Walking Alone with Christ

So, yeah. I read something the other day, and I continue to think about it and thought I'd share it here.  It's from Fr. Mike Schmitz, Following God. Alone.

This is what struck me the most:

"One task we all have to accomplish is to learn how to walk alone with Christ...the Christian does not have to seek out isolation, but we must learn how to embrace it when it finds us."

Because, yes, it finds us. Sometimes quite unexpectedly, and other times you can see it coming a long way off.  Either way, Jesus does not leave us orphans. He is with us. Community is wonderful, and God provides when we need it most, yet there are times in life when community eludes us. And it is these times when our hearts are stretched to trust that Jesus continues to be with us and for us. Jesus does not abandon us. The interior suffering that finds us is painful, yet can be fruitful if we open ourselves to the grace God pours out to us in our loneliness and solitude.

One of the most beautiful books I have read is When God is Silent by +Archbishop Luis Martinez.  Here is a passage from that short and helpful book:

"Let faith and love sustain you while Jesus sleeps.  

The grace of purifying and fruitful sorrow is assured by the sleep of Jesus in the soul.  As the tempest on Tiberias coincided with the sleep of the Master, so in souls the hurricane rages when Jesus sleeps.  Souls need to be tempered in the clamor of the storm. They must be shaken by the seething waves to learn the stability of love. The sky must be overcast so that in the midst of shadows they may catch sight of  the mysterious light of faith.  The very depths must be opened beneath their fragile bark, so they may know how to hope against all hope."

During times of isolation or loneliness, we may be tempted in the interior suffering to try to alleviate our sadness in ways leading us away from God.  Instead, let us trust that He is with us, and though in our sadness, His presence may seem impossible to awaken, let us trust the fruitful labor of His love in our hearts, teaching us to hope against all hope.

A blessed last day of the Easter Octave to you!

I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

John 14:18

From The Breadbox Letters

Comforter of the Afflicted and the Refuge of Sinners

Venerable Fulton Sheen+, The Mystical Body of Christ

Our Lord did not make His earthly life one prolonged transfiguration. In those few, brief moments He did reveal the glory which was really His, but at all other times He appealed through the humanity which was like unto ours. His fatigue at Jacob's well, His tears over Jerusalem, His agony in the garden, His sufferings on the Cross - all the "weakness" of His human nature - have won more souls to Him than the blazing garments and the Heavenly Voice of Thabor.

In like manner, if the life of the Church had been one triumphant, blazing transfiguration on a mountain top, apart from the woes and ills of man, she would never have been the Comforter of the Afflicted and the Refuge of Sinners. She has been called, like her Divine Head, to be a redemptress, lifting men from the shadows of sin to the tabernacles of grace where Saints are made. She is not a far-off, abstract ideal, but a Mother; and though she has been stained with dust in her long journey through the centuries, though some of her children have left her and saddened her soul, yet there is joy in her heart because of the children she has nourished; there is gladness in her eyes because of the faith she has preserved; there is understanding in her soul for she has known the frailty of our flesh, and how to nourish us back to life. And in these qualities one divines the reason why Our Blessed Lord chose, not a sinless man like John, but a weak, frail, fallen man like Peter as His first vicar, in order that, through his weakness, he and the Church of which he is the head might sympathize with the weakness of his brethren, be their Apostle of Mercy and, in the truest sense of the term, the Vicar of the Saviour and Redeemer of the world who came not to save the just, but the sinner.

Called For A Greater Purpose

A life-changing realization:

"There is something wonderfully sacred that happens when a girl chooses to look past being set aside to see God's call for her to be set apart." ~Lysa TerKeurst

This is a grace. The truth is, yes, I have been set aside, many times. All of us have, at one point or another in our lives, been set aside. And it hurts. But the greater Truth is that God, my Father (*my Father!!!) has called me through and beyond that hurt, wholly His beloved daughter, for a greater purpose. What I love about Lysa's words are this: Though I cannot change or control being set aside, I can acknowledge that it has happened and then choose (this is huge!) to look past this fact and see, know, and believe God's call *for* me to be set apart.  He has chosen me, and I belong wholly to Him.  Every moment of my life, past, present, and future has been redeemed by Jesus's life saving sacrifice and resurrection from the grave. All of me and every moment of my life belongs wholly to Jesus, and He has created me completely anew as God's beloved daughter.

