Embrace with Submission: Submit with Faith

      “The divine activity permeates the whole universe, it pervades every creature; wherever they are it is there; it goes before them, with them, and it follows them; all they have to do is to let the waves bear on them. Would to God that...all men could know how very easy it would be for them to arrive at a high degree of sanctity. They would only have to fulfill the simple duties of Christianity and of their state in life; to embrace with submission the crosses belonging to that state, and to submit with faith and love to the designs of Providence in all those things that have to be done or suffered without going out of their way to seek occasions for themselves…This is the spirituality of all ages and of every state. No state of life can, assuredly, be sanctified in a more exalted manner, nor in a more wonderful and easy way than by the simple use of the means that God, the sovereign director of souls, given them to do or to suffer at each moment."                                                                                                                                             Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade            

     As I read this quote of Fr. de Caussade, from Abandonment to Divine Providence, I take pause…take a deep breathe, and think, you say this is easy? Maybe I misread--oh--not easy, but very easy!

An Unquenchable Thirst

     “We shall be haunted by a nostalgia for divine things, by a homesickness for God which is not eased in this world even by the presence of God."  Caryll Houselander

     This very feeling or “homesickness for God,” is something that we all experience…religious or not and fail to recognize it as such.

     We mistake its source and find ourselves trying to “fill up” or take away the feeling with endless activity, food, drink, tv, social media, family, friends and whatever. The truth of the matter is the more we try, the more frustrated and unsatisfied we become…

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.

Immense Dignity

     “There is a space formed by the particular shape of our life. It is meant for God Himself to indwell. This must be felt as a lack . . . and it comes about through daily circumstances. It may be caused by a cavern of a lonely heart, the ache of a lost one, the yearning that comes from ‘not yet being home.’ In truth, we are to glory in this emptiness – for it is the price we pay for such an immense dignity. To wait in courage for God to fill our particular emptiness is one of the most profound of love’s acts.”     
                                                                                                                       Ed Colin 


     Life, with all its’ bells and whistles, hopes and desires, people and possessions cannot truly satisfy us. There is an emptiness, a lack, or void, which only God can fill.  It presents itself to us as a powerful yearning. This emptiness occurs even when everything seems right and good; when all is well; when we are filled with the love of our newborn child, husband or wife, children, relatives and friends. This feeling is a mystery to us and when it makes itself known, we can be thrown into total confusion and unrest.

Power, Wisdom and Love

    “By our belief in the Holy Trinity we acknowledge in one single God, Power, Wisdom and Love, and these three are one. Now surely, I do see what an immense effect such a doctrine must have upon life.  It is no mere question for theologians, but one that concerns every living soul. Whatever is allowed by God’s power must be guided by His wisdom and urged on by His love. All that happens to me in life, the little worries and the great anxieties, the crisis and the daily annoyances, the sorrow and the joys, the harms that reach me through the sins of others, the great cries of history, the huge and devastating wars, the partings and loves and the whole cycle of human experiences are permitted by Power which is itself wise and loving. These three Persons determine my life, and since I walk by faith, I must surely grow very patient in my attitude through life. For how can I complain or criticize God’s Providence, since it comes under the triple influence of Power, Wisdom and Love? Under the guidance, then, of this mystery, I can walk through the valley of death or the more perilous borders of sin without loss of courage or hopelessness. Nothing can make me afraid. How these are separate, but one, I do not know, nor can I reconcile in my concrete experience the claims of each. It is always a mystery, but a mystery in which I believe. Whatever Power allows on earth is designed in Wisdom and attuned by Love.”           
                                                                                Father Bede Jarrett



     As I read and pondered the words of Father Jarrett, I shook my head in awe, wonder and gratitude for the wisdom he has bequeathed to us!

It is the Lord

     “There is not a moment in which God does not present Himself under the cover of some pain to be endured, of some consolation to be enjoyed, or of some duty to be performed. All that takes place within us, around us, or through us, contains and conceals His divine action. It is really and truly there present, but invisibly present, that we are always surprised and do not recognize His operation until it has ceased. If we could lift the veil, and if we were attentive and watchful God would continually reveal Himself to us, and we should see His divine action in everything that happened to us, and rejoice in it. At each successive occurrence, we should exclaim: ‘It is the Lord,’ and we should accept every fresh circumstance as a gift from God. We should look upon creatures as feeble tools in the hands of an able workman, and should discover easily that nothing was wanting to us, and that the constant providence of God disposed Him to bestow upon us every moment whatever we        required.”                                                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                Jean-Pierre de Caussade

     Recognizing God and His actions, always present in our lives, is very difficult for us. We expect or imagine just how He will show His face and often miss Him, because He comes in ways much different than we desired.

     Our plans, ideas and expectations of life, are etched so deeply in stone by our own hand, that when something appears other than we planned, we fail to see God’s hand in it.

