Author: Coop's Corner

Trepidatiously, I had added the 5 miles to the calendar.  Though I had run 4 miles the week before, I wasn’t certain I could nail the mileage with the same splits. On the morning of, doubt crept in. Within the first mile, I considered backing the distance down.  I had committed. It was gonna be 5. 

The sun glared across a street sign making it impossible to read. After running another mile and looking at the time, I thought I had made a mistake and had cut the run short. So, I decided I would run to the next intersection  to add the distance back to get where I was “supposed” to be. As the distance increased, I sensed my eyes looking up. I realized I hadn’t made a mistake after all. I knew without a doubt the 5 mile run became a 7 mile loop—7.06 to be exact—and each mile split was 6 seconds faster than expected.

Building is a quintessential activity for both endurance and belief. Therefore, it’s necessary to know the ways we stop gap the process, where we simply put one foot in front of the other.  How do you limit possibilities? How do you tap out because of a fear of failure before facing the breaking point? Instead, how will you build your base of belief?

Verso l’alto, 

Kathryn Grace 

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
― Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love

“If you want me to go another round I will; but, if I’m being honest I don’t want to.” As I silently prayed, the stubborn resistance softened as tired tears rolled silently down my cheeks. I saw the bloodwork. I knew before she called. It would be another protocol, another experiment that hopefully is not mere trial and error. Obviously, there is enough reason to hope. But when you’ve ridden the roller coaster of almost and maybes, it’s natural for there to be a hesitation. The cloud of disappointment can shadows one’s willingness to try again.  

What areas of your life are darkened by previous disappointments? Where are you challenged to see the reality that the Lord works all things out for the good of those who love Him? How can we bravely begin again? On the feast of JPII, may we imitate the Holy Father who persevered in trial emphatically reminding us “we are not the sum of our weaknesses but rather of the Father’s love for us”. 

Verso l’alto, 

I wanna see you be brave

Even in suffering, I have to believe it

When he anxiously asked, I had  been seeking the solution for over a year.  Well before he even knew his need, the plan was put into motion.  He doesn’t see the moving pieces – the way things are slowly coming together nor has he seen the many options that have been rejected and thrown out. He didn’t need to. 

Sitting on the other side of the desk, it was easy to see there is a loving God who works “behind the scenes” so that all things work together for our good. When we want answers to the questions we each hold, can we trust the Lord moves mountains for the plans He has for our lives – plans for a future and a hope? As I sit and wait for my own questions to be answered, I too will live my way into the answers, directed by the One who makes crooked paths straight. 

Verso l’alto, 

You want to give up cause it’s dark. We’re not that far apart.  
So break my step and relent, you forgave and I won’t forget

“We have the Triumph of the Cross next weekend. It’s always a hard day to preach – to remind people that suffering and the cross are real,” he said. 

“It’s hard to live,” I replied. 

Looking through His glory wounds, it’s easy to see the passion of Christ illuminated. The soft glow transforms the brutality into the reality it is – a victory march. Yet, the crown of glory is the crown of thorns – which pierces, and at times obscures, the joy of the Resurrection. 

In the midst of suffering, what anchors us in the victory of the cross? It is HOPE, which  is not just a foreshadow of better days; rather, it is a life giving surrender that trusts even when we can’t change the circumstances, we can still help others personally excel where they are, as they are. Like the first responders who rushed into the World Trade Center, hope shows us how to resist evil by being and becoming a Force for Good. The Lord is the light in the darkness who allows us to endure tragedy by waiting with faithfulness to see transformation of the crown as it is – a beloved gift that pierces our hearts and allows us to whisper “I still believe.”  

Verso l’alto, 

Kathryn Grace 

These wounds are a story you’ll use

The cross meant to kill is my victory

As long as you’re right here next to me, everything’s gonna be alright

“When you’re a quarterback, people look at you differently,” he commented. Articulating the pressure of the platform, he neither complained nor bemoaned his lot. Simply, he accurately expressed the privilege and responsibility of his role. Lauded for his skillset and recruited with high hopes, he finds himself in the shadows of teammates’ talent and fans’ expectations, a place he hardly has known. The transition involves a walk along a humble road where progress is often made in the hours before the sun rises. Standing at this new starting line, it’s evident just how far he has to go. Momentarily, he thinks about the day he will start.

At this decision point, the distance can become overwhelming and the destination of once again being in the limelight idolized. Yet, “the treasures of darkness” ought not be overlooked. As there is a gift in the time of secret formation and transformation. Mary, St. Joseph, and Christ shared the intimacy of the everyday which laid the foundation for the Lord to perform His public works, which were 33 years in the making. It was out of His relationship with the Father, which He received when He went away to pray, that the Lord was able to lay down His life fully. The altar of Calvary was built in the shadows of St. Joseph’s workshop. Do we trust the Lord will bring the good work He has begun in us to fulfillment? Do we trust He is present, even in the shadows? Do we trust the process, remembering the true goal line?