Yes, I have been set aside. It hurts. And in that moment, I choose to turn to You, Jesus.  Help me to turn to You in every moment, for You have redeemed all.  I know and trust as I look to You that You have created me completely anew, set apart as a beloved daughter of God, Our Father. I praise You and thank You, Father. For I am wonderfully made and made new by Jesus. In Your Holy and Saving Name Jesus, I pray and I love You. Amen+

"...let your love lead your steps to Jesus wounded, to Jesus crowned with thorns, to Jesus fastened upon the gibbet of the cross."

"Since fervor of devotion is nourished and preserved in us by a frequent return of our thoughts to the passion of Christ, anyone who wishes to keep the flame of ardor alive within himself should frequently--or rather, incessantly--contemplate in his heart Christ dying upon the cross. That is why the Lord said of old: The fire on the altar is to be kept burning; it must not go out. Every morning the priest shall put firewood on it (Lev. 6:5) Listen Mother devout: your heart is the altar of God. It is here that the fire of intense love must burn always. You are to feed it every day with the wood of the cross of Christ and the commemoration of His passion. The prophet Isaiah says, You shall draw waters with joy out of the Savior's fountains (Isa 12:3); meaning that whoever wishes to obtain from God the waters of grace, the waters of devotion, the waters of tears, must draw from the fountains which are the five wounds of Christ.

 

"Therefore let your love lead your steps to Jesus wounded, to Jesus crowned with thorns, to Jesus fastened upon the gibbet of the cross. Not only see in His hands the print of the nails, with the apostle Thomas, not only put your finger into the place of the nails, not only put your hand into His side, but enter with your whole being through the door of his side into Jesus' heart itself. There transformed into Christ by your burning love for the Crucified, pierced by the nails of the fear of God, wounded by the spear of super-abounding love, transfixed by the sword of intimate compassion, seek nothing, desire nothing, wish for no consolation, other than to be able to die with Christ on the cross. Then you may cry out with the apostle Paul: With Christ, I am nailed to the cross. It is now no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me (Gal. 19-20)."

 

Saint Bonaventure 

On the Perfection of Life Addressed to the Sisters, The Works of Bonaventure

But what do you do when you are drowning?

This morning I was up earlier than normal and read a blog post about a facebook / pinterest meme that I had not seen yet.  Jennifer Fulwiler wrote an excellent blog post about how this meme proves that we are living in a culture of death.  She also referred to Mindy Goorchenko's also excellent post pointing out "flaws in the analogy."  I highly recommend reading both of these posts.

Maybe I should have stayed in bed, or maybe I should not have gone online and prayed instead because that facebook meme is really bothering me.  Jennifer and Mindy make very good points of which I am in wholehearted agreement.  But that meme really hits home, and I believe that is why it is so insidious.  Comparing the "birth of a baby to a horrible form of death" is so insidious because it is a twisting of a beautiful truth.  Getting married and having children is a death, but not a horrible form of death that brings destruction.  Getting married and having children is a death to self that brings about life.  And if you do not know about death that brings life, that brings redemption, you will drown.   

"It stuns the conscience," as Jennifer says.  It stuns my conscience because it just so happens that right now in my life, I feel like I am drowning.  Sometimes drowning just in dishes and laundry and little people needing me at every minute of the day, but also in a deeper way drowning in emotions, and hurts and trying to find healing.  Sometimes I go through times where I feel dry and parched, especially in prayer, and this can bring desolation.  Other times desolation comes because I feel overwhelmed, like I am drowning.  It is in these dark moments where I think how could we possibly handle another child or how could I possibly stay here and be  a wife to my husband and a mother to my children.  And my fight or flight instinct kicks in and I either run away for a period of time or fight my way to the surface just trying to get a breath.  Neither really works.  Only surrender does. 

The answer is not to stay out of the water.  The answer is not to put on a temporary life jacket.  The answer is not to take swimming lessons.  The real answer is to let go and surrender and let the grief, sadness, hurt, and yes, death, come.  Because there is new life that is better than anything we can imagine.  Do not be afraid, Christ will rescue you.  He will bring you to the surface.

UPDATE:  Elizabeth Foss has a fantastic post Overwhelmed by the Everyday that really helps!  Surrender to God, listen to Him, and say yes to Him!

 

"Fasting detaches you from this world, prayer reattaches you to the next world"

I trust in You Jesus. 

We have been given an amazing opportunity to witness to the hope that we have been given in Jesus Christ. Our hope is in Him, not in men, not in princes.  He gives Himself completely to us in the Sacraments, and thanks be to God, we still can receive Him without fear in our country.  Hope in Jesus Christ is our anchor and He will not abandon us during this current storm, even if things get decidedly worse.  It is going to take a lot of trust on our part, and He will give us fortitude and courage to speak when we need to, take action when called for, and to stand firm in silence when necessary.

Each one of us has been born at this time for a particular reason.  In our ordinary lives, we are called to love in an extraordinary way.  There is a lot going on in our world and country, and it is very discouraging at times.  But God has not abandoned us.  We may be chastised a bit, but we trust in His Love for us and in His Divine Providence.  He gives and He takes away.  In all, is His Grace.  In this time, I can choose to become overwhelmed with the things of the world or I can choose to place all my trust in Him.  Trusting in Him does not mean complacency or ignoring what is going on around me.  There is a battle going on, and we must remain engaged.  Trusting in Him means giving myself completely to Him in relationship as His beloved daughter and knowing He will call me to action where I am needed in the battle.  The only way to remain grounded in Him right now is through prayer and fasting.  As Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said,

"Fasting detaches you from this world, prayer reattaches you to the next world."  

It takes discernment to hear what God is telling us, and with too much indulgence (non only food, but information and material goods) comes fog, but with fasting comes clarity.  May we discern where God wants us to be in this battle, equipped with all the virtues, especially the theological and cardinal:  faith, hope, love, prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.

Lord, have mercy on us as we place our trust in You.  Mary, our Mother, watch over us.  I give you my will, conform it to the will of Your Son.  Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.  Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.  St. Joseph, pray for us.  Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.  In Your Most Holy Name, Amen.

A Fire that Cannot be Contained

My heart is on fire for Jesus Christ, and as my husband said the other day, when you are on fire for Jesus, it cannot be contained.   And, so, I am on my way, with Christ before me, in me, and for me. 

Please pray for a special intention related to my sister Laura.... I am working up the courage to write about it, and if God wants me to write here about it, I will.  It is pressing, and yet, has been a part of me for almost my entire life.  Please ask God to give me clarity on what I need to do to move forward to help my sister in the way He is calling.

Shawn McDonald, Clarity:

Standing on the battle line
I fight for my mind aching to be free
This war that I face as I long to embrace
and be with my King.

And this fire in my soul, desire to be whole

Is deep within my bones

And I long to be near as I cast away my fear

Running to Your throne.

I need clarity and truth to be

And peace to make me whole

I want freedom to come and hate to be done
And love to guide my soul.

Purchase the song Clarity at iTunes here.

Enter into Life

I'll be honest with you.  Things are falling apart over here.  Big time.  And after staying up all night with my sick baby, it may not be the best time to make a big decision, or it may be the best time to make this decision.  In the early hours of the morning when I could do nothing but take care of Michael and think without a screen in front of my face, I spent some time pondering about how I spend my time during the day.  In some ways, it seems as though I'm really living out my vocation, but in reality, I am avoiding it every chance I get with needless distractions and a desire to "fit in".  But the problem is that I will never fit in anywhere but the Heart of God.  As St. Augustine says, "Our hearts are restless O Lord, until they rest in You."  He is out there in each one of you and I have had the privilege of meeting some wonderful people online.  For that I am so thankful and trust that God put certain people in my life for a reason.

Yesterday, I read a post at Vultus Christi, where Father Kirby wrote a letter to a novice Oblate (married with children) about how she, as a wife and mother, can enter into the their charism of Adoration and Reparation.  Here is how Father Kirby began his letter:

My dear daughter in Christ,


Praying at Home
Recently, you asked me how you, as wife and mother, with children to look after from morning 'til night seven days a week, can enter into our monastery's charism of adoration and reparation. It will be many years, I think, before you will have the freedom to spend any significant amount of time in adoration before the Tabernacle, or before the Most Blessed Sacrament exposed in the monstrance.


Your Divine Office
Your duty now, and the expression of your love for God, is to be fully present to your family. Your "Divine Office" is to cook, and clean, and change dirty diapers, and run errands, and keep the littlest ones amused, and find time to listen to the older children, and to bandage cuts, and look after bruises, and welcome guests -- and every now and then -- to steal a moment or two alone with your husband. Is this incompatible with your desire as an Oblate of our monastery to offer yourself to Our Lord in adoration, in reparation, and in supplication for the holiness of priests?

... Read more here.

This letter makes me weep in both joy and sadness.  I know God is calling me to enter fully into the life He has given me, and I trust that the relationships which God wants me to nurture are right here around me in my own living room, those with my husband and my children.  God has blessed me with a few really close friends and many acquaintances to encourage me and hopefully in some small ways I can encourage them as well.

