Sunday Readings Scripture Doodle- Year Two

Two years ago, I decided to challenge myself to spend more time with the Sunday Mass readings, praying and reflecting over God's Word.  Back at the beginning, I wrote: "Scripture doodling. That's what I'm calling it anyways.  It helps me focus, helps me memorize, and helps me treasure God's Word.  I often spend time doodling on Sundays using the Sunday Readings from Mass.  Today, as I sat down to pray, I realized that the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new Liturgical Year, is a great time for, well, a new year's resolution.  So I've decided to be a little more intentional about this idea.  I broke out an unused journal, labeled the top of each page with all the coming Sundays this year, and started today.  My goal is to spend time meditating on the Readings for each Sunday for the rest of the year and doodle a selected verse every week.  I'll be documenting the journey each Sunday on Instagram using the hashtag #SundayReadingsScriptureDoodle.  Come follow along, and jump in if you like!"

You can see the wrap up post from this time last year with some of my favorite Scripture Doodles from 2015-2016 here.  I have kept up with my "Liturgical New Year Resolution" by posting them on Instagram each week, which gives me both accountability and community.  

I have found that after over a hundred Sundays, this practice has become part of my routine- which is exactly what I was hoping.  I am more likely to read the Readings ahead of Mass, always read them again after, and I am looking and listening for key ideas, verses, and words that stand out to me.

I am internalizing and memorizing more Scripture, and also challenging my art/creativity to letter the verse a little differently each week.  Probably most importantly, this resolution forces me to use part of my Sunday in quiet and prayer and rest, which is easy for me to push aside on one of my busiest days of the week.

I thought I'd share a some of my favorite doodles from this past year with you.  You can see the whole collection (and some guests, too!) using the Instagram hashtag here.

I'd love to have you join my on this endeavor to draw nearer to God through Scripture.  Feel free to chose your own verse each week, write it down, letter and decorate it, type it, whatever works for you.  If you want to share it on social media, use #SundayReadingsScriptureDoodle so we can all be praying together.

I'm often asked about my favorite supplies, so here are a few recommendations: (Amazon Affiliate links-  That means that if you click through and purchase something, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you.)
-These notebooks
-These pens
-This pen
-These pens for color
-These pencils
-This eraser

Click here to read last year's post:

New {Liturgical} Year Resolutions

I don't always set New Year's Resolutions-do you?  I do however like to start something new with the Seasons of Advent and Lent- times that the Church invites us to reset, slow down, and go deeper in our faith.

Advent is my favorite Liturgical Season.  I think its the waiting, the hope, the fulfilled promises.  Last year on the first Sunday of Advent, I decided to formalize something I had been doing in prayer and study already.  I wrote:
"Scripture doodling. That's what I'm calling it anyways.  It helps me focus, helps me memorize, and helps me treasure God's Word.  I often spend time doodling on Sundays using the Sunday Readings from Mass.  Today, as I sat down to pray, I realized that the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new Liturgical Year, is a great time for, well, a new year's resolution.  So I've decided to be a little more intentional about this idea.  I broke out an unused journal, labeled the top of each page with all the coming Sundays this year, and started today.  My goal is to spend time meditating on the Readings for each Sunday for the rest of the year and doodle a selected verse every week.  I'll be documenting the journey each Sunday on Instagram using the hashtag #SundayReadingsScriptureDoodle.  Come follow along, and jump in if you like!"

And I did it!  Each Sunday, I handlettered a verse from one of the Sunday Mass Readings.  The hardest part was often the choosing- there is so much rich text that deciding which verse to use was tough!

It made me slow down and read the Readings both before and after Sunday.  It also helped me ensure that I took time in Scripture each Sunday, which is a busy day for a church employee.

I usually left the notebook open to that page all week, letting myself dwell on that Scripture and memorize a lot of them.  I'm a visual learner, so the images and lettering helped the words stick in my head.

 I also kept a running list of prayer intentions and praises on the back of that week's Scripture doodle.  It was a reminder to pray, and now it remains as a reminder of God's provision.

My notebook traveled all over with me (literally, across the country) and was frequently thrown in my purse or bag.  It survived well, and will stay on my prayer table as something I treasure.  If you're interested, I used a ruled 5 x 8.5 soft cover moleskine (affiliate link).  It had enough pages for each Sunday as long as I used both sides of the heavy coverpages in the front and the back.
(And after some readers asked, a few of my favorite pens include these, these, and these.) (affiliate links)

I saw this as an artistic activity to help me stretch and learn new lettering styles.  But it certainly isn't reserved for the "artistic."  There is something about writing that helps our brain process and remember text. If you want to join in, your own handwriting and favorite pens are enough to doodle and reflect on the verses you choose.

I'm so glad that I made this New Liturgical Year Resolution, and I am ready with a fresh notebook to begin again this Sunday.  I'd love to have you join me!  Sit down, doodle, pray, and reflect on the beauty of the Sunday Mass Readings.  Then snap a photo and tag me or #SundayReadingsScriptureDoodle so I can follow along with your journey!

I just posted a few of my favorites in the photos above.  Here's a montage of all 52 Scripture Doodles.  You can see them all up close on my Instagram account or by searching #SundayReadingsScriptureDoodles. Do you see a favorite?

Keeping the Sabbath #20

Today is the Feast Day of St. Catherine of Siena, but because it falls on a Sunday this year, it is not celebrated.  Saints can't trump the celebration of the Lord's Day.  However, as it is my Feast Day, I am still celebrating, so I will pepper this Keeping the Sabbath post with some St. Cate wisdom.

1. A Song

2. A Verse
"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.
Beloved, we are God's children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is."
1 John 3:1-2

3. A Quote
"Be who you are called to be, and you will set the world on fire." ~St. Catherine of Siena

4. An Image

Catherine was known for her letter writing- even though she was uneducated and considered illiterate.  She dictated fiery messages to the great leaders of the Church in her day, including the Pope.  She was strong, and vibrant, and demanded excellence.

5. A Blessing
I got to spend a lot of time this past week with my sisters, and we had a lot of fun.  Check out my post from yesterday, and see if you can guess some of our activities.

6. An Intention
Today is also World Day of Prayer for Vocations.  We celebrated by having an event today called "Sunday with the Sisters."  We can all pray that young people listen to the call that God has placed on their hearts to do His will and to serve His Kingdom.

7. A Challenge
I am going to pray this prayer for the next week for the kids in my CCD Program and Youth Ministry.  It is from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
O God, Father of all Mercies,
Provider of a bountiful Harvest, send Your Graces upon those
You have called to gather the fruits of Your labor;
preserve and strengthen them in their lifelong service of you.

Open the hearts of Your children
that they may discern Your Holy Will;
inspire in them a love and desire to surrender themselves
to serving others in the name of Your son, Jesus Christ.

Teach all Your faithful to follow their respective paths in life
guided by Your Divine Word and Truth.
Through the intercession of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary,
all the Angels, and Saints, humbly hear our prayers
and grant Your Church's needs, through Christ, our Lord. Amen

How to Get the Most out of Mass

Recently at the Young Adult Bible Study that I am a part of we, watched the 7^th episode of Fr. Robert Barron’s Catholicism Project.  It was all about the liturgy.  You can watch part of it here. (Click on the panel to the right to choose the episode.)

We have great discussions with this group, and the night we watched that video was no exception.  Because we were running a little late, so we started with one topic that we thought would be meaningful but quick.  It turned out to be awesome, and I am glad that I decided to start writing down the suggestions.  I’d like to share them with you.

The topic:  What are some practical tips that help you get the most out of Mass?

We talked first about we don’t go to Mass to “get,” we go to worship.  However, effort on our part to enter fully into the liturgy can be life changing.

Here’s the list, complete with catchy bylines.  I think that this would be a great list to share with Confirmation classes and Youth Groups, not just adults.  (And although this was a group of Catholics talking about the Mass, I imagine that many of these would apply to Protestants and their Sunday worship services, also.)

1. Be Prepared

Think about how much preparation you put into daily actions.  Getting ready for a job interview...Hosting a party in your home...Making decisions about a fantasy football league...Packing for a vacation...Now imagine the King of the Universe was coming to your local church for a visit later this week.  Would you prepare?  Yes! But, we don't have to imagine...the King of Heaven and Earth is at every Mass.  Put effort into your preparation accordingly.

2. Get This

Get some kind of publication that has the Mass readings, prayers, and reflections in it.  Magnificat, Living with Christ, and Word Among Us were a few that were mentioned.  Use it to read the Mass readings ahead of time, or to read them on weekdays when you can’t get to Daily Mass.  The reflections also come in handy during a boring homily.  Just kidding.  If you don’t want to spend the money to subscribe to one of those, you could always ask your pastor if the church has any extra missalettes.  It is not recommended to just steal one out of the pews, however.

3. There’s an App for That

Another way to not have to spend the money on something like the Magnificat is to use online resources.  The USCCB has all of the readings, etc. on its website.  There are also Apps for smart phones so you can always have the resources at your fingertips.

