Liz Buncher's blog

An Easter Engagement

Liz Buncher — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 13:27:32 -0500

Ahh…Easter. My favorite holiday. The joy of singing Alleluia, the stale peeps, the promise of new life that Easter brings. Something wonderful happened to me this Easter. Brian Miller asked me to marry him. I said yes. We had spent much time in prayer during the triduum, going to every Holy Week service together, starting the Divine Mercy Novena together; prayer has been a central part of our relationship from the beginning. As teens in youth group together and then 9 years later as a dating couple (God surprised me with this one…I never saw it coming!), we’ve prayed together a lot.

So right before the Vigil at the New Cathedral, for which we showed up an hour and a half early, we went into the Blessed Mother Chapel to pray. When we got up, he got down on one knee and said “I want to help you get to heaven, and I know I need your help to get there …Will you marry me?” It was beautiful! Completely surprised, I said yes then did the girl freak out thing, we had to step outside so I wouldn’t make too much noise.

All I wanted to do was celebrate, and what better way to do that then by participating in the most beautiful liturgy of the year, the Easter Vigil. The Easter vigil has 9 readings, the baptism of new members of the faith, is three plus hours long and is my favorite mass of the whole year. This time I sat there with my new fiancé and saw the Vigil in a whole new way.

The nine readings are all about trust. Trusting in the goodness of God’s creation, His wisdom, how He provides, protects, cares for his people, and most importantly how he loves us. Loves us so much in fact, that His Son died and rose so that we could join him in the resurrection. I heard this message of trust in a new light. I trusted God, though it was hard at times, to show me my Vocation. I now entrust God with my Vocation, knowing that he has great plans in store for Brian and I.

At this mass the catechumens are baptized, confirmed, and receive their first communion. The whole church is asked to renew their baptismal promises. I stood there with my new fiancé and together we recommitted ourselves to the faith, renewing our baptismal promises.

On Easter, God makes all things new. This Easter I said yes to a new life. The ultimate journey with Brian that will hopefully bring me to the promise of the resurrection.

As Catholics we are constantly called to recommit ourselves to Christ. No matter what walk of life you are in right now, remember that God is constantly calling us to make things new. This Easter season I hope that you are renewed that you know His love for you, and that you trust that he has wonderful plans for you.

A Bloody Mess

Liz Buncher — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:43:22 -0500

Last year on Good Friday I decided I would in small way try and unite my self with Christ. He gave his blood for me; I donated blood for someone else. I’ve given blood before, I know the routine, but this time something strange happened. The tube broke that my blood was going through. My blood was gushing out all over the place. It was a bloody mess. When the needle was pulled out of my arm, I applied pressure, and very quickly noticed that my arm was still gushing blood, creating a bigger bloody mess.

We have all seen those biohazard trash cans in our doctor’s office. Medical people have to be very careful when dealing with blood, my bloody mess was a biohazard. I’m not sure that they will be able to use the blood that I donated. Even though the blood bag was full, the exterior was contaminated. What a waste!

So the real Good Friday, Christ shed his blood. He didn’t know if people would use the blood he shed or not, but he gave it any way. He actually was giving it for the people that crucified him, and he forgave them. Did he think for a moment that what he was doing was a waste? Absolutely not. He would do it all over again if he had to.

Have you taken the time to think about what your life would be like with out the sacrifice that he made for you? It would be a bloody mess. Christ’s blood flowed to forgive all our sins and bring us to salvation.

The challenge: Know His love for you this week, and don’t keep it to yourself! There are many people out there who are hungry for it! Share the Easter message with them. We don't want anyone to waste His blood.

Chasing Boys

Liz Buncher — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:44:36 -0500

In response to “Chasing Girls” I would like to offer a woman’s perspective.

The concept of letting guys chase us is hard in today’s world. The world makes us believe that we have to do some of the pursuing, if we don’t, we are weak and not equal to a man. This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

I want to express to you that God’s plan for men and women is amazing, and unfortunately, is something that our culture is trying to throw out the window.

Think about the natural God-given instincts He gave to men and women. Men like adventure, like hunting, and like danger. Think about how great they feel about themselves when we as women allow them to be that way. Do you think it’s easy for a guy to ask you out? Heck no! You’re amazing. You could reject him and humiliate him. That is scary, but a real man has courage and is willing to take that risk.

