Sacred Bookends
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens (Eccl 3:1)
Let all things be done decently and in order (1 Cor 14:40)
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. (Mark 1:35)
I recently came across a document in my dossier of “important” things. I am known for my dossiers: vacation dossiers, remodeling dossiers, organization dossier, meal planning, etc. This particular document is my master list of household to do tasks. It is separated by month, week of the month, and daily tasks. It is one of my opus dei moments of organization. I love organization, I do. It turns out I love routine as well. In my retirement it seems I had allowed myself to resemble a hippie a little too much. I was sailing along with this concept of letting my days flow and letting go of rigidity so that I could be more present to the present moment. When you read the creation story of Genesis and the book of Leviticus there is a deep truth of our Creator that lies in those pages. God is a God of order. He is the God that brings this order into chaos. We are made in the image and likeness of that same orderly creator. With the new year came a new course on my Hallow App, Routines Course, presented by Leah Darrow. I felt God pointing in a not so discrete way to one of the directions He would like to direct my upcoming year. I am now almost four weeks in to my new routine and I am called to share with you the grace and beauty of what Leah Darrow calls Sacred Bookends. Sacred Bookends are the routines that define the beginning and the end of our day. I thought I had a morning routine, it was my morning prayer routine. My unrealized problem was that this wasn’t a complete routine but only one aspect. I would often leave prayer time feeling untethered and undirected. As for nightly routines, well, those have never existed for me. Here I will give a shout out to my mom who has indeed maintained a nightly routine that she affectionately refers to as her “pre-ups” and that I have made light of over the years. Mom, sorry, you were once again right. Our sacred bookends are supposed to care for our physical, spiritual, and intellectual well being. And so, with prayer as the guiding light to what my routines should look like, I have embarked on this journey of redefining my morning and evening time. I have found that anchoring my day’s beginning and end in routine has freed the rest of the day to be a better hippie. And what I mean by that is that I have found that Holy Spirit and I are making better use of the hours that flow in the middle. God is good! You can find some of Leah’s inspirational quotes about routines in the “Quotables” tab this week. One other blessing that emerges from this shift is a deeper appreciation for the routines that are an integral part of my Catholic faith. The tried and true unwavering routine of the Mass that so many can find ‘boring’ I find ever more beautiful for its reflection of the law set forth by God thousands of years ago to direct us to His eternal order and holiness. As we approach Lent next week, sacred bookends would be a beautiful place to repent and turn again fully to the order of life that God intended. Where in life can your routine benefit from some tending (or my catch phrase of the year, thanks to The Home Edit, ‘editing’). Take the opportunity over the six weeks of Lent to give your routine to God by collaborating with Him in prayer as to what will help shape your day “towards realizing the incredible potential God has sown within each of us.” (Leah Darrow)
House Plans
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen… By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to reeive an an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go… By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. (Hebrews 11:1, 8, 11)
A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Quiet! Be still!" (Matthew 4)
This week I came under some spiritual attack and my first go at this reflection was lost to the black hole of the internet unsaved. Round two. This reflection could in a way be titled, “A tale of two faiths.” Early last year my daughter Emma followed her gut (read Holy Spirit) and made the decision to end a relationship that at one point was pointing toward marriage. Both Jeff and I were really proud of her for the strength and clarity that she showed in making this decision and so so grateful to our Lord for the sequence of events that prevented a more painful reality down the road. Last summer Emma announced in one of our morning commute calls that she planned to buy a home instead of renewing her lease. She carefully laid out for me her reasons for doing so and her carefully thought out plan of attack. Emma told me that she just felt strongly called to to this at this time. I recognized in her tone, her conviction, and her excitement shades of another phone call when she shared God’s call for her to enter human medicine instead of the veterinary tract she was on. I offerend her my support, enthusiasm, and wisdom as the months went along. Jeff and I watched as our daughter entered a new level of ‘adulting’: picking up extra shifts (a lot of extra shifts!), revamping her budget and spending habits, attending open houses in different communities to get a feel for what her budget might afford her and where, interviewing and selecting a real estate agent and a lender. We watched as interest rates steadily rose, shrinking Emma’s budget. We watched as houses continued to be swept off the market in less than a day for over asking price. We watched as Emma resolutely told me that she trusted that the God who had placed this promise on her heart was going to deliver on His promise. Her faith bolstered my own. January arrived and Emma was finally financially in a place to begin the serious job of house hunting. I went through that first house with her filled with hope only to be knocked down by the reality that pictures told a thousand lies sometimes. Emma was undettered. I began to fret about just what quality of house she would end up in. Then came all the houses she wasn’t even able to see because of her schedule. Emma had a contingency for that. Then came the house that we all thought would be great and the offer that followed only to have 4 other offers on the table and a rejection the following day. Emma was not swayed, Emma was displaying the faith of Abraham and Sarah. I was in the boat with the disciples. I was beginning to focus on the waves and the wind and I was beginning to worry about the lease that may need to be renewed. I went to Jesus. I very honestly told Him that He knew my heart better than anyone. I told Him that I trusted Him to work all things out, but that I am a worrier. I asked our Lord to spare me months of uncertainty. I asked Him to not take this and turn it into a lesson in patient endurance (that my mom quotes often). I put the matter in the One who could do something about all my anxieties. The very next morning a house that had been above budget but that had looked amazing had a price reduction. Emma went through it same day with me on FaceTime. Emma was stepping back into making an offer with the benefit that this house had no offers on it and no showings scheduled, a miracle. This Saturday Jeff and I join Emma for the inspection, her offer accepted!
“Quiet! Be still!”
Jesus loves Emma’s confident unflinching faith. Jesus also loves my faith that can begin to waver with the waves but that goes to Him knowing and trusting that He will meet me with peace. As I pondered all these things in my heart, our Lord showed me the words [House Plans] with that raised eyebrow He can sometimes use. A dream was placed on my heart almost 12 years ago. My own ‘house plan’. In the past year I have allowed the voice of the enemy to convince me to compromise my dreams. I have convinced myself that it is okay, even noble to be satisfied with what I have, to make do. There are indeed times when our faith gives us the strength to ‘make do’, however, in those words, [House Plans] God is reassuring me that the seed of a dream planted long ago will one day come to fruition. I must learn to reflect Abraham, Sarah, and my own daughter more. God leaves me with one more nugget of Wisdom, [Sometimes what stands between a dream and a dream realized is a guarded heart.] Amen.
Resolutions
This blog is in fact a resolution of sorts. This blog is my sharing my prayer journal with you for the first time since I started sharing the weekly Lectio Divina. Fittingly with new resolutions, this resolution goes back to New Year’s Day morning prayer…
I wake and join God in prayer, “What do You seek from me in this new year Lord?” A number of things rest on my heart. I feel the Father settle in for the ‘Year in Review.’ My Father wanted us to look back and see the foundational work He has been accomplishing that ready me for what lies ahead. He shows me the growth in my prayer life, most notably my recognition of taking things to Jesus more than taking them to others in complaint or angst. He shows me my growing love and dependence on Him in the sacraments of the Mass and Reconciliation and the fruit of greater peace in my day to day life. He shows me my ‘yes’ to returning to this blog and website, a vehicle of faith witness, time and again even when the enemy attacks time and again telling me that I am wasting my time. My heart fills with gratitude for these pearls from the Father, encouragements against the regular drone of the enemy. As a disciple of our Lord Jesus I can slip into old habits of life. Namely, I can desire to just know what my life is going to look like. I want to be given my mission plan and I of course assume that my mission plan is ‘out there’ somewhere. This morning I feel a God calling me to a different step of faith. I feel this call to my domestic church and the [theology of the home]. What if this year I faced my fear? What if I stop worrying about being needed or used outside the home in a formal capacity and instead fully entered into the ministry of the home? What if I wait for the step by step guidance of God’s plan instead of scrambling to hatch the 10 year vision of my own? What if I embrace that there may be times of boredom, but boredom is not the enemy, it is the catalyst of great creativity?
Three weeks later as I spend my nightly hour in sacred reading the Lord affirms our new year converstation. In John Burks’ book, Imagine the God of Heaven, one of the individuals who gives witness to their Near Death Experience shared the wisdom Jesus shared with him, “I won’t tell you your purpose. I’m going to return you, and your purpose will be revealed one moment at a time, because if I were to reveal your purpose in full, you would not be dependent upon me. You must trust me and continually seek my guidance.”
Lord, help us to embrace the gift of today. Help us to lean in to the whisper of direction that You provide when we seek to hear Your guidance. Speak Lord, your servant is listening.
Time is ticking
Time is indeed ticking my friends! Last week will be the last week that I continue the text message notifications. If you would like to receive my weekly email update with a link to this website, please sign up through the button at the bottom of this page. Thank you to all who have already done so! Tick, tick, tick, tick…
Reading 1
The word of the LORD came to Jonah, saying: "Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you." So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the LORD'S bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day's walk announcing, "Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed, " when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.
What is your Nineveh? You have to remember what came before this scripture to appreciate what I mean. The Lord told Jonah to go to Nineveh and he ran in the opposite direction, got swallowed by a fish, and spit back out. Jonah was certain that the Lord’s command was going to be his undoing, was impossible, and needed to be avoided at all times. What is my Ninevah? The first that comes to mind is reading the Bible. Up until 6 years ago I thought that the scripture I received in church was sufficient. I avoided reading the Bible even though there was the still small voice that called me there. When I was a religious ed teacher we were supposed to work Bible discussion into our class. That was an exercise in futility, or so I convinced myself. Look at me now, I read scripture every day, and the Lord directs my steps by bringing verses upon my heart daily. Scripture has become one source of manna in the desert of this life. What is your Nineveh: something that you have resisted that the Lord showed that He is in fact smarter than you? Are you currently running from Nineveh? Talk to the Lord about why and see what He speaks to your heart.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (4a) Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice
and teaches the humble his way.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
“Teach me your ways, O Lord.” What a simple beautiful prayer we can offer to the Lord! We are submitting to Him the authority. We are not praying, “Teach me that I am right in my ways.” When we are struggling with any of the items on Paul’s list below, “Teach me your ways, O Lord.” When we are struggling to accept a teaching of the faith, “Teach me your ways, O Lord.” When He calls us to Nineveh or out of the boat, “Teach me your ways, O Lord.”
Reading 2
I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out. From now on, let those having wives act as not having them, those weeping as not weeping, those rejoicing as not rejoicing, those buying as not owning,
those using the world as not using it fully. For the world in its present form is passing away.
Many can discount what Paul is saying as, “The sky is falling, the sky is falling.” Paul is not Chicken Little. This is a call to the heart of every Christian in every time. Time is running out. It is, for you, for me, for every single person born. What is wrong with being married, or weeping (tragedy strikes), or rejoicing, or enjoying what we have bought? Each of these is a very real part of living life this side of heaven. The danger lies that any one of these things can become our dominant focus, our identity. We must not loose sight that this is not our home, we were born to this life to live eternity in heaven. We are part of a much bigger picture and when we get wrapped up in this earthly life with our day to day woes we lose the big picture sometimes. If Paul were to write this letter to you today, what would he warn you away from? For myself? Paul would tell me not to put so many eggs in what I want in our retirement. Retirement is not heaven. Everything that we experience in this life is finite, it does not last. We must continually keep our gaze upon the eternal to drive through the finite.
Gospel
After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
"This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."
As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea;
they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."
Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them.
So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.
Lent is three and a half weeks away. I think it’s appropriate that it kicks off with Valentine’s Day this year, Who better to give our heart to than our Lord and Savior? The kingdom of God is at hand. Do you believe this? Each of our readings this week have a sense of urgency about them. Repent and believe in the gospel. Take time this week to pray with our Lord and plan ahead for Lent. To repent means to turn away, to change course. Jesus implores us to believe the gospel. Where does your unbelief lie? What do you have difficulty accepting? “Repent, and believe the gospel.” With God’s help, whatever it is that He calls to mind and places on your heart, commit to living your life in a way that demonstrates a turn to belief.
Here I am Lord
Reading 1: 1 Sm 3:3b-10, 19
Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was. The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am." Samuel ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me." "I did not call you, " Eli said. "Go back to sleep." So he went back to sleep. Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli.
"Here I am, " he said. "You called me." But Eli answered, "I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep."
At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD, because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet.
The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, "Here I am. You called me."
Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth. So he said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening." When Samuel went to sleep in his place, the LORD came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, "Samuel, Samuel!" Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening." Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect.
Speak Lord, for your servant is listening. This was the reading earlier this week (Wednesday) and that one line, known so well, brought with it a new practice for me this week, that ties in well with the Gospel (Holy Spirit is Good!). Speak Lord, your servant is listening. This has become the opening line to my morning prayer routine, I simultaneously write it at the top of my prayer joural page. Speak Lord, your servant is listening. How often do we give God the chance to speak before us? Take some time to reflect on this today? How would we feel if in one of our other relationships, we never were given the chance to start the conversation? This past week I was blessed with some of the best conversations I have had with our Lord in a while. Speak Lord, your servant is listening.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 40:2, 4, 7-8, 8-9, 10
R. (8a and 9a) Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.
And he put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or offering you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Holocausts or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
to do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will.
This is one of my favorite psalms. I have waited, waited for the Lord and He stooped and heard my cry. This line never fails to evoke memories of our Lord’s saving power in the circumstances of my life AND the Lord’s tendency to prove that ‘good things happen to those who wait’ (upon the Lord). Take a walk with the Lord down memory lane remembering the deliverance you have received from the struggles of life, big or small.
Reading II: 1 Cor 6:13c-15a, 17-20
Brothers and sisters: The body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body;
God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
But whoever is joined to the Lord becomes one Spirit with him. Avoid immorality.
Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore glorify God in your body.
This new year I have been on a caffeine fast, much needed and overdo, and painful. I have a sensitivity to caffeine that causes some heart irregularities and admittedly some anxiety. It is not with every sip of caffeinated goodness, only when my consumption veers into the dependency range (more than one drink per day). Being a member of Panera’s sip club brought a habit of their Chargers (yep the ones that led to the death of people with heart arythmia’s) and my own flair up of caffeine related woe. We all do things to our bodies that aren’t in the best interest of them. Spend time with St. Paul’s reading and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart, “How can I honor the temple You reside within?”
Gospel: Jn 1:35-42
John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God."
The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them,
"What are you looking for?" They said to him, "Rabbi" — which translated means Teacher —,
"where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come, and you will see." So they went and saw where Jesus was staying,
and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter,
was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. He first found his own brother Simon and told him,
"We have found the Messiah" — which is translated Christ —. Then he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas" — which is translated Peter.
We see Jesus often respond to others with a question: ‘What do you wish me to do for you?” Today Jesus asks Andrew and John, “What are you looking for?” These two questions can reflect two different levels of our prayer life, our relationship with Jesus. Do I more often come to conversation with my needs or do I more often come to conversation with my desires? They are not the same. Needs take away our immediate poverty (poverty of health, poverty of loneliness, poverty of sorrow, poverty of happiness…). Desires are placed in our heart by God and are intended to take away our eternal poverty: poverty of Him. Jesus already knows both our needs and our desires. When we start the conversation of prayer it is often with needs. When He is allowed to start the conversation of prayer He often asks us, “What are you looking for?” The answer is always the same but wrapped in an infinite number of epiphanies: Jesus. We are all looking for Jesus. Jesus waits for you to let Him ask the questions. He waits to invite you deeper into this relationship, “Come, and you will see.” One way that you can give Jesus the first Word if silent prayer remains difficult, is to open the bible and begin with the Word. Be Andrew and John in your prayer this week and allow Jesus to turn and ask you these questions. Come and See.
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Epiphanies: Light shines through
New Year’s Update: If you scroll through to the bottom of this post you will see a Sign Up button. One of my son’s friends (and son of a very very dear friend) reached out to me and asked me if he could see if he could help streamline my delivery method of letting people know there is a new post. Beginning in February, I will no longer be individually texting links and will instead send out an email. If you would like to be notified of new blog posts moving forward, please sign up with your email. My emails will come to you from prayerlocketministries, so check your spam the first few weeks.
Isaiah 60:1-6
Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover the peoples;
but upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears his glory.
Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.
Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow,
for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.
Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.
Isaiah’s call reaches across the millenia and falls upon the ears of we who are baptized. We are Christ’s light! The world again can be describes as covered in darkness. We are again surrounded by a people who are clouded by the ignorance of secularism. People do not know Jesus. Isaiah’s call is a battle cry to each of us; we must spread the light of Christ, in word and deed. How am I called to do this today? This is our daily discernment, how am I called to be the light of Christ to another today?
Ephesians 2:2-3, 5-6
Brothers and sisters:
You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace
that was given to me for your benefit,
namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation.
It was not made known to people in other generations
as it has now been revealed
to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
I encourage you to read the Gospel, then reread Paul’s letter. Today as I was praying with these scriptures the weight of God’s love and mercy broke through anew: Epiphany. Herod was a gentile (non-Jew) who sought to destroy Christ out of fear and killed thousands of innocent Jewish boys in his quest. In the history of the Jewish people, the story of salvation has repeatedly been the story of God saving His people from the idolatry of Gentiles. God warns, When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, don’t learn to do the terrible things the people of the other nations there do. (Dt 18:9) Enter Emmanuel, God among us. Jesus changed the history of salvation history. Jesus brought us the Word made flesh. Jesus destroyed death on the cross. Jesus gave each baptized person the gift of the Holy Spirit. The God who watched His people repeatedly pulled away by the idolatry, Who watched innocent children slaughtered, and sacrificed His Son at the hands of gentile cruelty, opens His heart to all. God invites everyone to the table. We are each called to the mission of Paul. We are called to step into the brokenness of this world, the emptiness of people who don’t know our God, and to share Him. He is the light that can break into the brokenness.
Matthew 2:1-12
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.”Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.”After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.
Each day to a certain degree I believe we have choices that force the question, ‘Today will I be Herod or will I be a wiseman’? Will I hold onto the control of my way so tightly that I deny who God is calling me to be? Will I follow the glimmer of light that is breaking through from within; the still soft whisper, the inspiration, the challenge to live this Christian life a little more like Christ and a little less like Herod. I have always recognized those ‘big’ moments of my faith life as epiphanies; today I begin to see that each moment that I listen to an inspiration of the Holy Spirit another point of light is allowed to shine. God wants us to be wisemen every day. What inspiration, what epiphany, has God stirred in your heart? Let the light shine!
The Holy Family
Sir 3:2-6, 12-14
God sets a father in honor over his children;
a mother’s authority he confirms over her sons.
Whoever honors his father atones for sins,
and preserves himself from them.
When he prays, he is heard;
he stores up riches who reveres his mother.
Whoever honors his father is gladdened by children,
and, when he prays, is heard.
Whoever reveres his father will live a long life;
he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother.
My son, take care of your father when he is old;
grieve him not as long as he lives.
Even if his mind fail, be considerate of him;
revile him not all the days of his life;
kindness to a father will not be forgotten,
firmly planted against the debt of your sins
—a house raised in justice to you.
My own tendency as I read this is to measure my own children against God’s Word, a sort of end of term report card. This is easy to do when you are a parent, to see the word son (and daughters aren’t excluded from the Wisdom) and think that this Wisdom is meant for our benefit. Yesterday in Mass though Holy Spirit reminded me that every one of us has parents, and this Wisdom is therefore universal to the human condition. This New Year’s Eve let’s take our focus off of others and perhaps how they measure up and spend time reflecting on ourselves. How am I reflecting this Wisdom in my life to others? Am I a good son/daughter to my mother and father? This reading is universal in another way of course. God is the Universal Father. Independent of our earthly circumstances, we all have a Heavenly Father. For those of us who are Catholic, we all have a heavenly mother as well. How can I better respect the authority of God this New Year? How can I revere God and honor God?
Colossians 3:12-17
Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
As New Year’s resolutions go, I think that Paul can speak to every heart with this letter today. Read slowly through Paul’s letter a couple of times today and tomorrow, what does the Holy Spirit call to your heart? Where can you resolve to make this new year one that can change you in the best way possible, toward greater holiness? The first half of this reading instructs us in the virtues that strengthen our relationships with others. The second half instructs us in the ways that we honor God, that we can grow closer to a Father. Put together Paul has given us a practical manual for how to live the first reading from Sirach.
Luke 2:22-40
When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
They took him up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord,
just as it is written in the law of the Lord,
Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,
and to offer the sacrifice of
a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,
in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
This man was righteous and devout,
awaiting the consolation of Israel,
and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he should not see death
before he had seen the Christ of the Lord.
He came in the Spirit into the temple;
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus
to perform the custom of the law in regard to him,
He took him into his arms and blessed God, saying:
“Now, Master, you may let your servant go
in peace, according to your word,
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and glory for your people Israel.”
The child’s father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;
and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
“Behold, this child is destined
for the fall and rise of many in Israel,
and to be a sign that will be contradicted
—and you yourself a sword will pierce—
so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
There was also a prophetess, Anna,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.
She was advanced in years,
having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,
and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.
She never left the temple,
but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.
And coming forward at that very time,
she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child
to all who were awaiting the redemption of Jerusalem.
When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions
of the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee,
to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him.
As I began praying and reflecting about this upcoming turn of year, God placed on my heart the word that tend to be identified with New Year’s, Resolution, which led me to the word resolute also. I want to share with you the definitions of these words and their synonyms.
Resolute: admirably purposeful, determined, unwavering, bold, steady (synonyms: constant, faithful, loyal, steadfast)
Resolution: The act or process of resolving (synonyms: courage, mettle, spirit, tenacity)
God’s law is sacred, it is holy, it is universal. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were not exempt from God’s law, they were resolved as a Holy Family to fulfill it. As each of us set aside time and reflection on what we would like to resolve ourselves to this upcoming new year, where are our efforts and focus worthy of the definition? Spend some time with God as this year closes asking Him in prayer where He would like to see greater resolve in your life. May God grant each of you peace as we stand on the threshold of a new year, may He be a part of your resolution. Amen!
The Fourth Sunday of Advent
I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a blessed Christmas. While it has been the shortest Advent that the calendar allows it has been a beautiful journey this year. God gave me the opportunity to enter into the fruit of my labor and spend time with Him as each of you has done, with Lectio Divina. Today I was able to do something that has always been on my ‘best intentions’ list but never on my checked list. Today I started my day with prayer, then Mass, I spent time in front of the nativity where the manger yet lies empty; upon returning home I took six hours to spend quiet time with the Lord enjoying the light of the fire and the glow of the Christmas lights. No phone, no computer, just Him and me. The next three days will be filled with a certain frenzy, guests will be coming and going, meals need to be made, and gifts opened. Today was a day I could give to Him, my own visit to the nativity. I offered the present of my presence. I encourage each of you to carve out at least a space of time where you can spend time with Him in the uninterrupted quiet. I have found a peace and excitement that has been missing, both come from Him, Emmanuel, God with us.
Sunday, December 24th
In the eleventh-hour Holy Spirit had me swap today’s daily reading with tonight’s vigil reading and I must say,
“It is well with my soul!”
Reading: Isaiah 9:1-6
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom
a light has shone.
You have brought them abundant joy
and great rejoicing,
as they rejoice before you as at the harvest,
as people make merry when dividing spoils.
For the yoke that burdened them,
the pole on their shoulder,
and the rod of their taskmaster
you have smashed, as on the day of Midian.
For every boot that tramped in battle,
every cloak rolled in blood,
will be burned as fuel for flames.
For a child is born to us, a son is given us;
upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.
His dominion is vast
and forever peaceful,
from David’s throne, and over his kingdom,
which he confirms and sustains
by judgment and justice,
both now and forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!
Spend time with our Lord rejoicing in the truth of Isaiah. God has delivered each of us from a before to an after, from an Advent to a Christmas.
Responsorial Psalm 96: Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord
Today is born our Savior, Christ the Lord.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name. R.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds. R.
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of the forest exult. R.
They shall exult before the LORD, for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy. R.
Today is born our savior.
When peace enters the chaos of your life…
Today is born our savior.
When God’s Word speaks truth and brings hope…
Today is born our savior.
When you recognize God’s provision in a time of need…
Today is born a savior.
When you lift a need in prayer…
Today is born a savior.
Reading II Titus 2:11-14
Beloved: The grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good. Alleluia
What is your Christmas prayer? What new hope, new dream, new inspiration stirs your soul as you are awakened to the birth of a savior within our hearts? Ask big, dream big, hope big!
Gospel Luke 2:1-14
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So, all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David that is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:
“Glory to God in the highest
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
The gift of an ordinary day; look at what God can do with an ordinary day. Mary and Joseph were simply doing what they were told to do. God breaks through the ordinary and offers us extraordinary. This Christmas consider bringing the gift of an ordinary day to another. Every day holds opportunities to share Jesus with the world. Often, we talk ourselves out of opportunity with excuses, “Not the right place” or “Not the right time.” The gift of an ordinary day is bringing Jesus to the world independent of circumstance. It is trusting that God will work extraordinary into our very ordinary. Today a savior is born! Glory to God in the highest! Amen? Amen!
The Third Sunday of Advent
Reading 1 Isaiah 61:1-2, 10-11
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me because the LORD has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God. I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul; for he has clothed me with a robe of salvation and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels.
As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up,
so will the Lord GOD make justice and praise spring up before all the nations.
“Today, this scripture passage has been fulfilled in your midst.”
(Lk 4:21)
Responsorial Psalm Lk 1:46-50, 53-54 My soul rejoices in my God (Is 61:10)
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked upon his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed R.
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation. R.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy, R.
Mary’s journey with our Lord is just beginning. She does not have all the answers, she in fact has very few. Mary models for us the response of one who trusts God. Mary rejoices. She sings forth praise to God amid all of her uncertainty because she trusts in the God who delivers. I don’t know about you, but my greatest moments of rejoicing were on the delivery side of things and not at the promise. The bible teaches us, “God’s ways are not man’s ways, nor are God’s thoughts man’s thoughts.” I would like to extrapolate one more truth, God’s promises are not man’s promises. We must not lean upon our human experience with other humans to live in our relationship with God. The next time that you are at the beginning of one of life’s journeys and you are feeling expectant hope for what God can do, proclaim, and rejoice the greatness of God at the outset as Mary did.
Reading 2 1 Thes 5:16-24
Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.
Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good.
Refrain from every kind of evil. May the God of peace make you perfectly holy
and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it.
What is prayer? Prayer is rejoicing. It is giving thanks. Prayer is connecting with the power of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is listening to God’s words spoken through another. Prayer is discerning what is and is not of God. What is the fruit of prayer? The God of peace will make you perfectly holy.
Gospel John 1:6-8, 19-28
A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the light but came to testify to the light. And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to him to ask him, “Who are you?”
He admitted and did not deny it, but admitted, “I am not the Christ.”
So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.” So they said to him,
“Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?” He said: “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘make straight the way of the Lord,’ “as Isaiah the prophet said.”
Some Pharisees were also sent. They asked him, “Why then do you baptize
if you are not the Christ or Elijah or the Prophet?” John answered them,
“I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,
the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.”
This happened in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
A man named John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.
A man/woman named (insert your name here) was sent from God. He/ She came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him/her. Ever wonder why God made you? Why you are here? What your purpose in life really is? John the Baptist defines every baptized Christian’s life mission: To reflect the light of Christ onto the world.
Still don’t know where to start? Re-read St. Paul’s letter above.
The Second Sunday of Advent
The Second Sunday of Advent
Reading 1 Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins. A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the LORD! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; the rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Go up on to a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; cry out at the top of your voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news! Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of Judah: Here is your God! Here comes with power the Lord GOD, who rules by his strong arm; here is his reward with him, his recompense before him. Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers the lambs, carrying them in his bosom, and leading the ewes with care.
“Prepare a place for the Lord.” We each have a desert place. A place that is longing for a fulfillment only God can provide. We must carry the lesson of the waiting room into our daily lives in some way. We must create a spiritual waiting room where we can spend time preparing. Prayer is preparation. What are one or two things that you can commit to doing for the rest of Advent that will mark your preparation?
Psalm 85: Lord Let us see your kindness and grant us your salvation.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD—for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land. R.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven. R.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and prepare the way of his steps. R.
Each of the highlighted words above is a promise: peace, salvation, glory, kindness, truth, and justice. Which do you long for? Spend time with these promises and ask the Lord to show you what these mean to Him compared to what they might mean to you.
Reading 2 2 Peter 3:8-14
Do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a mighty roar and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be found out. Since everything is to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be, conducting yourselves in holiness and devotion, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire. But according to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you await these things, be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.
My mom calls this process of waiting and accepting God’s time as patient endurance. We can only be patient from a heart of trust. While we wait St. Paul encourages us to use our time well, to grow in holiness.
“Blessed are those who wait for the Lord.” Jesus set the tone with the very first reading of this Advent: “Be Alert! Be Watchful!” In other words, wait. Wait is another four-letter word in today’s world. Take a look around a waiting room and what do you see? A lot of people trying to do anything but wait. We are on our phones playing games, checking emails, scrolling through Instagram. We think we have turned waiting into a productive art with the advent of technology when in fact we have lost the art of waiting. The next time you are waiting I invite you to enter the watchful waiting of the Lord: prayer. Waiting isn’t supposed to be empty; it isn’t biding time; it is in fact preparation. Fill yourself with spiritual food during your waiting. There are even phone apps that you can use to help nourish your spirit in this time of expectant hope. (From my Advent book entry for Saturday)
Gospel Mark 1:1-8
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way. A voice of one crying out in the desert: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.” John the Baptist appeared in the desert
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. He fed on locusts and wild honey. And this is what he proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
The words, [back to the future] pop into my mind. This reading takes us back to remind us that we are indeed living the promised future. We baptized in Christ have received the Holy Spirit. Spend time this week with Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit.
*Mt 10:20* *Lk 11:13* *Lk 24:49* *Jn 6:63*
*Jn 3:6-8* Jn 14:16* *Jn 14:26* *Acts 1:8*
First Sunday of Advent
The First Sunday of Advent
You, LORD, are our father, our redeemer you are named forever.
Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not? Return for the sake of your servants,
the tribes of your heritage. Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, with the mountains quaking before you, while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for, such as they had not heard of from of old.
No ear has ever heard, no eye ever seen, any God but you doing such deeds for those who wait for him. Would that you might meet us doing right,
that we were mindful of you in our ways! Behold, you are angry, and we are sinful; all of us have become like unclean people,
all our good deeds are like polluted rags; we have all withered like leaves,
and our guilt carries us away like the wind. There is none who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to cling to you; for you have hidden your face from us and have delivered us up to our guilt. Yet, O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay and you the potter: we are all the work of your hands.
You, Lord, are our father. This is the heart of the matter. Jesus became human, He allowed Himself to be gazed upon by human parents helpless in a manger so that we can allow ourselves to be gazed upon by our Heavenly Father. This Advent let us go within ourselves, let go of our humanity enough that we can encounter His divinity lying in wait.
Psalm 80 Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
from your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power,
and come to save us. R.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
look down from heaven, and see;
take care of this vine,
and protect what your right hand has planted
the son of man whom you yourself made strong. R.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
give us new life, and we will call upon your name. R.
Then we will no more withdraw from you.
+ Lord to withdraw from you is to live outside of Your presence within. It is to lean heavily on the earthly and suppress the heavenly. Draw us to the cradle our Savior that lies within, that we may become mindful of the sacred. Amen.
Reading II 1 COR 1:3-9
Brothers and sisters:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you firm to the end, irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
You are not lacking in any spiritual gift. We already have received Christmas, Easter, Pentecost. The Holy Spirit waits for you to open what is already there. What gift do you long to open?
Gospel MK 13:33-37
Jesus said to his disciples: “Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his own work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”
Be watchful! Be alert! This is the spirit of expectancy! The movement of divinity within can be so subtle, so often mistaken for our own insight, intelligence, and creative genius. To encounter the divine is to first tune in and begin to discover the unique movement of the Holy Spirit.
The Advent of Advent
First and Foremost, today is my mom’s 80th birthday and I ask you all to send a prayer up to heaven that our Heavenly Father may send down His birthday blessings in abundance on her as she enters a new decade! Thank you Mom for all the love, for all the support, and for all the ways that you have influenced who I am with the Lord and with the world.
We Christians are getting ready to celebrate another birthday! This upcoming Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent! I love Advent, maybe a little too much when I look at all the things that I try to pack into a relatively short span of time. This year is no different. A friend asked me to join an Advent reflection study and at looking at my calendar, I realized I have 2 nights available, two! The most wonderful time of the year can be eclipsed by the most busy time of the year. This Advent join me in slowing down for Christ, slowing down and truly preparing the way of our hearts. I am doing this by making room at the inn. What I mean by this is that I am looking at each day of Advent and setting aside at least a small block of time where I can sit in sacred silence and allow God to speak. This is above and beyond my regular prayer time. I am preparing for the Lord with the gift of an extra space of time just for HIm.
Another appropriate title for this blog could have been, “Oops, I did it again.” In late October I sat down with the Holy Spirit and put together an Advent book, “In the Spirit of Expectant Hope.” Below you will find the introduction and tomorrow I will post the Sunday Lectio Divina that is in the book. I will intermittently share daily Lectio Divina from the book as I feel prompted. May this Advent open your heart anew to the gift of our Savior. Amen.
[Expectant Hope]
These are the words whispered by the spirit for this book.
Expectant: A confidence in what is to come
Hope: The belief in things not yet seen (Heb 11:1-3)
We don’t hope for what we have. We hope for a reality not yet realized. This is the Spirit of Christmas, the spirit of God’s chosen ones, the hope of deliverance:
~ From wanting ~ From hurting ~ From lies ~ From betrayal ~ From insults ~ From brokenness ~ From loneliness ~ From pride ~ From greed ~ From addiction ~ From hatred ~ From fear ~ From rejection ~
From not seeing, not knowing, and not hearing God in the details of our lives.
This side of heaven, each of us carry hope for deliverance from our current reality into something more, something better, more fulfilling, more meaningful. Without hope we fall into despair and in the world today, we are in a crisis of despair. This Advent, may each of us take the ember of hope that we received at baptism and realize anew how good, loving, providential, merciful, comforting, and powerful our Heavenly Father is. Let us open daily scripture and walk from the promises of the Old Testament into the fulfillment of the delivered promise in Jesus Christ, “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:2). As the dawn of God’s “yes meaning yes” breaks in our hearts and minds our flame of hope grows and draws others out of desolation and into the hope of the Son.
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
(1 Peter 3:15)
We are going to step out of the trappings of Christmas. The story of Christ’s birth is a story of before and after. Before there was a promise. After the promise was and is fulfilled. We are supposed to be living the ‘joyfully ever after’ of this great love story. Each of us baptized in Christ carry this love story. It is a story of a thousand or more before and afters as we come to live the promise of Christ. Wherever you are in your story right now, God can come and overshadow you with His love and deliver you from expectant hope into realized joy.
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
Let us open the doors of our heart to God more fully this Advent, let His word become truth for us. The spiritual life is one area of our lives where it is okay to want more, to not be satisfied, to ask big. Spend this Advent not waiting for the decorations, or the treats, or the gifts. Spend this Advent waiting expectantly on the Lord.
I trust in the Lord, my soul trusts in His Word. My soul waits for the Lord more than sentinels wait for the dawn. (Ps 130)
The Domestic is not Docile
Lord Jesus, help me to see opportunities to grow my house into Your home. Open my eyes and heart to bringing Your love more present within these walls. Help me to recognize the talents You have entrusted me with that I may use them, grow in them, that when trials come sweeping into my life they do not sweep me away. Amen.
Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls…she brings him good not evil
The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.
The Church is known as the bride of Christ -and- according to Vatican II, the family is the ‘domestic church’. Our homes/families are called to be little churches in this world of chaos.
Looking at your domestic church of home, whether it be a church of 1 or 12, how are you creating a pearl of great value? How does your church best reflect the kingdom?
Think of how pearls develop: a grain of sand rough that is built up around layer by layer over great time smoothing out the roughness. So too our domestic church of home, it is a process built upon relationship with each other, with our posessions, and most of all with our Lord. Where in your home can you work to smooth out some areas that might be rough?
Psalm 128 Blessed are you who walk in His ways for you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; Blessed shall you be
Where in your life has following God’s ways been fruitful (whether it be the basics of the commandments or following the example of our Lord in His teaching and actions)?
1 Thes 1:5-6 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night
Often I read this letter of St. Paul’s and look way forward either to my own death or to the second coming of Christ. This week as I read this letter I reflected on the day to day life of Christianity that is in itself a series of highs and lows, of building up and tearing down. Adversity rarely comes into our life with warning. It too resembles a thief in the night. When the thief of adversity arrives, do we have our Lord ready, present, and on guard?
What does your life and your domestic church look like in times of adversity? Are you well armed with Him or are you caught off guard without a Savior? How has this changed over the course of your life and the course of your spiritual life? Would someone who gets a peek inside see a pearl of great value?
St. Paul gives us the template for adversity in his letter to the Ephesians
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Matthew 25:14-30 Well done my good and faithful servant
Where in your life are you seeing a return on the gifts that God has entrusted to you?
Where perhaps are you leaving some gifts in the closet or basement unused?
Coming back again to our domestic church of home, we are heading into the season of Thanksgiving and Christmas. What gifts has God given you that you can put to use to have Thanksgiving and Christmas better reflect the sacred and to better reflect love, hope, joy, and peace?
Wisdom wins in the end
Lord Jesus, You alone are our hope, not just for eternity, but for right now, each and every moment. Jesus I give you permission to nudge me and remind me to seek Your Wisdom when I am feeling doubtful, anxious, or unsure what to do. Your Wisdom keeps my lamp burning brightly. Holy Spirit fill me with fortitude to stay filled with what is holy and piety to love what is holy. Amen.
Wisdom 6:12-16 Resplendant and unfading is Wisdom… found by those who seek her…whoever watches for her at dawn shall not be disappointed
A quick Google search brought a definition of wisdom that inspired. Wisdom is skill in the art of Godly living.
Where do you seek Wisdom? When you are trying to make a decision, where do you get your input? Taking in the definition above, can you change or add to your sources of wisdom that ensure you are seeking Wisdom and not just wisdom?
Weekly challenge: If you don’t already do so, seek Wisdom in prayer as this reading advises (and our Lord often did), spend the very first part of your day in prayer (after the bathroom of course).
Psalm 63 And through the night watches I will meditate on you
How often do the worries of the day, the next day, or next year weigh upon you as you lie in bed at night? Perhaps God recommends Wisdom first thing in the morning when we are meant to be tackling life. Night-time is to rest in the assurance of God’s help and to leave it to Him. The next time your mind begins racing, seek not to solve but to rejoice in a God who will be seeking your greatest good while you rest.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 We do not want you to be unaware brothers and sisters, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
Last week we celebrated All Saints Day and All Souls Day. These days give us the opportunity to celebrate the reality that this earthly life is not the end all be all. We have eternity, and for those who hope in Christ, we have eternity with Christ.
Does your view of death (whether your own or a loved ones) reflect this truth of eternity?
Matthew 25:1-13 the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
As we await our Bridegroom, our eternity, we are called to keep our lamps lit. Consider that the oil in this parable is that which keeps our faith burning brightly. What is your oil? What animates your faith and keeps you sustained?
Are there circumstances that you repeatedly find yourself in where you become the foolish virgin? Do you find yourself in doubt, do you find yourself in great anxiety, or do you find yourself spiritually lazy? If you find your “oil” running on empty often, what steps do you need to commit to in order to avoid this?
Our first two readings and the psalm give us some sources of oil: morning prayer seeking Wisdom in how to live and the decisions we make, meditating on the Lord’s provision and entrusting Him with our night, and holding onto the hope of eternity.
Yield
Heavenly Father, help me to still and quiet my soul that I may accept the authority of your Fathership. Help me to recognize the oneness and the unity that Your Fathership holds me to. May I walk with grace as I walk alongside my brothers and sisters in Christ. May my words and actions point to the truth of Your Word. Open Your Word for me today Lord, I long to hear Your voice. Amen.
I have been working on an Advent book of Lectio Divina. In the past week I have been reworking 20 days of scriptural reflections with my eye on sending my work off to the printer by the end of this week. As I took a shower (a place where God often speaks to me) I realized that it was Wednesday and I was reminded that I had one more Lectio to “produce.” I sat down after dinner willing myself to ‘pound one out’ before we had to leave to go to Mass for All Saints Day which also happened to be Confirmation at our Parish. I had the Lectio all set to publish when Holy Spirit pressed my ‘pause’ button. Coming home from Mass I knew that what I had written was my ‘instruction’ and not so much that of my Father’s instruction and I did not want, “many to falter because of your instruction (Mal 2:8).” I went to bed and lifted this to the Lord. In prayer this morning the Lord gave me a word, [Yield]. As I reflected on this word, [yield], different definitions came to mind.
Yield: To slow down and make way for others; to give the right of way to another; to allow others to go ahead of ourselves.
This Sundays readings call on us to reflect on where God is asking us to yield in our lives. As Christians we are called to yield to God and to each other. The definition of love repeated again and again in Catholic circles is that to love another is to will the good of another. When we love God, we must yield to Him. We must will His will. His will after all is for the greatest good. When we love another, that will mean that we have to yield something of our own will for their greater good. Put another way…
And I will show you a still more excellent way…Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, endures all things. (1 Cor 12:31-13:7)
As you read the Sunday readings, ask yourself these three questions. Each question though very similar may have a very different answer.
Where is God asking me to yield?
With whom is God asking me to yield?
What is God asking me to yield?
I have included the scripture verses that spoke to my heart this week along with one last reflection question from the Gospel?
Malachi 1:14-2:10 Have we not all the one father? Has not the one God created us? Why then do we break faith with one another, violating the covenant of our fathers?
Psalm 131 I busy not myself with great things, nor with things too sublime for me. Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child
1 Thes 2:7-9,13 We were gentle among you…with such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well.
Matthew 23:1-12 For they preach but they do not practice.
To practice what we preach is to yield to our own high standards. Lord, where am I Pharisitical in a place of my life where I need more ‘practice?’ Lord, where am I called to yield my high standards for a still more excellent way?
Please pray for me this coming week that I may yield my writing, especially this Advent book, to the will of the one who inspired it. May the anxieties of this world yield to the peace of Christ in each of your hearts this week. Amen.
True North
+ Dear Lord, open my heart to love you in the spaces that I reserve for myself. Open my heart to my neighbor to love them in the space that we share. “My soul is restless until it finds its rest in you” (St. Augustine). Lord help my soul to recognize that the things that cause me restlessness are areas of invitation to you. Lord open my mind that Your Word may be living and effective giving way to my surrender of heart and soul. Amen.
Exodus 22:20-26 If he cries out to me I will hear him; for I am compassionate
Compassion: to suffer together; the feeling that arises when you are confronted with another’s suffering and feel motivated to relieve that suffering
When you hear the word suffering, what comes to mind? Where this week have you witnessed the suffering of another?
How has your week been? Have you suffered in some way? We must not discount our suffering in light of the suffering that surrounds us. The world is a mess of suffering but we have a Heavenly Father who has the ability, the mercy, and the loving desire to meet each of us in our suffering big or small. God hears our cry, He desires us to direct that cry toward Him.
