By your perseverance you will secure your lives!

We need to remember - this life is a journey - not a sprint.  There will be many things, and people, who will try to knock us off our path.  But in spite of these - we must persevere and stay true to our beliefs --- God is Love, God Created us from Love, and His Mercy know no boundaries!

You may ask "but, what if I fail - is all lost?"  No - not all is lost, but unfortunately, yes, we will fall from time to time - but that should not change our core beliefs - if anything it should strengthen them.  For in our failings we experience the true love and mercy of the Lord.  It is in those moments when you are horrified at our behavior and feel the weight of our sin that God's mercy lifts us up, brushes off our knees and places us back upon the path that leads us to Him.

Time of Preparation

Last year as we approached Advent, my Spiritual Director asked me what I was planning for Advent.  My first thoughts were, well....buying gifts, cooking, and decorating.  But of course she did not mean what my preparations were for Christmas - but for the time of waiting - for Advent.  I thought a couple of minutes and decided I would renew my Marion Consecration.  I like Fr. Gaitley's "33 Days to Morning Glory" and so I counted the days out and started it to end on Christmas Day.  After Midnight Mass, I kneeled and renewed my Consecration.  I have to say, it made my Advent so much more.  I felt a connection with Mary, joining in her waiting for the birth of her Son that I had not experienced before.

We do so much spiritual renewal during Lent as we prepare for the Risen Christ - but we miss our preparation to welcome the Christ Child within our lives.  This year I am working through another of Fr. Gaitley's books "33 Days to Merciful Love" again, I've timed it to end on Christmas Day.  It talks about how great God's love and mercy is for us.  Something we all need to be reminded of from time to time.

There are many things you can do during this time of waiting and anticipation outside of Santa Claus.  Advent Wreaths are wonderful devotions for families and I've found several Advent Calendars which are dedicated to doing service each day (just google "Advent calendar service ideas") are just a couple of ideas.  Make it a new custom in your life.

Making Peace

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is a day to be grateful for all the blessings in our lives — I know we’ve heard this since we were small children.  I do believe it is a day to be grateful for all God has given us, but also to make peace - peace with those around us, peace with God and peace in our hearts.  Ok....what? Peace with in our hearts?

There is a struggle within all of us when we want to completely and totally give our hearts to the Lord.  We want it, we desire it, but there is something that whispers in our ears to hold back. Part of it is today’s world, part is human nature — to give up total control to God is just “crazy talk.”  It’s ok to go to church once a week, say prayers at meal time (but please, not in public), and to teach our children to pray at bed time; but anything more than that — well, then you are becoming a holy roller, a Bible thumper; you are acting “ holier that thou.”

We teach our children that they should be happy within their skin, not to worry about what others will think or say about their physical appearance.  I also believe we need to teach our children to be happy within their hearts — to love and worship God without concern of how others may judge them.  That it is ok to attend Mass every day if they want (you know it’s not just for old people) and it is ok to consider a vocation in the Church.

Tuning the world out and making peace within our hearts is needed before we can completely give our lives to the Lord.  This year, I am grateful for my God, for his love and his mercy.  Truly, I ask, what more could we want?

Lord, please let me see.

On Saturday I attended the Beatification of Fr. Solanus Casey.  He was a Capuchin in the Detroit Michigan area.  I have no words to describe the beauty of the Mass.  Joining over 60,000 other Catholics in prayers, song and celebration of the Holy Eucharist was inspiring.  And the opportunity to lift our prayers for Fr. Casey's sainthood was something I will never forget.

Today's Gospel (Luke 18:35-43) where the beggar asked Jesus to cure his blindness so that he could see, made me think of Fr. (now Blessed) Casey.  For Fr Casey did see the needs of those around him, he embraced the love of the poor in a humble and quiet way.  He saw each person for who they were, a person loved by God, even if that person did not accept it.  His faith was steadfast and his love for his brothers and sisters was an example for us all.

We can at times turn a blind eye to the suffering of those around us arguing "we just don't want to get involved;" leaving them to fend for themselves - both physically and spiritually.  But we are called to open our eyes and our hearts to all the needs of those around us - Catholic and non-catholic alike.  We are charged with providing care for their wounds and share with them the love God has for each of us.

Fr. Casey was a living example that holiness is attainable to all of us.

"Blessed Solanus Casey please pray for us."

Beatification of Fr. Casey

Just a quick note --

I will be attending the Beatification of Fr. Casey tomorrow in Detroit, MI.  Getting really excited -   I have said recently that I would like to visit his tomb, so when I was offered tickets I jumped at it.  I cannot imagine celebrating with 66,000 other Catholics - it will definitely be a first for me and a once in a lifetime opportunity.

I am planning on "going live" on Facebook and wanted to share the link     Today's Catholic Woman

EWTN will also be airing it live starting at 4:00 PM EST.

I will post next week about the event!

Please keep all attending in prayer!
Theresa

Understanding the Gospel

A while ago, my Spiritual Director asked me to read the daily Gospel, pull a line or phrase from it and journal my thoughts.  There are some days when I am not sure exactly what I should use, so I like to take a step back and ask the Lord to open my eyes to the line or words he wants me to think and pray about on that day.  It's amazing how it works!

