Hold Nothing Back -- Give ALL

      You will remember that in our Lord’s counsels for perfection: “Give not only thy coat but thy cloak also”; “Go not only one mile but other two.” He would have us know we are to be wholly forgetful of ourselves and consider only the other. He does not say: “Give thy cloak if thou canst possibly do without it”; “go other two miles if it is convenient, or if you are not too fatigued.” He would not have us consider ourselves in the least. This is generous love and nothing less worthy of a Carmelite soul. These counsels of our Lord are for those desiring perfection, for those who love Him enough to want to be perfect. He knows that such souls – real lovers – will only need to know His good pleasure. They do not consider the cost to themselves, unless it be to offer Him thanks that they can give Him something that does cost. Mother Aloysius of the Blessed Sacrament

     Mother Aloysius is inviting us to heroic, generous love…to love as God has loved us…holding nothing back…and giving ALL!

Our Sarah -- A Life Well Lived

     Thanksgiving was just around the corner, and Sarah continued to ‘hold court’ with all family members who visited. I had made my plane reservations and was counting the days, like a child waiting for Christmas, till my visit December 10th to the 15th. 

     Praise be to God; Sarah was really good and enjoyed everyone’s presence so much that it seemed to lend to her wellbeing. Her joy was then contagious to those around her.

The Rocky, Bumpy Road to Bethlehem

     “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with the worries of this life.”   
                                                                                                          Luke 21:34


     Thanksgiving was behind me.

     Advent was quickly approaching.

     My prayer: My God, on what do You want me to focus in order for my heart and mind to be ready for Jesus on Christmas morning?

     You may not realize it, but I like to have a plan and not waste any time, whipping myself into spiritual shape. God knew what He was doing in not having me born during the times of hair shirts and self-flagellation!

     Each time I brought this thought to prayer, I got the sense that God wanted me to work on becoming gentler and more patient ABOUT myself. “That’s a novel thought. Doesn’t sound too difficult! Maybe it’s not from God… I’ll keep asking.”

     But the answer did not change. It remained the same: be gentler with yourself and more patient. “Hmm. I guess this IS what He wants.”

     As I thought and prayed about God’s answer, it became clear that the past twenty-two months have been pretty intense. Truth be told, as I pondered more fully, it became evident that I have not given myself a break! When my different faults and foibles were revealed to me in either prayer, or in life situations, I was sent into a panic! It was all up to me to change, and to do it quickly! I went to work, doing I what I could to remedy my behavior. I expected far too much from myself and wanted to eradicate the imperfections that I saw right then and there. I searched for books to help, spent time in prayer and talked to family members and friends. I also spent time before Our Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, hoping He would heal me of all my brokenness. I wanted to fix it, take control of the situation and become that woman God has called me to be from all eternity, without any more delay!

     To my surprise, this is not the route God is purposing. God is calling me to slow down. Take a deep breath and accept both His help, as well as His timing. He is calling me to stop the frantic pace of having to be perfect. Perfection was not His idea, but mine. Ugh!

     Why was I trying so hard? After all, intellectually, I knew I was far from perfect, but when all of my imperfections were revealed to me, my reaction said otherwise. I didn’t want to take the slow, sometimes painful, long road and journey to change. I wanted to be on the fast track and just arrive. Well, maybe not just arrive. I was willing to do the hard work that was involved, but I wanted it to be over in a timely fashion.

     Unbeknown to me, I had let my heart get weighed down with the worries of my life, trying to fix myself. I am not the Potter, He is!

     God has impressed on my heart that becoming THAT woman, will take a lifetime and possibly, some time in purgatory as well! It will take my cooperation, but is His work and timeline. I still need to be alert to His promptings and grace, and open myself to His design.

     This will still involve prayer, receiving the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Penance, time before the Blessed Sacrament, asking for His healing for my own woundedness, spiritual reading, as well as speaking with family and friends about cares and concerns, as they present themselves. I will still try to practice all the lessons He has taught me these past number of months and stay His course. But my attitude with my effort will be quite different. I will stop trying so hard, believing it is ALL UP TO ME! I will also have to remind myself that I do not have the timeline by which it HAS to happen! Only the good Lord knows when He will be calling me home.