Both Hands on the Wheel

     “Prayer is not a ‘spare wheel’ that you pull out when in trouble, but it is your ‘steering wheel’ that directs your path throughout life.”             
                                                                               Author Unknown

     Think about it. Who would plan a trip, get into the car, discover the steering wheel is missing and try to make the trip anyway? None of us would want to drive our cars without a steering wheel, since we would be unable to navigate to our desired destination. So why, when prayer is the steering wheel that directs our path throughout life, do we try to navigate without it, or think we don’t need it at all?

Unmet Expectations

     Expectations – We all have them! We often don’t even realize their power over us until they go unmet. Then suddenly they become big and fierce and overwhelming. They knock us to our knees and distort our vision. We begin to look at the world through the lens of our great disappointment and loose our joy!

     Expectations vary: being married, having children, good health both for you and your loved ones, family unity, no drug or alcohol addictions, no financial problems, good and faithful friends, happy marriage, good children, family members practicing their faith, successful careers, vacations, down time, not too much stress, being loved, feeling appreciated, and so on.

     We have expectations of people: how they should act, what they should or shouldn’t say, the level of involvement they should have in our lives, how they should think about matters we see as important, and the like.

          And then we have expectations for specific occasions: good weather, good attendance, everything going smoothly, good health, low stress and a lovely time.

     And lastly, but of vital importance, we have expectations even of God: if He really loved me, my life would be easier, bad things wouldn’t happen, and all would be well!

     Truth be told, our expectations are often unrealistic. We want life to unfold as we imagine it should. When it doesn’t, we feel crushed. We expect others to be and act as we do. When they don’t, we do not understand and don’t even give them room to explain. Our minds are made up. They fell short. Why did we expect more from them? Why did we expect more from God?

     Believing that life should turn out as we would like is ludicrous! We are not in heaven. We live in a fallen world where sin abounds. We are not perfect, nor is anyone else. We will be disappointed and will disappoint others. We need to come to grips with the idea that this life is passing. We will have happy moments here, but they will be fleeting. Our goal is heaven where, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away. Behold, I make all things new” (Rv 21:4-5).

     Heaven is God’s promise to us. It gives us something to look toward when life is difficult and challenging – when our expectations are dashed and we are tempted to allow the evil one to rob us of our joy. We must not give him the power over us and our emotions. We need to remember that if Papa has allowed this particular situation, it must somehow be for our eternal good. We have to look at the whole picture and not just the part that is, in our eyes, out of line with our vision of how life should be. We have to remember that we are a work in progress and if we place our trust in God, these difficult times can make us into saints.

     The saints didn’t start out as saints. They were sinners just like us who just kept trying. Relying on the graces received from God and through His Sacraments, when life’s expectations were not met, they kept believing and trusting in God. They did not allow their disappointments to steer them from their goal of reaching holiness.

     What is another key to being able to trust and surrender to life’s happenings? Through grace you will believe in the goodness of God and trust in His tremendous love for you. Knowing that He will bring good from everything – even the really difficult stuff, is a gift! In our humanity, this is very hard for us to believe, but it’s God’s truth. The saints practiced this truth by thanking and praising God in all things.

     St. Teresa of Calcutta was known for saying, “The Lord gives, the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job1:21). Her trust in God was total and complete. She lived in darkness, yet held fast to God and His goodness.

     Jesus told St. Faustina that when she did not trust Him, it wounded Him deeply. She too was to praise and thank God for everything.

     We can’t forget St. Therese, who wrote in her biography, “Jesus does not demand great actions from us but, simply surrender and gratitude. Has He not said: ‘Offer to God the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving?” (Ps 49:14).

     Giving thanks and praise to God in ALL THINGS is a tall order! It takes a heroic amount of grace to even entertain the idea of beginning this practice. Yet, I’m weary and tired of allowing the joy that the Lord wants to give me to be stolen. I want to correct my vision and look at life’s situations through the eyes of my heavenly Father. I want to let go of expectations and learn to trust, especially when everything tells me not to. I want to praise and thank God because it will give Him joy! It will show Him just how much I love Him and trust in His great love for me. It won’t be easy, but with the help of God and His great communion of saints, it is possible.

     “Joy isn’t found in the material objects surrounding us, but in the inner recesses of the soul. One can possess joy in a prison cell as well as in a palace (St. Therese).

     Deepen your trust in God. Let go of unmet expectations. Stop the thief in his tracks. Don’t allow him to rob you of your joy. Praise and thank God instead!

     “In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thes:18).
 
    
    
    

Explore the Treasures -- Part 2

     In the second installment of our series, we will explore the Sacrament of Baptism.

     Having our children Baptized is the one of the greatest gifts we can give to them. Because of the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, every human person is born with the stain of original sin on their soul. Yes, even that sweet little infant who has stolen your heart! It is a great privilege, as well as a grave responsibility, as parents to have our children baptized. Baptism erases original sin by imparting the life of Christ’s grace.

Live Radically

     While they were still speaking about this, He stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” But they were startled and terrified and thought they were seeing a ghost. Then He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” And as He said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, He asked them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave Him a piece of baked fish; He took it and ate it in front of them. He said to them, “These are My words that I spoke to you whole I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the law of Moses and in the prophets and psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. And He said to them, “Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are all witnesses of these things.” Luke 24 vs 34 – 48


     For those of us, who first learned about the resurrection of Christ at our mother’s knee, it is a very familiar story. It could therefore, be heard so often we do not experience the impact that this amazing and wonderful act of God should have upon us.

