Trust: Letting God take control of our lives

		Living the Scriptures  with St. Paul University  Catholic Center  Nicole Helmke

The story of Noah is one that I've heard since I was young. I used to listen to the same children's cassettes before falling asleep every night.

I remember one song that started, "Old Noah built himself an ark, he built it out of hickory bark...". As often happens with things that are overly familiar, when this story is read in Mass, I confess that I don't seriously think about it.

This past summer I had an encounter that made me think like Noah. While on vacation with my family, I was snorkeling in the ocean. Suddenly, I looked out of the water and noticed how far I was from shore.

First Sunday of Lent (March 5, 2006) Gn 9:8-15 Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 1 Pt 3:18-22 Mk 1:12-15

I was swimming back in when I came to a large area surrounded by rope. It has started raining and I was pretty tired, so I panicked. It would have been considerably further to swim around the rope, so I just ducked right under it.

The water became gradually shallower and the reef was getting closer to me but I thought, I'll just float right on the surface, no problem. Suddenly, there was no water between the reef and me, and I was sitting right on top of an island of coral sticking out of the water.

I never realized that coral is sharp and stings much like a jellyfish. It quickly became clear that I was in trouble.

There were some men on shore waving wildly at me to get off, which of course I couldn't do. I was crying and entirely helpless.

Then my savior arrived - a guy named Sharkie, who had been trying to sell my family conch shells for the whole week. Somehow he got me off of the perilous coral, calmed me down, and told me how to care for my many burns and cuts. (Needless to say, we purchased a conch shell soon after.)

This isn't the only time I've found myself in a scary situation. We all make mistakes and cross ropes meant to protect us, and we get into trouble.

I can imagine how Noah felt as the rain began to fall, his old life disappearing in the waters around him, no longer in control. He just had to trust. While I was chilling out on top of the reef, I lost control.

	Reflection questions • In what areas of life are you afraid to give up control? • How is God trying to call you out of your old ways of life?

And just as I trusted Sharkie, I have to trust God when I get into messes in daily life. His mercy will rescue us and bring us out calmed and healed if we let him.

It's downright scary to lose the rein on our life, but if we let God take over, he'll steer us away from the "coral" in our lives.

Nicole Helmke is a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying bacteriology and French. At St. Paul University Catholic Center she sings in the choir and leads a small group Bible study.

St. Paul's Web site is www.stpaulscc.org

Faith Alive!

In a Nutshell "Lectio divina" is "the diligent reading of sacred Scripture accompanied by prayer [that] brings about that intimate dialogue in which the person reading hears God who is speaking and, in praying, responds to him with trusting openness," Pope Benedict XVI said in a September 2005 speech. The pope said that if "lectio divina" is promoted effectively, it "will bring to the church ... a new spiritual springtime." "The Word of God is a lamp for our feet and a light for our path," Pope Benedict said. Catholic News Service 3211 Fourth St NE Washington DC 20017 202.541.3250 cns@catholicnews.com	Food for Thought   "Lectio divina" is a way of praying with Scripture that can be adopted by individuals and by groups. Lawrence Cunningham, a theology professor at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, said in a June 2005 speech at Notre Dame that "lectio divina" can nourish the individual's life of prayer, but can also be "a vehicle for deepening the faith of those small Christian communities which are so abundant and so critically important" in today's church. Cunningham addressed a conference marking the 40th anniversary of Vatican Council II's Constitution on Divine Revelation. "Lectio divina," said Cunningham, is not the same as "spiritual reading," as this often has been understood. He described "lectio divina" as "the disciplined practice of meditating/ruminating the Scriptures in order to be present to the Lord who speaks through his inspired text." In "lectio divina," people quite often "simply pray, without using any formal strategies," -- they read and meditate "on the Scriptures while waiting for the simple presence of God to enter one's life in simple awareness," said Cunningham. He called this solitary practice "a good thing to be sure," but said "there are also imaginative ways of linking the practice to community practices." full story   Allowing God's word to enter the chaos of your life By Sister Genevieve Glen, OSB Catholic News Service In the beginning, the picture wasn't pretty, says Genesis, which describes a formless wasteland, a dark abyss, a mighty wind churning the waters. The Hebrew word for "formless wasteland" suggests a place of futility, purposelessness, barrenness. You wouldn't want to go there. But most of us do go there at one time or another, sometimes for long stretches, sometimes for short visits. During Lent, take a look at the corners of your life where chaos is making shambles of the order of your familiar world. full story  Is "lectio divina" an option for you? By Scott J. Rutan Catholic News Service Last fall Pope Benedict XVI invited people to consider adopting the ancient practice of "lectio divina" ("divine reading"), which involves the use of Scripture in prayer. The "steps" of "lectio divina" are simple enough. First, read a biblical text slowly, prayerfully and openly (and often aloud), letting it "float over you like a soft gentle rain" as the saying goes. Second, pause over a word or short phrase as the Spirit moves you. Third, spend time with that word or phrase and let it soak into both mind and heart. Next, empty yourself and simply accept the gift of God's own presence. full story  Getting beyond your prayer "list" when praying By Jean Sweeney Catholic News Service Sometimes people I meet as a pastoral counselor tell me that prayer is a burden. There are people in their lives with serious needs -- people they care about and want to reach out to through prayer. One person said to me, "I feel so guilty that I can hardly get through my prayer list each day." What often happens is that one's "list" of people to pray for consumes all one's prayer time. There is no time to listen to God. full story
	Faith in the Marketplace   This Week's Discussion Point: Tell how you use the Bible in your prayer and/or spirituality.     Selected Response From Readers:
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