Friday, August 28, 2015

Hunger and Thirst for More

     “I was sure that it was better for me to give myself up to Your love than to give in to my own desires. However, although the one way appealed to me and was gaining mastery, the other still afforded me pleasure and kept me victim. I had no answer to give to You when You said, ‘Rise, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you.’ When on all sides You showed me that Your words were true, and I was overcome by Your truth, I had no answer whatsoever to make, but only those slow and drowsy words, ‘Right away. Yes, right away.’ ‘Let me be for a while.’ But ‘Right away – right away, was never now, and “Let me be for a little while’ stretched out for a long time.”                                                                                                                                        St. Augustine


     Reading these words of St. Augustine should give us encouragement and hope. His conversion was a journey – and a long one at that! He was held victim by many inordinate attachments. But through the prayers of His mother St. Monica, along with the acceptance of God’s grace, he became one of the greatest saints of the Catholic Church!

Friday, August 21, 2015

Being a Beloved Disciple

     Being someone’s “favorite” is special. It’s like being picked out of a crowd and acknowledged as having a special effect on another. It is a feeling of being loved, cherished and cared about, far above the attention we usually receive. It fills your heart with joy and puts a smile on your face!

     You may have experienced this special treatment from a parent, a sibling, a friend, a teacher, or spouse. Being loved this way makes you walk a little taller as you accept the gift of being “the one.” When you embrace this role, you are willing to do whatever is necessary to return the gift to the other – which allows them to know they are cherished as well!

     The apostle John was that special person to Our Lord. Along with Peter and James, he was in the “inner circle,” but with John it went ever further. He was the Beloved Disciple. He was the one to rest His head on the heart of Jesus at the Last Supper and the only apostle to stand by Jesus as He suffered crucifixion. He did not run and hide when all the others did. He loved Jesus with a pure and true love. A love which only thinks of the other, wants to bring comfort, never counting the cost.

     Are you a Beloved disciple to Jesus? Do you stand by Jesus when the crosses of life come your way, or do you flee out of fear or disdain like the other apostles? Do you desert Him or join Mary, John and the holy women in trying to bring comfort to our Lord?

     Love proves itself by deeds, and John did just that. Jesus tells us in Holy Scripture, “If any one wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me” ( Lk 9 vs 23). We must learn to accept the trials and tribulations that come into our lives, recognizing them as a share in the cross of Christ. Learning to unite our sufferings with Jesus’ will open a wealth of graces to help us to endure. Realizing this is priceless. What a gift it is, to be invited to share in the work of salvation: if we could only remember that when suffering comes our way!

Saturday, August 15, 2015

The Assumption of Mary


Oh, my Dear Sweet Glorious Mother
You who were not God
Followed His will so completely and generously
As no human had done before and none since.
You who were so wrapped up in God
And not in self
Became eucharist and gave all
So that He who was All
Could become Eucharist for us.
You surrendered yourself to God
So He in turn
Could surrender Himself to us.
You gave us your Son and we killed Him….
And still you stood by us
Giving birth to us to new life.
Help me my Mother!
Help me to let go of self as you did.
Help me to surrender my will
So I may resemble you and your Son Jesus.
Help me not to fear the dying I must do
In order to live fully in Christ.
As you imitated Father, Son and Spirit in their self giving
Help me to do the same
In all the big and small ways that come into my daily life.
Help me to abandon myself
And become so wrapped up in God as you were
That I, like you, forget myself.
O Sweet Mother of Humility
God could not resist sweeping you up to heaven to Himself
To be the Bride
Pure and spotless and radiant in beauty
The perfect honor of our race.
Help me, your daughter,
To resemble, even slightly, the Mother,
So that God cannot resist me also.
Mary, Queen of Heaven,
Pray for me!



Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Yielding to Freedom

      “Which of you constructing a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’ Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple” ( Lk 14 vs 28-33).


    For a number of weeks, I found myself, once again, wrestling with God. I was tired of being the one called to change; tired of looking at my attitudes and actions. I wanted God to focus on someone other than me. This time I would not cry “uncle.” I just wanted to end this wrestling match, walk out of the ring, and call it quits! I was weary, tired and emotionally spent. Taking your relationship with God seriously, costs dearly and frankly, I felt bankrupt. 

Friday, August 7, 2015

His Deepest Desires

     Then the sweet Redeemer asked me to pray with Him the prayer that expresses His deepest desires:

May our feet journey together.
May our hands gather in unity.
May our hearts beat in unison.
May our souls be in harmony.
May our thoughts be as one.
May our ears listen to the silence together.
May our glances profoundly penetrate each other.
May our lips pray together to gain mercy from the Eternal Father.
Amen.

     I made this prayer completely mine. The Lord meditated on it many time with me, asserting these are His eternal longings. He taught me this prayer, so I would in turn teach it to others. With all our strength and mind, let us make our own His eternal thoughts and burning desires.
                An excerpt from the diary of Elizabeth Kindelmann*


     What a beautiful, powerful prayer Our Lord shared with Elizabeth: a prayer that expresses His eternal longings. The very longings that He has for each one of us! Let us look at them together and discover the love of our Savior.