Master Potter

Good afternoon Zeteo community,

I hope all of you are having a beautiful December. This Sunday, we were in mass and I realized it was already the third Sunday of Advent. I am not sure about the rest of you, but as a kid, I remember how long Advent seemed - by the time it was the third Sunday of Advent, I felt like Advent had already lasted a year.

Because the last Zeteo event was a dance, and we did not have a teaching, I have decided let the Lord inspire the posts through the Bible readings and reflections I will be reading over the next month, and see where that takes us.

So it happens that I am posting a blog post on a Monday for the first time ever. The Lord likes to work outside of our conventions.

God bless,
Olivia

Week One: Master Potter

"More [deceitful] than all else is the human heart, beyond remedy; who can understand it? I, the Lord, alone probe the mind and test the heart, to reward everyone according to his ways." Jeremiah 17: 9-10

Today, and this is an ongoing struggle for me, I was feeling like I am missing out an important aspect of my life, of what would give me purpose. Everything I do feels very small, very monotonous. Automatically, this got me thinking that I need to discover a way to make my life more adventurous, more exciting - after all, poopy diapers and cleaning the bathroom are the farthest things from exciting.

As I was cleaning up from lunch, the Lord spoke softly to me. "Is having a relationship with me so small, Olivia?"

Many of the saints did great things: fought wars, physically battled the devil, were teachers and evangelists. But many simply lived their lives for Christ, every moment a chance to sacrifice, every action an opportunity to pray. One of the greatest examples of this little way is the life of saint Therese of Lisieux.

My heart is deceitful, like every human heart, and has desires that are contrary to the desires of Christ. When I rely on my own heart, I become confused by false hopes, desires, and promises for peace that are not what Christ has planned for me. Even though it is my heart, I am actually incapable of understanding it or of seeing it clearly, for God alone can understand my heart, as it says in Jeremiah.

Just as it was the Lord's desire for Saint Therese to live a simple life - a life that lead to sainthood because it followed the will of the Lord, so too, must I accept that God may be calling me to sainthood in this simple, monotonous, sacrificial life.

It is deceitful for my heart to desire anything different than what the Lord wants of me, as I know that only by following His way, will I be lead to joy. As a reflection on Jeremiah 18 I was reading earlier today summed up: God is the potter, and we are the clay. Foolish as it would be for the clay to question the potter over his design, so it is foolish for us to dispute with God over how He is fashioning us.

If I am the clay, and my life is God's way of forming me into His perfect design for me, who am I to question if I am taking the shape of a simple bowl instead of something bigger and more important? Who am I to question the Master Potter, to not trust that He is making the most beautiful bowl imaginable?

The highest purpose of my life, and the purpose of every human life, is to find and develop a relationship with Christ. God is calling me to find that relationship with Him here, amidst the diapers and the cups of coffee and the baby climbing up my leg. Is that purpose really so small? Is heaven so small?

Be Still

Zeteo Community!

Hello again! Apparently I decided to take a few-weeks hiatus from writing the blog, but here I am. Hopefully I was not too terribly missed, (;. (Is it cheesy to use computer faces on here? Probably. I am a mom now, I am allowed to get a little cheesy.)

Please enjoy the post for today. If you have any questions, comments, stories to add, I would love to hear from you.

God bless you all!
Olivia Fischer


Week 1: Be Still

I am surprised, over and over again, how well the experiences in my life tend to correspond with the theme of the previous Zeteo, and so, the blog posts I am meant to write.

On Monday, I had a really productive day. I had a huge todo list, and I ended up accomplishing every last thing on it. However, I sat down at the end of the day, and I had the feeling that I was missing something. With all I had accomplished, I still felt there was something I had forgotten.

Then someone posted this:

God speaking to me through social media, yet again. Every time I encounter these words, I think of God saying in Psalm 46:10 : "Be still and know that I am God." At the last Zeteo event, our first speaker was a consecrated single person from Madonna House named Janet. She handed us all a copy of the mandate of Madonna House. It is really very simple, and really very beautiful.

At one point, she asked us all to close our eyes, and to listen to the words as she read them aloud. If any of the words stood out to us, she asked that we underline them.

Arise — go! Sell all you possess. Give it directly, personally to the poor. Take up My cross (their cross) and follow Me, going to the poor, being poor, being one with them, one with Me.

Little — be always little! Be simple, poor, childlike.

Preach the Gospel with your life — without compromise! Listen to the Spirit. He will lead you.

Do little things exceedingly well for love of Me.

Love... love... love, never counting the cost.

Go into the marketplace and stay with Me. Pray, fast. Pray always, fast.

Be hidden. Be a light to your neighbour’s feet. Go without fear into the depth of men’s hearts. I shall be with you.

Pray always. I will be your rest.

I think different parts of the mandate would stand out for different people in different walks of faith, however, for me the part that stood out most was do little things exceedingly well for love of Me.

As I sat on Monday evening, the words be still ringing through my mind, I had a realization. In this day in age, we are bombarded by noise and activity, by the value of always being busy. We are praised for multitasking, and completing todo lists, and moving always forward. At least I feel I am.

My realization was how I never give myself the chance to just be still. Not as an excuse to put my feet up, drink a coffee, and neglect my child and my household duties (not that I do not do this) - but to allow my heart to be still as I accomplish the things God has given me to do. 

Instead of feeling frenzied as I try to do everything all at once, failing of course as this is impossible, I have realized how beautiful it is to really focus, and to do my tasks exceedingly well. This way, I find myself much more capable of offering it up as a sacrifice out of love for Christ, and in the end, even if I find I have accomplished much less, I feel at peace.

I know not all of you are stay-at-home moms, so your busyness will look a lot different than mine. However, I think that we all need to add a little more stillness to our lives - even with a packed schedule. If we are more deliberate about being still, I believe God will bless us, multiplying our time so that we are never lacking.

The Catholic Church puts a lot of emphasis on being small, and doing everything with love. What does that really look like for us as Catholics? Today, for me, it looked like scrubbing a stubborn pan with patience, offering it up for my intentions. In a moment which would have had me irritated and frenzied a week ago, I found stillness and peace and, yes, God.

Be still and know that He is God.