This is what happen with today's Gospel (Luke 17:7-10), so I prayed and re-read the Gospel again and the last line jumped off the page.  "We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do."

Being obliged means we are morally committed to an action.  This made me start thinking.  At our Baptism our parents and God-parents obligated us to live a life of Christ.  And we renew that obligation each time we pray the Nicene Creed or the Apostle Creed.  We profess our recognition that Jesus is God from God.

So, the million dollar question is then - just what are we obligated to do?  As those who are claimed for Christ in our Baptism - we are obligated to live a life of Christ which is to Love God above all others and love our neighbor as ourselves.  We are to serve those around us with a loving heart, for Christ resides in all of us.  At times this can be a challenge - you might not even like the person, but that does not matter - we are to serve.

I know in today's world fulfilling an obligation is not something that necessarily is a value - but in the end, we will not be standing before the world.

Be Prepared!

We all know the scouts motto "Be Prepared" -- I was a Girl Scout from 1st grade through the 9th and then was a leader for 12 years later in my life.  We learned about how to be prepared, to anticipate problems.  We developed skills in first-aid and what we should have in our first aid kit in case of an emergency.  We learned camping skills - how to build a fire and how to cook on that fire -- my favorite was baking a cake with a dutch oven - we put coals on the cover - it was fascinating.  We also learned life skills such as leadership, team building, and problem solving.  In today's world we are advised to be prepared in case of a natural disaster - have water for each person in the household, canned food, flashlights, and extra batteries.

In yesterday's Gospel (Matthew 25:1-13) we heard of the five wise bridesmaids who were prepared for the arrival of the groom by having extra oil available for their lamps in case he was delayed.  The bridesmaids anticipated that they had no control of when the groom would arrive and planned accordingly.  Their lamps were important to guide the groom in since he was traveling at night - back then they did not have street lights or lights on the camels, it was very dark.  And as we turn our outside lights on to welcome guests or direct family home, the maids' lamps shined in the darkness as a welcome to the groom.

So all this being said, I wondered how I could be prepared for the Lord's coming -- what should I anticipate and what extra oil should I have (for if you know me, I'm always making lists and thinking through scenarios - I want to be prepared.)

Just what is my oil made from?  The oil for our lamps is filled with the love we show to our brothers and sisters.  It is the prayers we offer for them, the service we provide to them, the comfort we give them.  Jesus commanded us to love God above all others and to love our neighbor as ourselves.  We are charged with showing love to everyone around us - those who are easy to love and those who test our resolve.  This love fills our lamps - so that no matter how long it is before Jesus' arrival - your lamp will be filled to the brim - directing him to you.  And since we do not know the date or time - we should not plan to wait to fill our lamps at the last minute - we must stay awake and watch for his coming.

Invited to the Banquet

In today's Gospel (Luke 14:15-24) Jesus tells of a grand banquet prepared by a king, but the invited guests one-by-one have an excuse of why they cannot attend.  I read in a reflection of today's Gospel of how the excuse of each guests represents the sins in our lives.

The first guest asked to excused because he had purchased a field and needed to examine it.  This is the excuses we use when our work or other activities take the focus of our lives.  The second guest had purchased five yoke of oxen and was off to evaluate them.  This is the excuse we use when the martial things of this world takes our focus.  The third is that the guest was just married.  This excuse is when we put ourselves above others, our needs come first, our focus is on ourselves.  None of these guest gave any thought or consideration to the sacrifice of the king - the food which
had to be prepared, the table had to be set.

Each week we are all invited to a great feast by the King - and each week we can find an excuse to not attend.  I've probably used everyone of them many times over at some point in my life.  My attention was on me and my needs, not on the sacrifice the King has made to set this beautiful table.

The invitation is always there for us - come to the table - Christ is the host and he has set the banquet before us. All are welcome!  Now it is up to each of us to accept the invitation - put our needs aside and focus on the Lord.

Are you being pruned?

As any good gardener will tell you, there are times you really have to drastically prune a plant for it to produce the biggest flower or fruit.  It can feel like you are going to kill the poor plant as you cut the old stems away, but it forces the plant to grow healther and stronger, which will improve the plant as a whole.

Here is an example, I have a large snowball bush in my back yard that produces large white balls of flowers - one on each stem.  In early spring I have to cut the bush down to the ground. If I didn’t prune it - it would still bloom, but the flowers would be small and the bush would be straggly. But when I do cut it back - the bush grows so much better; full of leaves and huge balls of flowers.

Did you know that God does the same to us? He will prune away the old, damage growth from out lives.  At times, you might not even realize what is going on and it can really hurt when you are experiencing God's pruning.  You may find big changes happening in your life which you have not expected. You could discover that there are some people who had been in your life have been removed, or an unexpected job loss or change - it could be anything that may be coming between you and the Father.  I know in my life, I did not understand what was happening until later when I reflected on the changes in my life.  My eyes have been opened several times when I see what has happened after all the dust has settled.  My faith has grown deeper, I am able to really talk with the Lord in a different way; and my focus has changed away from myself.

 You can choose to grow with the pruning or stay stagnant - it is completely up to you - the Lord will never force you.  It takes a great deal of trust in the Lord to works through a pruning, but when done, you will find a richer life and a deeper relationship with the Lord.

Ask the Father to help prune away from your life the things or people who are disrupting your faith.