To the core, every girl wants to be pursued— to know that she is worth chasing after. I am telling you ladies: you are worth it. God created us to be this way. If you chase after guys, call them, ask them out, there is no adventure or work involved. With no excitement that comes from the chase, the guy will get bored very quickly and move on.

Guys - despite what our culture tells you, women still want to be pursued. Yes it can be hard, and yes it can be awkward to go after the girl of your dreams. Some girls don’t respond to this well, but don’t you want a women you can pursue that is receptive to you and your efforts?

And ladies, if a guy is not chasing after you, pursuing you, don’t waste your time. You’re worth more! I have seen many friends get hung up on guys that are sending mixed messages. If they are sending these mixed messages, they probably are not interested. It’s very freeing to know that. Move on. If a man is truly into you he will do what it takes to get you and keep you. Be patient and know that there is a man out there who will come after you. Don’t lower you standards, and don’t chase.

My roommates and I were talking about how us girls freak out and get so excited when a man is pursuing and romancing us. Well, do you pay attention to how God pursues you his beautiful daughter? How God would do anything for you; how He died for you? What if we went crazy about God like we do about boys? That would be awesome.

It can be very hard to wait, but know that there is an amazing brilliant wonderful God that is always pursuing you. Allow Him to, and grow in your relationship with Him.

Men – Thank you for being holy men, for being strong courageous and fighting for the dignity of women. We appreciate it!

I Sat With Him

Liz Buncher — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:57:30 -0500

Mr. Allen died a few days ago. He was my Aunt’s father, a nice 93 year old man who had quite the story to tell. At the funeral home my Aunt said “Liz, you know you were his girl. He just loved you.” All I ever did was sit with him.

He would come to family functions and would be sitting alone, I would sit by him. He would ask me questions about my car or my job, he would listen. I would ask him how he was doing, I would listen. Sometimes we sat in silence. He loved me, every time I saw him his eyes lit up. I did nothing but sit with him, I loved him too.

Do you know a person who could use someone to sit with? Perhaps you have a great aunt who is alone, a grandparent you don’t visit enough, or maybe a stranger that you haven’t even met yet that just wants someone to sit with. You could be Christ to that person if you just take time to sit with them.

Do you take time to sit with Him? Before the Blessed Sacrament, sitting with God, letting him listen to you and you listening to him. Think of what joy it would bring God if you sat with him, and what joy you would receive. Advent is the perfect time, a time of waiting, to sit with God be still and think about what the season of advent means to you.

So, sit with someone today. Sometimes some thing so small and simple can make a huge difference.

You Won't be Disappointed

Liz Buncher — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 10:44:05 -0500

“Oh my God, my only hope, I have placed all my trust in You, and I know I shall not be disappointed”
-Diary of St. Faustina

It’s hard to trust God sometimes. We think that we have it all figured out, then something changes, a roadblock comes, our plan doesn’t work out. No matter what’s going on in your life right now, know that God has a plan bigger than yours. Even though it's hard, Trust in Him, and know that in the end you won’t be disappointed.

Moms in Ministry

Liz Buncher — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 16:59:49 -0500

I hear it more and more.”I want my teenager to have a youth group, our parish doesn’t have one, but we want to get one, can you help!?! I’m not that good with teens, they don’t respond when I speak, I’m out of touch, we need someone young here.” All common concerns of the middle aged woman who is trying her best to bring Christ to the youth of her church.

I have been involved in a few parishes where the youth ministry program is mother-run, and let me tell you these programs are dynamite. Why? These parents (yes, dads too) care so much and invest great time and energy into the ministry. Parents have the life experience that us youngsters don’t, giving them an advantage in dealing with the cards often dealt in youth ministry.

At a youth night once teens were asked a question – Who has been Christ to you? – one girl in my small group said “this group of moms at my parish, I know that they are there for me whenever I need them, even if it’s in the middle of the night” She could see the genuine love that these women had for her, and of all the people in her life she recognized them as people that has brought her closer to Christ.

What teens crave is a place where they can feel welcomed and safe, a place where they are affirmed and appreciated. They seek truth, and if that is what your ministry is offering, you’re in good shape. There is a huge myth that in order to be an effective youth minister, you have to be a twenty something hip and with it type person. Not true, teens can sense sincerity, so be yourself and they will appreciate the real you.