Verso l’alto, 

Kathryn 

And He will raise you up on eagle’s wings

God’s not done with you

Always stay humble and kind

“Fortitude presupposes vulnerability; without vulnerability there is no possibility of fortitude. An angel can not be brave because he is not vulnerable. To be brave actually means to suffer injury. Because man is by nature vulnerable, he can be brave.” (Four Cardinal Virtues, 117). 

 

The Lord’s resurrected hands are empty; there are holes in his hands. His brave heart is manifested by these access points of mercy. Yet, it is possible to see these openings and be wholly disappointed as the scars aren’t healed and the holes aren’t closed. It’s easy to foolishly believe the transformation is incomplete.

He is able to be brave because he is vulnerable; he suffered because He cared. His wounds illuminate His glory and allow His life giving water to flow. From the Father’s heart, his holy hands pour forth amazing grace as the physical reminder of the spiritual reality. He wholly offered himself up so that we might believe our wounds too will transcend reality and be invitations, and reminders, of His transformative love. May we imitate the Lord as we surrender the holes in our lives to be transformed and filled by God’s glory and grace. May our scars remind us we are brave.

Verso l’alto,

Kathryn Grace

 

I got the eye of the tiger, the fighter, dancing through the fire

These wounds are a story you’ll use 

hope reminds me that i’ll hold your hand

It’s easy to look at the end result and blitz passed the process that yielded the outcome. In sports, it’s the highlight reel and in relationships, it’s the Instagram moment. In careers, it’s the promotion and in academics, it’s the degree. We climb the ladder of success seeking mountain top moments without realizing the joy of the journey is not merely found at the destination. 

Similarly, for those who dare to journey, it’s easy to miss what’s happening along the way. Hypertrophy is “the increase in volume of an organ or tissue due to the enlargement of its component cells.” Coaches author programs with many reps and sets to increase each athlete’s time under tension in order to bring about hypertrophy, a process not an event. 

How does the heart grow? The Lord provides opportunities, sometimes repetitious situations, that allow us to grow in virtue so that we may be more faithful, trusting, and loving. It’s easy to feel fatigue and muscle failure and burn out because we haven’t “arrived” at the goal. Similar to repping out push-ups, pull-ups, or mile repeats, practice allows us to grow. Trusting teaches us to trust; heart hypertrophy is the process and result of that increase in trust. Though the circumstances may not be what we would choose, let us allow the experience of darkness and silence to increase our trust in He who is trustworthy. 

Verso l’alto, 

Kathryn Grace 

I’m thankful for the scars because without them I wouldn’t know your heart

If you say to trust, I will obey

Like a drum my heart never stops beating for you

A group of elementary school students got off a school bus at the rest stop. They instinctually gathered in formation and started a choreographed routine welcoming their classmates in the next bus that pulled up. Their joy spilled forth in rhythm as they stepped in time.

A student from our group prompted one of his classmates to join the children. The children embraced our student as he joined their circle; our students snapped the photos for Instagram. The freeze frame suggested a meaningful encounter that our student  initiated and embraced. Seeing the setup, though, contradicted the reality. Perhaps, contradicted is too strong a word. At the very least, it expanded the reality beyond the portrayal and sentimentality.

Sometimes, we read situations through a lens of what we assume to be reality without ever questioning the set-up. Other times, we orchestrate and edit to crop situations to what we desire to portray or what we think is desired of us.  Watching the scene unfold, compared to the still frame, it was the elementary students joy that was magnetic – not the forced participation of one of our students. This is not a call to be cynical of what we view; however, it is an invitation to question if we see through the lens of reality or our assumptions. 

Verso l’alto,

Kathryn Grace

 

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,

Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:

Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,

High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

 

It’s gonna be a bright, bright, sunshiny day

Many of us are blessed with a mother, or mother figure, who has encouraged us to pursue our dreams – especially in the midst of obstacles. Despite our initial enthusiasm, situations that seemingly stonewall momentum might cause us, in our blindness, to question if the dream’s worth the frustration and disappointment. Our original crystal clear vision of both our destination and our motive are obscured by the obstacles in the way. Perhaps, though, what we assume to be in the way is merely on the way.

As Mary walked alongside her Son, she did not remove Pontius Pilate’s judgment, which crowned Him with thorns and nailed Him to a tree. She watched and waited and stood. By her presence, she reminded her Son that His hopes and dreams were worth it. Though appearing to be the stone to the tomb of His death, she trusted it would be rolled away as the stone of His resurrection. As she demonstrated at His cross, and as she instructed the waiters at the wedding feast, when we “do whatever He tells (us),” He will save the best for last.

Kathryn Grace

Mama said, “Don’t give up!”

There’d be days like this

They said it would come. It did.

They said it would leave. I’m waiting.

As the radar predicts at least two more weeks, the permacloud lingers over South Bend. There are stretches when it is conceivable to forget the sun exists as the grey backdrop cloaks the town in this seeming soul sucking reality. However, just because I do not see the sun it does not mean that the sun fails to exist.

Even when He seems silent and far, He is near. What do you believe when all feels lost? What do you see when all appears grey? How do you respond to the clouds and the rain?  Even in the darkness, we can shine a light.

Verso l’alto,

You got to let your soul shine, shine till the break of day

Life is short; make it sweet.

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine