Friday, January 30, 2015

Just Let Go

     It is a beautiful spring day: the sun is shining and the sky is bright blue. The birds are singing and there is a gentle breeze. There is a lake, surrounded by weeping willow trees. There is a rowboat on the lake with two passengers: you and God.

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

The New and the Old

     The holidays were behind us and I was once again, feeling somewhat disappointed. Things were different then they used to be, and I wasn't quite sure how to handle the changes.

     My husband and I had done our best over the years, to make birthdays and holidays special for our children. We wanted to give them memories to cherish and traditions to hold dear. Our celebrations and traditions grew and changed as our family grew and our children got older. We learned to adapt, holding on to what still worked, letting go of what we’d outgrown. We added some new traditions for our now adult children.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Singing in Sync

     “I 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” (Psalm 40 vs. 2a, 4a).



     I had been feeling burdened and frustrated. I had carved out some time earlier in the day to write my blog post, but nothing came. I had reflected on some beautiful quotes, but came up empty. I decided to walk away from it and clean my upstairs.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Live the Song in Your Heart

     “A FRIEND is someone who knows the song in your heart
 and
 sings it back to you when you have forgotten how it goes.”



     We have all experienced times when life has beaten us down. When we don’t have the initiative to take the next step or even know what the next step is. The road ahead seems endless with no oasis in sight. We feel like we are a failure and don’t believe we are up for any task.

Friday, January 9, 2015

Embracing Sacred Silence

     “We must cultivate that sacred silence which makes people remember the words of Jesus: “See how they love one another.” How often we find ourselves speaking of the faults of another. How often our conversation is about someone who is not present. Yet see the compassion of Christ toward Judas, the man who received so much love yet betrayed his own Master. But the Master kept the sacred silence and did not betray Judas. Jesus could have easily spoken in public – as we do – telling the hidden intentions and deeds of Judas to others. But He didn't, instead He showed mercy and charity. Rather than condemning Judas, He called him friend.        Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta



     Cultivating sacred silence goes against our grain. Keeping secret the faults of others is a challenge to us. Why is it that we struggle with this so? Why can’t we be loving, compassionate, and kind instead? Why do we like to expose another’s “nakedness?” Why do we often want to betray those who have betrayed us?

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

The Gift of Perserverance

     “Above all, it is necessary to ask of God every morning the gift of perseverance, and to beg of the Blessed Virgin to obtain it for you, and particularly in the time of temptation, by invoking the name of Jesus and Mary as long as the temptation lasts. Happy the man who will continue to act in this manner, and shall be found so doing when Jesus Christ shall come to judge him. ‘Blessed is that servant, whom, when his Lord shall come, he shall find so doing’ (Matt. 24:46).” St. Alphonsus De Liguori



     It is quite clear that St. Alphonsus was well aware of our human weakness. It is so very difficult for us to consistently strive, day in and day out, in our quest toward holiness. We grow weary, tired, and impatient, and can long for days when life could be a bit easier.

Friday, January 2, 2015

This Marvelous Exchange

     “We might say the whole mystery of our redemption in Christ, by His incarnation, His death and his resurrection, consists of this marvelous exchange: in the heart of Christ, God has loved us humanly, so as to render our human hearts capable of loving divinely. God became man so that man might become God – might love as only God is capable of loving, with the purity, intensity, power, tenderness, and inexhaustible patience that belong to divine love. It is an extraordinary source of hope and great consolation to know that, by virtue of God’s grace working in us (if we remain open to it by persevering in faith, prayer, and the sacraments), the Holy Spirit will transform and expand our hearts to the point of one day making them capable of loving as God does.”                                          Fr. Jacques Phillipe



     Loving divinely, as God does, is impossible for us to do by our own power. Our love is often shallow, self-centered, calculated, measured and faulty. We want to give love when we “feel” like it, and hold it back when we judge the effort is not worth the gain we will receive in return. We want to love those we enjoy and “click” with, and shutter when we are with persons with whom loving can be difficult. Even when we are at our best, we can only maintain loving for a short amount of time, without imploring this grace from God.