If you are one of these amazing people, a mom in ministry, don’t sell your self short. Know that God doesn’t always choose those that are ready for what he calls them to, but as you go on to learn more and gain more experience, God will show you that yes, you can do this, Teens do appreciate you. Yes you can be an effective youth minister.

Thank you for stepping out of your comfort zone, God has big plans. Don’t be afraid of what he may be calling you to. Trust in Him.

Men Are Pigs

Liz Buncher — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 14:49:08 -0500

I have been hearing it a lot lately from my girlfriends, from a lot of men in my life:

“Liz, men are pigs.”

At a chastity talk I gave a question was posed by a young girl, “why do boys have a pink marshmallow bunny for brains?” I tried to disprove this statement, but I’m pretty sure there was no convincing this young girl that boys do in fact have human brains as brains. Why do men get such a bad rap?

When people say this to me, I am upset, because I’d like to hope for better. And I know better. There are some awesome men in my life. My Dad, my Brother, my Uncles, my Grandpa….and yes there are even men, many men, outside of my family - good friends of mine that are amazing strong holy men.

The truth is that all men and women are human. We all screw up, and we are all sinners. As men and women we must work together to achieve holiness. We need to be able to hold each other accountable, and build one another up.

A Saint that I have developed a huge devotion to in the past few months is St. Joseph. My new roommates and I have even devoted our house to him. What a man. If any of you saw “The Nativity Story” over Christmas you know exactly what I am talking about. He was pretty flippin’ amazing! I have been praying the litany of St. Joseph a lot lately. Take a look at the litany:

St. Joseph, pray for us
Renowned offspring of David,
Light of Patriarchs,
Spouse of the Mother of God,
Chaste guardian of the Virgin,
Foster father of the Son of God,
Diligent protector of Christ,
Head of the Holy Family,
Joseph most just,
Joseph most chaste,
Joseph most prudent,
Joseph most strong,
Joseph most obedient,
Joseph most faithful,
Mirror of patience,
Lover of poverty,
Model of artisans,
Glory of home life,
Guardian of virgins,
Pillar of families,
Solace of the wretched,
Hope of the sick,
Patron of the dying,
Terror of demons,
Protector of Holy Church,

Let us pray. O God, in your ineffable providence you were pleased to choose Blessed Joseph to be the spouse of your most holy Mother; grant, we beg you, that we may be worthy to have him for our intercessor in heaven whom on earth we venerate as our Protector: You who live and reign forever and ever. Amen.

Joseph stood for what was good, what was pure, and he continues to guard and protect us and our church. I love being Catholic because we have saints, great role models to look up to, and even better we can ask them to pray for us. When I pray this litany I ask that Joseph pray for all of the men in my life. What a great example he was of what a strong, holy man should be.

I know it is not easy to be a holy man in today’s society, so thank you, thank you, thank you (bunches) to all of you who are striving to be holy men!!! Thank God for you!

As women let us continue to lift men up, and men please do the same for us (Lord knows women need it too, men aren’t the only ones hanging out in the mud). Jesus, Mary and Joseph pray for us.

All I want for Christmas is...

Liz Buncher — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 16:35:05 -0500

It’s kind of funny, I’m 24, but Stanley Clause still makes an appearance at the Buncher house every year. Each year Mom and Dad (Stan) ask me what I want for Christmas. Typically I reply saying Malibu Barbie and her dream house, they are never pleased with that response, and Barbie never comes over for Christmas. Most of the time I have no idea what to ask for. This year I told them I wanted a spice rack.

What do I want for Christmas? It dawned on me today. I was in the chapel looking through my prayer book and came across a prayer for the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are talked about when we get Confirmed, and at Pentecost, but why not ask for them now, for Christmas?

My Christmas List:
Wisdom- That I may always see how God is moving in my life and find deeper meaning in daily events.
Understanding- That I may seek and know God’s truth in all situations.
Right Judgement- To know the difference between right and wrong, and have the ability to choose what is right.
Courage- That I am willing to take risk as a follower of Christ.
Knowledge- That I may constantly be learning more about my Catholic Faith.
Reverence- That I can totally respect the God and the Church, and fully rely on God going to him with humility, trust, and love.
Wonder and Awe (fear of the Lord)- That I may be aware of God’s Perfect Knowledge, goodness, power and love.

How am I going to make sure that I receive these gifts? Well I have to do my best to stay off the naughty list, but since I am human I have to clean up every once in a while. I need to make sure there isn’t any blockage in my spiritual chimney making it hard for the spirit to come though (confession). Then it will be party time and I will go to the celebration and feast on the banquet (Mass). And how will I get what I want if I don’t ask (ask and you shall receive). If the door bell rings I better be there to answer (accept the gift) and bring it into my home, I would hate to have God leave my gift on the front porch.

So maybe I won’t get the Chia Pet of my dreams this year, but hopefully God will deliver something much better.

What do you want for Christmas?

A Tasty Mix

Liz Buncher — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 11:50:28 -0500

Who would have thought that peanut butter, jelly, mustard, cheese and pretzels would make a good sandwich? Today I experienced this, trusting our dear web developer that this would not send my taste buds and stomach away screaming. As I looked at this gooey concoction, I did not want to take a bite, but I did, and you know what…..It was really good! I may even have one for lunch tomorrow.

An unlikely combination of tastes really turned out to be great. Isn’t our faith similar? You may have heard it said that there is joy in suffering, that many graces come from fasting, if you wait to have sex until you’re married it’s going to be awesome and if you follow Christ even when it’s hard you will be happy.

Our society tells us none of this makes sense, but once you take even just a bite of what our faith has to offer, you can’t stop eating. You become drawn in and you eat up all that you can even if you feel full.

So when you look at Catholicism you may see some things you do not want to bite into, but trust me… it’s gonna be great… take a bite and chew on it for a while. I bet you’ll go back for seconds, perhaps even thirds. Eat up!

It's Tough

Liz Buncher — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:22:56 -0500

A friend and I went out to eat last night, I was flippin’ hungry. As we walked into the restaurant laughing having a good ol’ time, they were spotted. Two paralyzed people in wheel chairs, both had “Vote YES Amendment 2” bumper stickers on their chairs. It was tough, our moods were instantly changed, this made a statement.

I have seen the commercials on TV that say life saving cures could be found, the billboards, the ads on the radio, but this was different. These were real people, live billboards, a man and a woman screaming for help. For a moment I had to put myself in the shoes of those people. If someone was telling me that I could get out of that chair would I want to? Yes.

The problem here is that the amendment is full of empty promises giving false hope to people seeking cures. There is no guarantee, in fact it’s unlikely that there will be cure for these ailments if embryonic stem cells are used for research. The only guarantee is that human embryos will die, women will be exploited for the harvesting of their eggs, and there will be yet another attack on human life.

Seeing the faces of those fighting for Amendment 2 filled my heart with compassion and made me realize what needs to be done. Prayer is powerful and much needed for the conversion of hearts, that people will be able to see the truth about the amendment. If people knew and truly understood the reality of the amendment would they still vote yes? Probably not, but they are being lied to, they are blinded by what they think is something good.

So pray, for the conversion of hearts, and that some day cures will be found in a way that respects all forms of human life. And if you’re old enough, on voting day get out there and vote. Every vote counts. Through the power of prayer and the power of the voters we can protect life.

Cry Baby

Liz Buncher — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 10:59:21 -0500

Are you ever amazed when you see parents and their little babies? When a baby starts to cry the parents run over to see what the problem is. To the normal ear this cry is just a noise, but to parents it’s a language. Mothers so often can tell if their baby is hungry, tired, wants to be held, just by listening to their cry. It baffles me.

I think about God as a parent. Sometimes I go to him crying out, I don’t even know what I’m crying for, in my own mind it’s just noise. I simply know that I need him. This is when I say - God, you know my heart, you know my needs, please come!

And isn’t it amazing how well God knows us, better than we know ourselves. It’s so comforting to know that our Father hears our cries, knows our cries, and runs to us in our times of need. We have to remember this and turn to God at all times, even when we aren’t sure what it is we are crying for.

When I Grow Up

Liz Buncher — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 11:45:25 -0500

Six years ago, the night before my high school buddies and I headed off for our first year of college, we wrote a list. We thought long and hard about when we grew up. Who would be married, have a job, kids and so on. That night we agreed that in five years we would look at this list to see if our predictions were accurate.