Psalm 18 I love you, O Lord, my strength, O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
This becomes our prayer in times of suffering. Lord I am struggling with ____________. I love you Lord, my strength, my rock, my deliverer. I hand this suffering to you. Be my strength where I am weak, my rock where I am unsteady, my fortress where I need protection, my deliverer where I need saving. Amen.
1 Thes 5:1-10 For from you the word of the lord is sounding forth.
As I prayed with these scriptures I received a word from the Holy Spirit [Compass]. My heart quickened as it often does when I experience His inspiration. I went to my trusty search engine of Google. Compass is derived from two roots: Com: together (same root as compassion) and Passus: a step or pace.
We are called to be compasses of Christ to others. We are called to live the Word in such a way that we point others to Christ and walk a ways with them on their journey.
Who has recently been a compass for you? What qualities of Christ did they bring to your life? Spend some time praying with the people that the Lord has been repeatedly placing in your life lately. How are you perhaps being called to be a compass to them? We are called to walk this Christian life together one step at a time.
Matthew 22:34-40 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your strength, with all your mind
What does this look like? Break this down into the individual calls, because they are in fact individual calls. How do we love with our heart? Our strength? Our mind?
Think on people that you have known, or have studied, who exhibit the living reality of this commandment. How do they embody this? What can you learn from them?
Gary Chapman has famously written a number of books on the Five Love Languages. They are: quality time, service, gift giving, words of affirmation, and physical touch. We each have one or two that we gravitate to as our individual love languages. Where do we demonstrate our love to the Lord the greatest from that list? Where are we week? Consider this: Could striving to love the Lord our God in each and every love language help us to better meet this commandment? What does that look like for me?
Matthew 22:34-40 Love your neighbor as yourself
Where in your upcoming week is God calling upon you to fufill this commandment?
Where in your upcoming week will you encounter the suffering of another that with the grace of God you can enter in with compassion?
One last thought, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus reaffirms for each of us where our compasses must point. We are not our own true north. God is. And so Holy Spirit ties it all together, [compass].
Recognizing God at work
+ Dear Lord, increase my spiritual sight and spiritual hearing that I may better recognize the moments in my life that you are in fact working in and through my life to provide and to prosper me. Thank you Lord for those moments. Help me to recognize Your work in the lives of those I love and provide me with courage to help others to see Your movement in their lives. Amen.
Isaiah 45:1,4-6 I have called you by your name, giving you a title… it is I who arm you, though you know me not
I have called you by name… Sit with the Lord’s truth. You are called by Him, known by Him, you are not faceless or nameless to God. What stirs in your heart?
God seeks to be on a ‘first name basis’ with each of us. Has His desire become a lived reality for you?
If so, tell Him what difference that has made for you, tell Him what He means to you.
If not, ask Him to help you to know Him, ask Him to ‘arm’ you with the spiritual gifts to know Him.
Psalm 96 Give to the Lord the glory due to His name
God used a good friend to spiritually open my eyes and heart years ago with one piercing question, “I want you to think of one accomplishment or provision in your life that deep down you know you didn’t ‘earn’, something that was beyond your day to day ‘ability’. I immediately had my acceptance to PT school come to mind. He then looked at me and said, ‘That was God helping you to become who you were meant to become.’ I encourage you to spend time this week reliving the highlights of your life with God. He was there helping, recognizing that is one way of giving Him thanks.
Here is a witness moment of God breaking through for me. I began writing this Monday, then went to Mass. Our opening and closing song was, Praise to the Lord. I am including a link here to pray with the music and lyrics.
1 Thessalonians 1:1-5 For our gospel did not come to you in word alone, but in power and the Holy Spirit
God’s word is meant to pierce our heart, it is meant to be seed scattered on fertile soil that opens our hearts and minds and brings us into a relationship with Him, a ‘first name basis’ relationship. This is not something we can ‘do’, we cannot make it happen with our ‘will’. Moments when God’s word pierces our armor of humanity are moments where we released ourselves to Him, ‘thy will be done.’
We have been walking together with God’s word for 12 weeks now! Take some time this week to go back and relive the different moments that God’s word did indeed pierce your heart: where have you been moved, empowered, enlightened, consoled, healed, or convicted? These are moments of encounter with Jesus, the word made flesh! These are your moments, unique to you! Give the Lord the glory due His name!
Matthew 22:15-21 Give to Caeser what belongs to Caeser and to God what belongs to God
The Pharisees thought themselves rather clever, always looking for opportunities to trip Jesus up, to find a loophole in His teaching, to discredit Him. Throughout my own life, at different phases and stages, I too have thought myself rather clever and convinced myself of a loophole. In other words, I have justified moments where I refused to give God some aspect of my life.
Is there an argument that you are waging against God at this time in your life? Is it one of those internal dialogues with yourself or is it one where you actually bring it to God and ask Him to share His point of view? I encourage you to share these struggles with God, you will not offend Him if you are genuinely open to His perspective. Pray for the gift of patience though because this often takes time (trust me!). God’s answers come to us in His word, in the wisdom of another (think of that great question asked by my friend), in a sermon, or a book you are reading. If you ask in faith, He will deliver.
The Pivot
Jeff and I are heading to Florida this afternoon. We received a gracious invitation from friends through church to join them on their week in Cape Coral. This invitation came less than 3 months ago and was a moment of pivot. We were not planning to take another vacation this year, we have only vacationed with friends once before, and I was booked for a retreat in Ohio through yesterday and would be returning home late on Sunday night. We pivoted our view of leaving for vacation from Saturday to Monday and from morning to late afternoon. Last week Wednesday the weight of my commitments began to cripple me quite literally. I was chiding myself for booking WAY too much travel (19 hours by car just between Friday and Sunday) in such a short time span. Add to this my introverted tendencies and the social obligations I was facing were glaring right at me. I was longing for an out while committed to what I had committed to, “Let your yes mean yes.” Add to this that I had roped a dear friend into this retreat with me and she had used valuable vacation time and monetary resources. Enter panic. Hello panic, I know you so well from our history together. I reached out to two trusted friends and allowed myself to be vulnerable with them, admitting my state of panic. They independently gave me their love, their acceptance of me, and their wisdom that gave me the strength to reach out to my beloved Sister in Christ, Pam. I needed to own and share my feelings about our retreat together. Pam FaceTime called me within 30 minutes and I just broke down. She listened, she asked questions, she contributed some of her own concerns about our plans, and then she left it up to me assuring me that she was okay with whatever I decided. I admit now that what I wanted was to clear my plate and cancel, but I allowed guilt to make the commitment to move forward. That night my husband spontaneously prayed over me for peace and tears filled my eyes with the beauty of his prayer for me. My dog, Zeke, picking up on my tension spent the night curled under my arm, a rare position for him. Thursday morning found me folding laundry and packing with resolution. I trusted the Lord, He would walk with me through this and I would hopefully respect my limitations in the future. My phone alerted me to a FaceTime call from Pam. Pam was calling me to excitedly and lovingly tell me that Jesus had told her in prayer to reach out and take this opportunity to receive me in my hour of great turmoil and just remove the turmoil. Pam insisted that we were meant to pivot and to shift to a weekend closer to home that could be a different type of retreat. I shared that if all else failed, my house was available as Jeff was spending the weekend at the cottage. I cannot tell you peace that Pam’s call brought, but I hope that you can imagine, and I pray that each of you reading this has been or will be similarly blessed. First and foremost just the knowledge that Jesus would break through into Pam’s prayer to meet me in my need is overwhelming, such is His love. Second, for Pam to recognize, hear, and act upon Jesus’ call filled me with such gladness because it marks such a beautiful growth in her own relationship with the Lord. Wow. Our big “P” Pivot led to many smaller “p” pivots over the weekend and the Lord was sowing a whole new field within our friendship with each other and with Him. I have received so many blessings in the past three days that my heart is full of love, gratitude, and peace. Several weeks ago we had the Gospel of the Landowner who goes out throughout the day to gather workers and at the end of the day the workers all get paid the same no matter when they started working. Fr. Adam talked of the early bird workers missing the added and true reward of getting to spend more time with the Landowner during the day, I agree and add my own inspiration. While working the harvest of the Lord, not only am I blessed with each moment spent with the Lord, I am doubly blessed by the individuals that I get to work alongside, those who are my friends in Christ. This past week really highlights that reality: from the phone-a-friends Meg and Molly, to my husband Jeff, even my dog, but most especially my Sister in Christ Pam. This upcoming Sunday we shift to the Gospel of the King who sends out invitations to the wedding of His Son. Again I am inspired by this past week and Pam’s prophetic words of [pivot]. The King sends His messengers to invite His friends and workers to the feast and receives rejection after rejection, much of the time because the individuals were so wrapped up in their own agenda’s they didn’t fully understand the grace of the invitation. Pam saw the grace of the invitation and pivoted our agenda and I am grateful. This past weekend at times did indeed feel like receiving a glimpse of the glory of heaven that awaits each of us when we accept the invitations of God. As I read through the next Sunday’s readings, several verses reach out and speak truth to my story.
“Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us! This is the Lord for whom we looked; let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!” Is 25:6-10
Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage. Psalm 23
“I can do all things in Him who strengthens me” Phil 4:12-14, 19-20
"The kingdom of heaven may be likeed to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come.” Mt 22:1-14
I include the link to the full Sunday readings below and encourage you to sit with them and perhaps this week, do your own pivot: come up with the questions or invitations that God is sending your way, write down what He places on your heart.
The Vineyard of the Lord
+ Dear Lord, thank you for tending to the vineyard of my life. Thank you for your care, compassion, patience, and wisdom. There are times in my life when I feel that my offering is but that of wild grapes and that I have been run over. Open my heart to your tender loving care even in these moments Lord, do not let me become discouraged or despondent. You are still tending to me, you have not abandoned me to the wild. Amen.
Isaiah 5:1-7 The vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his cherished plant;
Where do I tend the garden of this life? What aspects of my life do I devote care, time, and resources? What is the harvest of this investment?
Where has God been tending to me lately? Where do I feel His hand guiding me? Where am I being cut back? Do I welcome His work or do I resist?
Psalm 80 Then we will no more withdraw from you; give us new life, and we will call upon your name. O LORD, God of hosts, restore us; if your face shine upon us, then we shall be saved.
Where are you withdrawing from the Lord?
The psalmist tells us a beautiful truth. God is seeking to bring new life into that area of your life, we just have to invite the Lord in. Lift up the psalmists cry as your prayer of release… + O Lord, God of hosts, restore me; if your face shine upon me, then I shall be saved.
Philippians 4:6-9 Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.
St. Paul leads with what seems to be an impossible command. To be human is to have anxiety, at least this seems to be the reality of the humans I know. When I hear this what is my response? Do I think of it as sour grapes (pun intended, couldn’t resist)? Do I discount it as foolishness? Do I cry out to the Lord to take my anxiety away? Do I tune out what St. Paul says next because I got stuck on the first line?
How do we seek first the kingdom of God? By prayer and petition, make your requests known to God.
How do we seek first the kingdom of God? With thanksgiving for the many ways that God has already provided Himself in our lives. Reflect on the evidence of God in your life. Using St. Pauls list ask yourself these questions: What is true in my life? What is honorable? What is just? What is pure? What is lovely? What is gracious? Praise be to God!
Evil is thus a kind of parasite on goodness. If there were no good by which to measure things, evil could not exist. Men sometimes forget this, and say, theere is so much evil in the world that there cannot be a God. They are forgetting that, if there were no God, they would have no way of distinguishing evil from goodness. ~ Fulton Sheen
Matthew 21:33-43 Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?
What is the cornerstone of my life?
Gospel challenge: Take time this week to ask several people close to you what they would say is your cornerstone. How does their view and your view line up? Are there any adjustments to your life that need to be made?
As a Christian we are called to have Jesus as the cornerstone. When we are riddled by anxiety (I have been there) it is time to inspect the foundation. Ask yourself, “What is the foundation of my anxiety?” This is what you take to the Lord in prayer.
I did it my way
+ Dear Lord, I know that I am spiritually stubborn in some way. As I reflect on Your Word today, help me to hear any gentle invitation You have to Your way. May the truth from last week’s, “For my ways are not your ways” carry me into this week’s “Is it my ways that are unfair or rather are not your ways unfair?” Amen.
Ezekiel 25:23-28 Hear how house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather are not your ways unfair?
Where have you shared the cry of Israel that God’s way was unfair? What truth, grace, or greater good have you received from God when you have chosen His Way over your way?
Replace the word unfair with the word “hard.” Where have you resisted the “hard” that God calls you to? Where perhaps are you resisting His Way right now? Tell Him why it’s hard, give Him a chance to respond.
What is one area of grace that God has blessed your life with in the form of perseverance or fortitude? In other words, where has God’s Way been easier for you than others in your life? Where have you and God already forged the path of holiness in your life?
Psalm 25 I am including an extended version of Psalm 25 here and inviting you to reflect slowly on each line. Where is God drawing your heart today?
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in you I trust, let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.
Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
For you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
Good and upright is the lord;
Therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the Lord are mercy and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
Turn to me, and be gracious to me; for I am lonely and afflicted.
Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distresses.
Philippians 2:1-11 Humbly regard others as more important than yourself
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matthew 22:37-39)
Jesus reminds us of the basic framework of His Way. St. Paul rephrases it here in his letter. Where in your life are you putting you first? Where are you placing your needs or wants as more important than God’s or another persons? This is a hard ask, to reflect on this in our lives.
Fear is often a tool of the enemy that holds us back. Who will take care of me? What about my dreams/hopes/desires? What do you fear you will lose if you “humbly regard others as more important than yourself”? Take this fear to the Lord and ask Him to deal with it. What truth does the Lord want you to replace that fear with? Ask Him.
When you struggle with this truth, and I believe we all do (at least I do regularly) reflect on this: When did Jesus place Himself first?
Matthew 21:28-32 Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your mind
Jesus brings us consolation here in the Gospel with His word, “later”. Jesus does not expect us to be instantaneously Holy, He calls us to a journey of discovering Him and gradually being formed into who God uniquely made you to be.
Where has God already molded your heart to His Way where you were previously resistant? Praise Him for the good work He has done in you and turn that praise to trust that what He has accomplished before, He can do again with our cooperation.
Call to mind again last weeks Gospel of the landowner calling the idle to His vineyard. It is never too late. Our priest, Fr. Adam, often reassures us that where we struggle, where we experience frustration or anxiety, is where Jesus is calling us to a conversation with Him. Whatever Jesus stirred up this week, it is an invitation to bring it to Him. Together the two of you can begin the journey deeper into God’s call of holiness.