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    As Advent begins, please join me on a journey. I am traveling with Mary and Joseph. Mary is very pregnant with my sweet Jesus, so I cannot be in a hurry. I must go at their pace and not my own.

     I will spend time speaking with St. Joseph, seeking the wisdom of his good counsel and direction. I will turn to him when I’m unsure of which direction to take. With his gifts, wisdom and manly care, the Holy Family arrived at their destination. He will help me to do the same.

     When I’m feeling weary of the journey, I will climb up on the donkey with Mary, and wrap my arms around Her. I’ll allow myself to be comforted by Her words, as well as The Word, safe within Her womb. I’ll speak to Her, heart to Heart, as one does to such a precious Mother. I’ll let Her nurture me with Her presence, as well as the presence of Her Son.

     This Advent, and hopefully beyond, I will allow myself the luxury, of slowing down and being gentler and patient with myself. I will breath in God’s love and acceptance of Whose I am, receiving it, so I can become who He sees when He looks so lovingly at me.

     I will try my best not to allow my heart to be weighed down by the worries and burdens of life, and instead, make room for Jesus to reside there.

     “May the God of peace Himself make you perfectly holy and my 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” (2 Thes:23-24).
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

Follow the Peaceful Spirit

     “A peaceful spirit with oneself and others is one of the greatest gifts of God. Follow that spirit and all His inspirations: He will work wonders in your neighbor and yourself. When one has learned how to remain in peace in one’s soul, God holds His divine school in the soul where He teaches everything without noise of words to attentive, peaceful and docile souls in such a way that directors have nothing to say but: Listen to the voice of God’s Spirit, or better still – follow faithfully the interior impulse of His grace.”          
                                                                                Father Jean-Pierre de Cassade, S.J.


     We are all searching and longing for peace . . .. peace in our hearts, within our families, in our lives and the world. But often, peace seems elusive or unattainable. When experienced, it seems to slip through our hands like grains of sand and fade like dust blown into the wind. Peace just doesn’t seem to be something we can readily hold onto!

Begin Again

     “Have patience with all things, but first of all with yourself.”       St. Francis de Sales



     We are smack in the middle of the fourth week of Lent. We may have started out strong with our Lenten resolutions and practices. At times, it almost seemed effortless! We were pleased and amazed with our sacrifices and mortifications, well aware that it was indeed the grace of God that made it appear so easy. Then it happened – we left the valley of ease and began to spiritually scale the challenging peaks of Mt. Everest! We realize we are not mountain climbers and wondered how we even arrived here. It was not part of our plan. Our route was all mapped out. So what changed?

Peace -- Pass It On

     “The peace of our spirit does not depend on the good nature and kindness of other people. Our neighbor’s good nature and kindness are in no way subject to our control or opinion. That would be absurd. The tranquility of our heart depends on ourselves. The ability to avoid anger, with all its ridiculous effects, has to come from within ourselves and not be dependent on the nature of other people. The power to overcome the evil in our character must not depend on some perfection outside us, but on our own virtue.”                                                                      
                                                              St. Jose Maria Escriva



     The “blame game” started long ago in the garden. Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent. As children of Adam and Eve, it might be a good time to say, “the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree!”

God is Counting on Us

     When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord, You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was distressed that He had said to him a third time, “Do you love Me?” and he said to Him, “Lord, You know everything; You know that I love You.” (Jesus) said to him, feed My sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had said this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”  (Jn. 21 vs. 15-19)

      After Christ’s resurrection, the apostles had gone back to their comfort zone of fishing. They had been fishing all night and caught nothing. At dawn, while still in the boat, Jesus came and learning of their fruitless night, instructed them for a great catch. St. John recognized Jesus and told Peter. Peter, filled with great love, jumped overboard to go to Jesus. Jesus had started a charcoal fire on shore and invited the apostles to breakfast.
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Come Holy Spirit

     Today is the great feast of Pentecost! We have been preparing by praying the novena to the Holy Spirit in preparation for all the gifts and graces that will be poured into our souls. Let us end this day by praying the Veni, Sancte Spiritus – the Sequence in honor of Pentecost in thanksgiving for the great gift from God -- His Holy Spirit!