4. Follow Along

There is a beautiful rhythm to the Liturgy, not only in the Liturgical Year, but within each Mass. Follow along in the resources provided by the church or in some kind of publication like in #2.  Bring your Bible and read the readings straight from it so you can understand more of the context and see the continuation of the story from Mass to Mass.  Spend time becoming more familiar with the Mass; where the prayers come from, the symbolism behind everything, the Biblical origins of the words and actions.  You can't love something unless you know it.  Know the Mass=Love the Mass.

5. Get There Early 

One of the quickest ways to throw off your focus is to be late.  We speak from experience.  You will be more ready to enter into worship if you can calmly walk into church and have time to kneel and pray before the Mass begins.  You can gather your thoughts and place them all before God, your worries and frustrations, your thanksgivings and petitions.  You can review the readings.  You can decide on a personal intention for the Mass.  Things always go better if you are there a little early.  (Now, a note for those that this is really hard for- those with small kids, those who have far to travel, those who are involved at ministries that require your attention before Mass starts- If getting to Mass early just is not going to happen, be more intentional about your preparation earlier in the week or even the night before.)

6. Show Up

When all else fails, show up.  Simply being in the presence of the Lord (instead of at home with the covers over your head) is an act of worship on your part.  Be there.  Our relationship with Christ is never about us finding Him, but Him pursuing us.  So sit back, and let Him woo you.

7. First and Last

Mother Theresa advised priests to celebrate each Mass as if it was their first Mass and their last Mass.  The laity can look at it the same way- Receive the Eucharist each Mass with the enthusiasm of our first time and the devotion of our last time. 

8. Why were you ever out?

Coaches use lots of motivational sayings to inspire their sports teams.   One that makes a great analogy to Mass is that winning a game is an all time thing, not a one time thing.  Worship is an all time thing, not a one time thing.  If you shut off worship when you leave the church at 8:59 a.m. on Sunday, and don't turn it back on until 7:58 a.m. the following week, there is a problem.  Worship should be like breathing- you should never be "out."

9. Why are you bored? 

Bored is an overused term in our society.  Why are you bored?  If you have done steps #1-8, you will not be bored.  We don't remember Acts 2:42 saying "They devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and prayers AND the amazing technicolored light show and phenomenal music set."  Nor do we remember in Luke 24 Jesus revealing himself to the disciples on the road to Emmaus through opening the Scriptures, breaking the Bread, and performing an awesome liturgical dance.  Our expectations of "entertainment" need to change.  We are not there to receive, but to give.

10. Where are you going?

Don’t go sneaking out after Communion.  You have five more minutes.  

Remember, Judas left early too.

11. Everything Flows From Sunday

Sunday is not the end of the week.  It is the first day of the week, and it deserves to be seen as such.  Instead spending a chunk of Sunday dreading Monday, start looking at Sunday as the point from which every other day flows, your source of strength for the week.

12. It’s for Him

This should be the overarching theme. 

"Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness." ~Psalm 29:2

Here's a link to a pdf of the list of twelve:

 

Do you have any other suggestions to share about entering more fully into the Mass or your worship services?

Keeping the Sabbath #18

Sorry for the late post- no internet access makes things interesting :)
 
Happy Divine Mercy Sunday!

Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you."
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe."
Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

~John 20:26-29

Keeping the Sabbath #17

Alleluia!  Happy Easter!  I hope you had a great day celebrating our Lord's Resurrection!

I attended our church's Vigil Mass last night.  I love Easter Vigil.  If I have anything to say about it, I plan to go to one every year for the rest of my life.  The church starts dark, quiet, and empty.  It is slowly lit by candles.  The church becomes bright, the altar is dressed, flowers are brought in.  Bells and incense bring all of our senses into worship.  Then the singing begins.  Oh, the singing, and the chanting, and the responses.  It is so powerful.  I love singing the Alleluia again after 40 days of waiting.  I love hearing the story of salvation history through the reading from the Old and New Testament.  I love being inspired by the message of the homily (my pastor's was great, btw.) I love witnessing the desire of adults who come to be baptized, and renewing my baptismal promises right along with them.  I love watching the eager anticipation of the catechumens desiring full initiation into the Church through Confirmation.  I love it all.

Instead of the seven usual parts of my Keeping the Sabbath post, you get a song and the text below.  This is the beginning of the very long Easter Proclamation chanted just after we fill the church with candle light.  The line that struck me over and over last night was "This is the night." We start the Easter vigil with a dark, silent church reminiscent of the the first Easter vigil.  Closed tomb, body inside, silent waiting.  We end the Easter Vigil celebrating the "dawn" bringing with it an empty tomb and abundant hope.  "This is the night" reminds me of the four questions asked at a Jewish Seder meal- What makes this night different from all other nights?
This night is different.  This night showed us the power of our Savior.  This night was the fulfillment of all God's promises.  This night is the manifestation of our faith.

It is truly right
that with full hearts and minds and voices
we should praise the unseen God, the all-powerful Father,
and his only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

For Christ has ransomed us with his blood,
and paid for us the price of Adam's sin
to our eternal Father!

This is our passover feast,
when Christ, the true Lamb, is slain,
whose blood consecrates the homes of all believers.

This is the night when first you saved our fathers:
you freed the people of Israel from their slavery
and led them dry-shod through the sea.
This is the night when the pillar of fire
destroyed the darkness of sin!

This is the night when Christians everywhere,
washed clean of sin
and freed from all defilement,
are restored to grace and grow together in holiness.

This is the night when Jesus Christ
broke the chains of death
and rose triumphant from the grave.
What good would life have been to us,
had Christ not come as our Redeemer?

Father, how wonderful your care for us!
How boundless your merciful love!
To ransom a slave
you gave away your Son.

Happy Easter! 

Keeping the Sabbath #16

Happy Palm Sunday!

1. A Song:

2. A Verse:
Many people spread their cloaks on the road,
and others spread leafy branches
that they had cut from the fields.
Those preceding him as well as those following kept crying out:
"Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come!
Hosanna in the highest!"
~Mark 11:8-10

3. A Quote:

On one side stands the crowd.

Jeering. Baiting. Demanding.

On the other stands a peasant.

Swollen lips. Lumpy eye. Lofty promise.

One promises acceptance, the other a cross.

One offers flesh and flash, the other offers faith.

The crowd challenges, “Follow us and fit in.”

Jesus promises, “Follow me and stand out.”

They promise to please. God promises to save.

God looks at you and asks…

Which will be your choice?

~Max Lucado

4. An Image:

Better than an image, today you get a video.  In honor of one of the longest liturgies in the church year-

5. A Blessing:

I spent this Saturday sewing.  I love sewing.  My back does not.  However, with the help of eight 4-H members and volunteers, we were able to make seventeen dresses to send to Africa and sixteen dolls to send to Haiti.  It was fun, and it was good to help put all of our "needs" in perspective.

6. An Intention:

For a meaningful Holy Week for all, especially those joining the Catholic Church at Easter Vigil.

7. A Challenge: To "get the most" out of Holy Week- I want to experience the beauty that the Church offers this week as we remember the walk Christ took during the week of his Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

Keeping the Sabbath #15

So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
"Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me;
but because of the crowd here I have said this,
that they may believe that you sent me."
And when he had said this,
He cried out in a loud voice,
"Lazarus, come out!"
The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands,
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them,
"Untie him and let him go."

 ~John 11:41-44

Sing it, Matt!

Keeping the Sabbath #14

Happy Sunday!

Just a song for you today, but there is more of a story to go with it later.  Enjoy!

How I want to spend my leap day

What would you do with your time if the world paused today?

Every four years, we are blessed with an extra day on our calendar.  February 29th is kind of an oddity.  I remember thinking as a kid that if you were born on Leap Day, you would age four times slower (kind of like Robin Williams as Jack, only in reverse).  I of course know now that this is not true, but still think that there is something special about a Leap Day.  Since it is extra, I think that it should be a freebie- as in a day where normal life stops-kind of like pushing the pause button. 

Now, I am not talking "holiday" because holidays tend to be more work than a day off- think about Thanksgiving.  I think that I am trying to capture something more like the Sabbath, the way God intended it.  Everything else stops, you focus on Who God is, and who you are as His creation.  No other responsibilities take precedence. You enter in to true rest. 

So if I could plan my Leap Day as a day when the world pauses, this is what I would do:
(note that I am not trying to imitate that this is the perfect Sabbath, just what I would do today if it were a freebie)

1. I would sleep in- not a long time, just long enough that I don't feel like I need toothpicks in my eyes to proceed with the day.
2. I would make a nice breakfast.  Breakfast is actually my favorite meal of the day, but I rarely have time to cook something good.
3. I would spend a good chunk of time in quiet prayer, in a dimly lit church, without a list of to-dos crowding into my head.
4. I would not answer email or my cell phone. (I guess I couldn't, if the world had paused, huh?)
5. I would go for a nice long walk.
6. I would read something good- something entertaining and challenging.  And while I was reading, I would not have one eye on the clock thinking that I need to stop so that I can get somewhere.
7. I would sit down to watch a movie.  And while I was watching the movie, I would not have my laptop in front of me, I would not fold laundry, I would not work on anything.  I would not do anything but watch.  I think that this movie would be perfect:

So what would you do with your Leap Day?