Something Strange is Happening

     Something strange is happening -- there is a great silence on the earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear.
   

Your Hourglass

     “Like an hourglass with a certain number of grains of sand within it, God has appointed your life to last only a certain number of days, and you have absolutely no idea how many there are . . . In God’s presence consider: I have no idea when my life will end. All I know is that death will come for me eventually. Am I doing anything to prepare for the real possibility that God may call me, sooner than later? If He called me into eternity today, would I be ready?                                           Patrick Madrid


     During the month of November, the Church, in Her wisdom, has asked us to reflect on The Last Things: death, judgment, heaven and hell.

There's No Place Like Home

     “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor 2 vs 9).


     As we journey through life, we sometimes forget our eternal destiny. To make the most of our lives, we keep busy trying to fit in all that we can – unfocused on what truly matters.

Our Deepest Yearning

     “Wait a little while, my soul, await the promise of God, and you will have the fullness of all that is good in heaven. If you yearn inordinately for the good things of this life, you will lose those things that are heavenly and eternal. Use temporal things properly, but always desire what is eternal. Temporal things can never fully satisfy you, for you were not created to enjoy them alone . . . for your blessedness and happiness lie only in God, who has made all things from nothing.”            Thomas a’ Kempis



     We all have a yearning; a longing to be filled; a deep thirst which we are unable to satisfy on our own. We flit from this to that, hoping to quench our desire, but often come up empty. If we are able to find satisfaction, it is doesn't last long. It is fleeting and we are back to our quest!

Waiting in Trust

“Waiting times are growing and learning times. As you quiet your heart, you enter His peace. As you sense your weakness, you receive His strength. As you lay down your will, you hear His calling.” Roy Lessin



     We are a people who do not like to wait. We see it as a waste of time. We must be efficient. We must produce – now – not later. So we mutter and grumble if not audibly, under our breath, until our spirit is unsettled and our peace is lost.

Running With Complete Trust

     “Our present life is given only to gain the eternal one and if we don’t think about it, we build our affections on what belongs to this world, where our life is transitory. When we have to leave it we are afraid and become agitated. Believe me, to live happily in this pilgrimage, we have to aim at the hope of arriving at our Homeland, where we will stay eternally. Meanwhile we have to believe firmly that God calls us to Himself and follows us along the path towards Him. He will never permit anything to happen to us that is not for our greater good. He knows who we are and He will hold out his paternal hand to us during difficulties, so that nothing prevents us from running to Him swiftly. But to enjoy this grace we must have complete trust in Him.”                                                St. Padre Pio


     Keeping our eyes on our eternal destiny seems to be the theme that God is holding before us these days. We must look into our hearts to become aware of our attachments, so we can let go of them, and gently place them in the hands of our “Papa.” There He will take care of them for us. It is a difficult thing for us to do; because we are often tempted to possess who and what we love.

Patient trust

“If we patiently accept through love all that God allows to happen, then we will begin to taste even here on earth something of the delights the saints experienced in heaven.”                                                                                                                                                                                                    St. Jane Frances De Chantal

     When I read quotes like this, I feel as though I still have much to do to advance in my walk with God. I feel challenged enough in trying to accept, through love, all that God allows to happen, but to do it with patience, is usually beyond me!

Catherine and the Hail Holy Queen

     Her name was Catherine. I did not know her, but was asked to visit and bring Jesus to her, in Holy Communion. She resided in a nursing home and dying of stomach cancer.

     Although I had visited and ministered to dying people in the past, I was taken aback when I walked into Catherine’s room. She was very frail and weak and quite emaciated from the disease.  Cancer had taken its toll, and she was, for the most part, bedridden. She spoke very softly and I needed sit close to her in order to hear. It seemed clear to me that death was not far off and that her suffering was intense.

Create a clean heart in me, O God!

     As I lie prostrate, that summer afternoon, in my empty parish Church, I begged God to help me to love my sister. I told Him that He was going to have to give me His heart and do it for me because I knew that I had failed miserably.

     I had not started my day off on the wrong foot…quiet prayer time, morning Mass, breakfast, and then the Wednesday morning bible study that I facilitated at my home...  The only difference would be that my sister Yoana would be a part of the bible study because another sister was in town and we would afterwards go out to lunch and do a little shopping.

The Father - He told me to call Him Papa

     When I was a little girl and thought about God the Father, my concept of Him was the "God in charge." Jesus was the obedient Son and the Holy Spirit, well, He did whatever the Father or Jesus asked Him to do.

     At the same time, I thought of Him as my heavenly Father who cared and watched over me. I knew that He loved me very much because He had sent Jesus to open the gates of heaven, that had been closed because of the sin of Adam and Eve. He wanted me to be a good little girl so I could be with Him someday in heaven. It saddened me that there were people who did not love God, nor want to make Him happy. I promised Him at a young age to do what I could to show my love for Him.