Come, Holy Spirit, come!

And from your celestial home

Shed a ray of light divine!

Come, Father of the poor!

Come, source of all our store!

Come, within our bosoms shine.

You, of comforters the best;

You, the soul’s most welcome guest’

Sweet refreshment here below;

In our labor, rest most sweet;

Grateful coolness in the heat;

Solace in the midst of woe.

O most blessed Light divine, 

Shine within these hearts of yours,

And our inmost being fill!

Where you are not, we are naught, 

Nothing good in deed or thought, 

Nothing free from taint of ill.

Heal our wounds, our strength renew;

On our dryness pour your dew;

Wash the stains of guilt away:

Bend the stubborn heart and will;

Melt the frozen, warm the chill;

Guide the steps that go astray.

On the faithful, who adore

And confess you evermore

In your sevenfold gift descend;

Give them virtue’s sure reward;

Give them your salvation, Lord;

Give them joys that never end.

Amen. Alleluia.

Ascend to Him

     Our hearts were healed by His presence. Jesus had risen from the dead as He had promised and He appeared to us a number of times. He opened Scripture to us and we began to understand that this – His story – had all been foretold by the prophets. He had not abandoned us – His love was true. Jesus was the Promised Messiah!

Put Out into the Deep

     “I want to go fishing sometimes. How? I will tell you. The most holy passion of Jesus is a sea of sorrows but, at the same time, a sea of love. Pray to God that He teach you to fish in this sea. Then dive into its depths. No matter how deep you go, you will never reach bottom.” St. Paul of the Cross



     Our minds have become so accustomed to the fact that Jesus suffered and died on the cross for us that we fail to see the immensity and intensity of His passion. His love was met with rejection and brutality. We forget that Jesus was God who became flesh, to offer His body to the Father for our sins. We forget that He was sinless, yet took upon Himself all the sins of the world, from the beginning of time until its end. During His passion, Jesus, in His humanity, felt fear, anxiety, forgotten, betrayal, anguish, and excruciating pain. His love was so pure that His feelings were intensified and crushing. Jesus came, out of His great love for us, to show us how to love by giving of Himself completely and laying down His life.

Without distinction

     “Lord, if you tell me to love others just as You love them, then You must love them in me and through me. So the closer my union with You, the more I love all without distinction.” St. Therese of Lisieux


     What a challenge -- to love as He loves! St. Therese knew the difficulty of loving prickly personalities. We all have people in our families and in our lives, who test us in ways that are sometimes maddening! These very people have the capability, depending on how we handle it, of helping us become great saints or sinners – it’s up to us.

The treasure of the Cross

    “To live in love is not to set up our tent on Tabor.  It is to climb Calvary with Jesus and see the Cross as a treasure.”
                                                                                            St. Therese of Lisieux

                                                   
                                                           
      When I read about the saints, I am reminded how very much I need to grow and change! We’d all like to “set our tents on Mt. Tabor”…didn't St. Peter want to do the same?  Gee, maybe there is hope for us after all! It is clear that St. Peter grew in his love for God, gave his life to serve Christ and eventually, became a martyr. Apparently at some point, Peter, like Therese, came to see the Cross as a treasure.

Avia Joy is all about relationship

       Relationships - our lives are full of them! Some warm our hearts and make our lives worth living, while others challenge and stretch us. There are also some that we feel indifference toward. They really don't impact our lives in a deep or lasting way, so we put no effort to deepen them.

     Although there are people we just "click" with, for the most part, relationships that we cherish did not develop over night. It took time and effort from both parties to become bosom friends.