Tonight we looked at that list. Funny that only a few of the guesses we had about our future were correct, and even if we had them right they weren’t right on. We thought we had it all figured out, boy we were mistakin’.

When I started college I thought that I would grow up to be an interior decorator, then I thought art teacher, but now I'm a youth minister!

God's plan vs. our plan. Sometimes we think we know it all, but God looks down and says "ha ha ha, I don’t think so.”

I envision God as a Big Bear Claw machine that game you see an every Denny's, grocery store, or mall in America. God has his eye on us; a plan for us, like the light up fuzzy dice that you see in the machine and know would look great in your ride. God picks us up drops us down the shoot and we’re off, trusting that the shoot will take us where we need to be.

It’s not always easy to trust in this plan, sometimes we need to be patient, but when we follow God’s plan, great joy comes. Looking back I was confused at times, but I know now that God had, and still has, great plans for me. It’s up to me to listen and follow his claw….I mean call.

I’ll never really grow up, I’ll always be his child. Sometimes I fight his plans for me, I just have to get better at listening to Dad.

STOP

Liz Buncher — Thu, 18 May 2006 10:44:10 -0500

Back in the day, when I had my driver’s permit, a friend once told me what she believed the true meaning of a stop sign was. “Slow To Observe Police”. Being the brilliant 15 year-old that I was this sounded like a great driving plan. So when I was at those stop signs, you know the kind, the unnecessary ones, I would do just that. Since stopping takes up time, and I was always running late, I would slow down look around and keep going. At first this plan was great, but one day it happened. The red and blue lights flashed behind me, I‘d been caught. It was an expensive lesson learned. STOP!

Some times life is like this. We don’t think that we have any time to stop, not even for a moment. We might slow down for a short minute or so, but then we just pick right back up again. When was the last time you stopped, I mean really stopped, every thing that you are doing to take time and pray?

This month has been nuts! Graduations, meetings, confirmations, weddings, anniversaries, retreats, parties, for some finals, it is a very busy time of year for many people. I have noticed my own prayer life slipping this month. I am constantly in need of reminders to stop, offer my prayers, and listen to what God is trying to tell me.

Perhaps when I’m driving and I approach one of those red and white octagons I can think of them not only as a sign to stop my car, but also as a reminder to: Stop To Offer Prayer. We may not feel like we have the time, but if we don’t stop, we could cause a crash.

Billy's Boot Camp

Liz Buncher — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 14:52:34 -0500

In an effort to get myself into better shape, I purchased a cheesy “as seen on TV” work out video. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? ”Billy’s Boot Camp”. You may remember my friend Billy from the popular Tae Bo karate like work out series. Boot Camp is similar to Tae Bo, but there’s a new twist, “Billy Bands”, huge rubber bandish things that you strap to your feet and pull with your hands to enhance your work out. At first I thought, not big deal, these will be great! Then it came, the burn. My television set was screaming “feel the burn” and all of Billy’s big buff camouflage covered side kicks were grunting and cheering. The bands definitely added to the burn factor, and I’m still feeling it today.

This reminded me of Lent. Why you ask? All year round we are called to exercise our spiritual lives through prayer sacrifices and the sacraments. During Lent we are called to a little more, to make additional sacrifices (strapping on some “Billy Bands”) and doing things that help us to “feel the burn”. The goal is not that we only feel this burn in Lent, but that it will change the way that we live after Easter as well. That when we come to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord we are changed, are stronger, and more eager to receive and celebrate him.

So now that we are into Lent, how is your work out going? Do you still have your “Billy Bands” on? Or, like I did in my work out last night, have you taken them off?

The challenge: to continue to make your Lenten sacrifices. Perhaps yours has become easy now that it’s been a while, pick up a new one. Continue a daily routine of prayer, come to the sacraments, and reflect on the Passion of Christ. We need to continue to feel that burn in order to become stronger and prepare for the Easter celebration!

So strap on some “Billy Bands” keep working hard, it will pay off. You’ll see the results of your work out!

Ever catch something on fire?

Liz Buncher — Tue, 21 Feb 2006 15:26:42 -0500

At lunch today the OYM staff was having a great discussion about fire. It seems that everyone had a great story about how they or someone they knew had caught something on fire that wouldn’t normally be burning: coats, kitchens, houses, hair, cakes, dryers, garages…. All of these stories had a common plot. Something small, a candle flame or a spark, caused an enormous fire.

We look out into our schools, work places, communities, and think…oh that person would never be “on fire” for Christ. Did you ever think that you would be? I know I didn’t.

Think about your faith journey, what was the spark that ignited your fire for Christ? Looking at the youth group I help out with, I see tons of teens ON FIRE for Christ. How did most of them come to be these blazing Bible thumpers? A simple invitation from a friend.

How can you be a spark? So often it’s easy to think that we have to do something huge to make a difference, not true. God takes care of the big stuff. A simple invitation or a small conversation can create a spark that will cause the unexpected to burst into flames.

The Startling Truth...

Liz Buncher — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 15:06:00 -0500

So a couple months ago I’m in the grocery store check out line being bombarded by all of the trashy magazines when “Glamour” catches my eye. No, it wasn’t the article about what kind of jeans will make my butt look good. It wasn’t the make up tips. The cover read “the startling truth about abortion”. This made me very curious, what I found inside came as no surprise. The article was titled “The Disappearance of the Young Pro-choice Women”.

The article spoke of a few reasons why young women were more pro-life than ever, sonograms, science, the rising popularity of pro-life clubs on college campuses, but the major reason Glamour claims that young women believe abortion to be wrong is because pregnancy should be avoided in the first place. Not by abstinence, but through contraception. The women surveyed said that there should be no need for abortion; girls should just be smarter and safer when having sex. What those women didn’t think about was the fact that in almost 60% of abortion cases the mothers were using contraception when they became pregnant.

Contraception has made sex something that is no longer sacred, no longer life giving. When you take the sacredness out of sex, life, the fruit that comes from sex also looses its value. The gift of life becomes more of a curse than a blessing, especially if that life wasn’t even welcome in the first place. The link between contraception and abortion is very interesting because it’s there, but no one seems to understand it. There is at least one group of people that does get it, we do. Catholics are anti contraception for a reason, we know how it affects the dignity of human life.

So Glamour…..is it really that much of a surprise that more young women are pro-life? And is contraception the real reason that people are taking this stance? I don’t think so. Maybe as a society we are beginning to understand the not so “startling TRUTH about abortion” that it is what it is, robbing the most precious gift from a voiceless person, life.

Oh Tannenbaum

Liz Buncher — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 15:04:46 -0500

Do you know the origin of the Christmas tree? There are a few different stories of how the tradition came to be, but the one I like most is about a German saint who’s feast day my family celebrates every June. He’s the man responsible for bringing Christianity to Germany, St. Boniface.

One day St. Boniface was walking through the woods and saw a group of pagans around what they believed to be a sacred oak tree getting ready to sacrifice a small child to the god Thor. To save the child form this ridiculous sacrifice, Boniface knocked down the tree with one blow of his fist. In the place of the Oak tree a fir tree began to grow. Explaining this event to the pagans Boniface said “This humble tree’s wood is used to build your homes - let Christ be at the center of your households. Its leaves remain evergreen in the darkest days - let Christ be your constant light. Its boughs reach out to embrace and its top points to heaven - let Christ be your comfort and your guide.”

So this Christmas as we trim our trees let us be reminded of Christ, our constant light, and always keep our selves pointed towards him.

Merry Christmas

SILENCE!

Liz Buncher — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 17:17:46 -0500

In grade school I had a teacher that would nicely tell us to be quiet. Being the little angels that we were, sometimes we didn’t listen. The poor teacher would get so frustrated, she eventually would scream “SILENCE!” this is when you knew she was serious, she wanted you to listen, and you did not want to push her any more for fear that she might literally explode. That would be gross.

Are you a loud person? Does silence bother you? This week I learned that my answer to both of those questions is YES! I went on a silent retreat. I visited a hermitage, where literally I was a hermit for three days. I lived in a little house in the middle of the woods, in complete silence. I ate by myself, walked by myself, prayed by myself. Why did I subject myself to this? I had felt called to this silence for a long time, so I answered the call. I am the girl who has a hard time sitting in adoration for an hour, has to have my radio on in the car, if there isn’t noise, I make noise. The retreat wasn’t easy, but I learned a lot from it.

