak - Season of Joy | Acts 9:31-42 by Heather M. Swiger

04/20/24 • 9 min

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420 W County Line Rd, Suite 200
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Learn More
Heart to Heart, a Catholic Media Ministry: htoh.us
420 W County Line Rd, Suite 200
Barrington, IL 60010
Support our ministry with a financial gift: htoh.us/donate

Previous Episode

How is Jesus Talking to You? - Season of Joy | Acts 9:1-20 by Terry O'Connell

Today's Season of Joy reflection on Acts 9:1-20 is by Terry O'Connell.
Terry has been happily married to his wife Cindy for 44 years. They have 3 children and 3 grand children. He’s a retired senior executive who worked for Time Warner Cable for 30 years. His hobbies include golf (which he enjoys most often), fishing (which he seldom does) and reading.
from Acts 9:1-20
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”
He said, “Who are you, sir?”
The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.”
Read the full scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050622.cfm
As we just heard in the reading from The Acts of the Apostles, it's about a man named Saul whose job it was to locate the followers of Jesus, place them in chains, and imprison them.
Clearly Saul was a very bad man.
One day Jesus came to Saul instructing him to go to Damascus and await instructions. He did as he was told. Jesus told one of his disciples in Damascus, "Do as I ask." saying, "This man Saul is a chosen instrument of mine."
Those are the words that really hit home with me. If God could choose a sinner like Saul, he truly is all about forgiveness and giving second chances.
Here is my story.
Ten years ago my family and I found a small, relatively new, nonprofit charity in Columbus, Ohio, called Star House. Their mission was to care for homeless youth ages 14 to 24. I had no idea our city—or any city—had a homeless youth problem, much less with people that young.
I knew right away Star House needed help, and I had the time since I had recently retired from my job. Jesus was already talking to me, but I didn't realize yet what was taking place in my life. Nevertheless, his message was clear. This was to become my new calling in retirement.
These young homeless people were the forgotten ones on our streets. These kids were alone and completely without love of any kind in their lives.
Just imagine.
Star house needed a larger building which would allow the needed growth to expand its mission and reach many more of these at-risk young people. This is a story of how my eyes were opened, and when I heard God talking to me, guiding me every step of the way, even though I could not see him nor could I hear his spoken words.
I found a larger building which needed a complete renovation. The building was valued at $600,000 with the renovation costing another $1.4 million dollars. I had no money for this project, not one cent; nor did I have any experience raising money for charities.
By the time I signed the purchase agreement, I had $10,000 in the bank from a friend. I needed to find another $590,000 by the closing, in just three short months. I began praying, hard.
At the closing, in 90 days I had raised the money, and was able to write a check for the full amount. I was overcome with emotion. I began to realize there was a higher power at work in this project. This wasn't my project but God's.
Like Saul, God had chosen me—of all people—to be his instrument. I now had to raise another $1.4 million for the renovation of the building. It was a daunting task.
How would I ever find that much money? ...

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Barrington, IL 60010
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Next Episode

We Can Know Jesus - Season of Joy | 1 John 3:1-2 by Fr. Joe Laramie, SJ

from 1 John 3:1-2
Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Read the full scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/042124.cfm
I remember looking through family photo albums when I was a kid, seeing pictures of my dad when he was little, my grandfather when he was little. You know, there's something kind of startling about that, right? My gosh, my dad was a little kid just like me. You know, my grandpa, the photos were in black and white, so I knew that was a long time ago. But I could see the resemblance; their eyes, their haircuts, you know, they looked a little bit like me and my boy cousins. Then jumping ahead a couple of years, also this experience, being in high school... Went to a big all boys Jesuit high school, you know, being a freshman there first year, right? I'm skinny. I'm nervous. I see these big seniors. You know, some of them have on the letterman jackets in the hallways. They're talking to each other. You know I’m getting a sense, gosh, some of these guys are smart, friendly, you know, help out the freshmen, others ignore us, make fun of us.
You know, when we're young and when we're older, we keep asking that question, don't we? Who am I? Who do I want to be? And of course, we're always looking around for guidance, for models. You know, my dad, okay, he was young, like me. He's now big. He's an adult. My grandpa, he's a grown man. You know these teenagers who are a little older than me. As Christians, we see Jesus, we want to come to know him. And we trust that knowing him will help us to know ourselves. Knowing him, we're going to become who he wants us to be.
This week, in the first letter of Saint John, at Mass, we'll hear that we are God's children. He tells us, beloved, we are God's children now. What we shall be has not yet been revealed. You know just that, right? We are God's children, okay? God, our Father knows us, loves us. Well, who's another child of God? Well, Jesus is the Eternal Son. And in the Gospels, we see Jesus. He's a model for us, also that we can actually know him. You know, he's not like a pro athlete on TV where it's just kind of a one way relationship, right? We just sort of watch him. But, he's never going to get to know us. No, Jesus is different. We can know him in prayer. He knows us. He can speak to us through the Scriptures, in our faith, through the Sacraments.
But again, with the Lord, okay, we're not just doing this on our own. Christ is with us. Jesus is showing us. He is revealing himself to us. He is shaping our hearts. Mother Mary, also a child of God, she who is a beloved daughter of the father, mother of Jesus. You know she too models for us what's possible, right, when our heart is truly united with the Lord. We see Mary, this model of compassion, mercy, closeness to her son. One more time that line, “Beloved, we are God's children now. What we shall be has not yet been revealed. We know that when it is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
Dear friends, Jesus gives us a model. Jesus shows us what's possible. He shows us what our lives can look like when we're united with the Father. And Jesus is a friend walking with us, nourishing us in the Eucharist with His Body and blood. In this Easter season, we celebrate his glory. We ask him, Lord Jesus, make our hearts more like your Sacred Heart.

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420 W County Line Rd, Suite 200
Barrington, IL 60010
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