What did this experience teach me? I think sometimes God is screaming to us SILENCE!!!! He wants us to listen to him, but we are just way to loud to hear him. The noise that is our busy lives makes it almost impossible for us to listen. Silence drives me nuts, but after three days of silence 1-hour of quiet time feels like a cakewalk, and I have a better understanding, appreciation, and see the need for silence in my life.

The challenge: SILENCE! Listen to him. It’s not easy, it may even drive you crazy, but if you truly enter into the quiet, the Lord speaks to you in amazing ways.

Karaoke

Liz Buncher — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 14:24:52 -0500

If you know me well you know that I have a slight addiction to Karaoke. A good friend of mine entered me into a Karaoke contest. This week was round two, next week I continue on to round three. The contest is run just like American Idol, when you are finished with your song there are a few judges that critique you and the audience then votes on who they think should go on.

Week one: I got up on stage, a little nervous because I had never competed before, belted out my tune and took a bow. The judges then had their chance to tell me how they felt about my performance. They told me that I looked to the words on the screen too much; they could sense that I didn’t know the words to the song well enough to sing it with out having the words in front of me.

Week Two: Same critique. Can I sing a song without the screen? We’ll see how week three goes. (I have to sing a song from Woodstock, Yikes!)

How easy is it for you to “sing the song with out the screen”. It is so easy when I am with my good Catholic friends, at church, on retreat, basically have all the words right in front of me, to have the confidence to sing that song. But when I leave those environments it’s sometimes challenging. What’s the key to a great performance? To study the screen, know the words to the song, memorize those words, and practice those words even when you’re not on the stage. The more your practice, the better you will be, with more practice it’s likely you will be able to sing that song in every part of your life no matter if you have the words in front of you or not.

At the end of your performance what will the judge say? “Sorry, you couldn’t sing the song with out the words”……I hope not.

We Are Family

Liz Buncher — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 11:19:17 -0500

While at World Youth Day, me and one million of my new best friends were at a prayer service led by our new Holy Father at a place called Marienfeld. I was trying as hard as I could to get the English translation of the prayer service in on my radio, finally I found the station. Then I scoot over, like and inch, and through my head phones I begin to hear “We are family, I got all my sisters with me” I did my best not to sing along as I repositioned myself and returned to listening to the prayer service.

What does this have to do with us? Well the song got me thinking. I was at that place with 1,000,000 people from every corner of this planet, and we were family, every single one of us.

The literal meaning of the word family is “those bonded by common ancestry”. In other words blood relatives. Are you and I “blood relatives”? You bet. The same blood was shed for you as me. Christ our brother died for all.

So knowing that we are family, one human family united in Christ, what can we do?

In your schools there are lonely people who are seeking love and acceptance, where are they going to get it from?

It’s almost impossible to turn on your Television without seeing and hearing about all of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. There are thousands of our brothers and sisters who are now homeless, many are even lacking the basic needs of water and food, and they need our “help”:http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/news/katrina.cfm.

We are family, and being followers of our brother Jesus, let’s show his love to all of our brothers and sisters.

Comfort Food

Liz Buncher — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 12:09:48 -0500

Every great once in a while do you find yourself hanging out with your good buddies Ben & Jerry? Or being the St. Louisan you are, maybe you prefer a night out with Ted Drews? In stressful times my candy dish is always full, and a big fat bowl full of Chunky Monkey calls my name.

But what is the ultimate comfort food, the food that can really fill you up with something better than sugar?

In the Lord’s Prayer we ask our Father to: “give us this day our daily bread”, but what does this mean?

Our Catechism states: “There is a famine on earth, “not a famine of bread, nor of thirst for water, but hearing the words of the LORD.” For this reason this fourth petition (of the Lord’s Prayer) concerns the Bread of Life. The word of God accepted in faith, the Body of Christ received in the Eucharist.” (CCC#2835)

So when we feel like we need some “comfort food”, let’s turn to the Lord and see what he can whip up for us. Will we munch on his word? Receive the gift of his body in the Eucharist? Or, if we’re really hungry, we could chow down on both.

Snooze

Liz Buncher — Wed, 27 Apr 2005 09:18:17 -0500

Are you like me? I set my alarm for 7:00 knowing that I am going to hit snooze three or four times and actually get up at 7:30. The snooze button is really the only thing I like about my alarm clock; I’m not much of a morning person.

This got me thinking. How many times does God call me to something but I just hit snooze? “Five more minutes God”, “I’ll do it later God, I promise”, I have to ask myself what is God calling me to right now, and am I awake enough to hear that call and respond to it?

It’s not just the call to your future vocation that I’m talking about. Today, right now, what is God calling you to? More time with him? More patience with others? More service to others?

Pray about it, wake up, and stop hitting snooze. It’s time to get out of bed!!!

DOG

Liz Buncher — Thu, 31 Mar 2005 09:15:59 -0500

If we depended on God like we depend on technology we’d be in a lot better shape than we are.

Yesterday in the office the Internet was down, no e-mails could be sent, our website wouldn’t load, my printer wouldn’t print, and our phones weren’t working. Literally everything shut down. Throughout the day the system was going on and off. It was pretty comical. You never realize how much you use something until it’s gone; when the system shut down we were paralyzed. It’s amazing how much we depend on technology these days. Can you remember what the world was like before the Internet?

Isn’t it great that unlike technology God always works? He doesn’t crash when your typing that ten-page paper that’s due tomorrow morning. (Not like that’s ever happened to me). In fact he’s very present in moments of distress. If you send him a message it will always get to him, and he will always answer your call. It may not be the answer you had in mind, but he answers. He’s 101% dependable.

So let’s DOG (Depend On God) the always reliable, never failing, super amazing Father of us all.

IT'S ELECTRIC

Liz Buncher — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 09:23:26 -0500

Late one Saturday evening I decided I would head to my local Adoration Chapel for some time with my Lord. Much to my surprise there was a dance going on in the church basement. All of the music being played came in clear as a bell through the vents in the small chapel. At first this did not bother me, none of the songs were sounding familiar, they weren’t a distraction. But then it came “there’s nothin’ to it….IT’S ELECTRIC…boogie woogie woogie”. I sat there quietly laughing, as I could not believe this was happening. Then it came to me, it was electric, the Eucharist, Adoration, IT’S ELECTRIC.

It’s moments like this that make me proud to be Catholic. I love the Eucharist, how blessed we are as a church to have the chance to receive Christ in this very special way, not only on Sundays, but any day of the week. And if mass isn’t going on and we want to spend time with our Eucharistic Lord we can go to Adoration. Wow! The Eucharist is the battery in my life that keeps me going and going and going. It’s what charges our faith and keeps our light for Christ burning. Praise God for that awesome gift!

And by the way, in case you were wondering, I did not get up and do the Electric Slide in the chapel. When I finished praying and left, I did it in the parking lot.

Trapped

Liz Buncher — Thu, 03 Feb 2005 08:57:49 -0500

Recently I moved in with my friend Meg. Our house is great, but as I’m learning there are a few things I have to know about the house. Quite possibly the most important lesson was learned yesterday. Don’t shut the bathroom door all the way. You see, after I had taken my shower, I tried to exit my bathroom and much to my dismay the door wouldn’t open. What I didn’t know before entering the shower was that the doorknob is broke, it won’t turn from the inside. I was trapped in the bathroom! Just starting a new job I didn’t want to be late, I tried everything I could to get out, praying that some how I could use a bobby pin to release the latch on the door, but that just wasn’t going to do the trick. After about 45 minutes of being locked in the bathroom my wonderful roommate got home and came to my rescue, try explaining that one to your boss.

The moral of this story, how often are we trapped, not necessarily in our bathrooms, but in life. We get so wrapped up in things of this world greed, lust, pride, addictions, lies, and so on that we need to be freed. Ultimately Christ frees us, but sometimes we need the help of our Christian friends.

In times when I have been “trapped” my Christian friends have been there to call me out on something wrong I was doing, or when I needed support in my walk with the Lord. In the same way I have to be able to hold my friends accountable, and be there when they need someone to lift them up. Alone we are weak, but with the help of a good community, we are strong.

“Therefore, encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11

God has a funny way of working, he could have opened my bathroom door, believe me I asked him to, but it took the help of a friend to get out. Is God calling you to aid him in freeing someone, or do you need to call on someone to help bring you back to God?