This morning in my email inbox was an article from Matthew Warner at Fallible Blogma, "What's Your Idle?"  Well, my idle has been checking email, checking in on social media, reading blogs, writing blog posts and reading political news.  My husband is very generous in giving me the time I need to go to weekly Adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, to attend daily Mass at least once or twice a week, and to go out with friends just for some down time.  But it is the daily idle time that has me falling apart.  And, like Matthew, I am going to change what I do with that idle time.  Here is a 40 second prayer that Father Kirby included in his letter to his daughter in Christ:

A 40 Second Prayer
Here is a prayer that I wrote for this purpose. It takes exactly 40 seconds to say. Over time, it can be memorized. Use it to mark the beginning of your hour of adoration and reparation and, then, go about your business, trusting that Our Lord has heard your prayer and received it into His Heart.

Lord Jesus Christ, although I cannot, during this hour, approach Thee physically in the Sacrament of Thy Love, I would approach Thee by desire and by faith.

Transport me, I beseech Thee, by the lifting up of my mind and heart, to that tabernacle in the world where Thou art, at this hour, most forsaken, utterly forgotten, and without human company.

Let the radiance of Thy Eucharistic Face so penetrate my soul that by offering Thee adoration and reparation, even as I am busy doing ordinary things in an ordinary way, I may obtain from Thy Sacred Heart the return of at least one priest to the Tabernacle where Thou waitest for him today. Amen.

I offer all of this to Your Sacred Heart, my Lord and my Love, through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, my Mother.

Some Thoughts on Love, Faith, and Goodwill

From Abandonment to Divine Providence by Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade

Pure love sees, feels, and believes.  Pure faith believes without either seeing or feeling.  In this is shown the difference between these two states, but this difference is only apparent, not real.
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In this kingdom every soul can aspire to a crown, and whether a crown of love, or a crown of faith, it is always a crown, always the kingdom of God.  There is this difference it is true- the one in light, the other in darkness; but again what does this signify if the soul belongs to God and obeys His will?
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Let us not dishearten, nor rebuff, nor drive away anyone from that most eminent perfection to which Jesus calls everyone, exacting from them submission to the will of His heavenly Father and thus making them members of His mystical body.  He is their head only in so far as their will is in accordance with His.  Let us continually repeat to all souls that the invitation of this sweet and loving Saviour does not exact anything very difficult from them, nor very extraordinary.  He does not ask for talent and ingenuity, all He desires is that they have a good will and desire to be united to Him so that He could guide, direct and befriend them in proportion as they are so united.
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Oh!  what good policy is it to have goodwill!  What prudence there is in simplicity!  What ability in its innocence and candour!  What mysteries and secrets in its straightforwardness!
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To desire to love God is truly to love Him, and because we love Him we wish to become instruments of His action in order that His love may be exercised in, and by us.
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Goodwill, therefore, has nothing to fear.  If it fall, it can only do so under the almighty hand which guides and sustains it in all its wanderings.  It is this divine hand which turns it again to face the goal from which it has strayed; which replaces it in the right path when it has wandered.  In it the soul finds resources for the deviations to which the blind faculties which deceive it, render it subject.  It is made to feel how much it ought to despise them and to rely on God alone, abandoning itself absolutely to His infallible guidance.  The failings into which good souls fall are put an end to by abandonment.  Never can goodwill be taken unawares.  That all things work for its good is an article of faith.

Hopefulness, Eagerness, Kindliness, and Gentleness

Many years ago, much earlier in my faith journey, I was praying at the Chapel at our local Newman Center. I asked God to show me how to live my life for Him, how to be a good wife and a good mother.  I was struggling with a lack of peace, with a lack of hope, and with a great deal of anger.  So often, I have doubts about my ability to be a good wife and mother, and back then I felt so alone with these doubts and with my own sin.  It seemed like everyone else around me had it so together, but I have since learned that many people, if not all, have these types of doubts.  I have also learned that all of us are fighting some type of battle, and that it is in our weakness that we find the strength of Christ, if only we turn to Him in our troubles.  And I am learning to love others the way God does, both in their weaknesses and in their strengths.

That day, He answered my prayer as I opened the hymnal to this song:




In this song, God gave me a way to look to Him at each moment of the day, with hopefulness and joy at the break of the day, with eagerness and faith at the noon of the day, with kindliness and grace at the eve of the day, and with gentleness and calm at the end of the day.  With the gift of looking to Him as He is, He gives us bliss, strength, love, and peace.  Now, I will be the first to admit that I forget this often, probably more often that not.  But He reminded me today, as I heard this song again earlier this evening (as Be Thou My Vision) while sitting in the living room with my husband after dinner, that the peace we have is His, and I am so grateful for His peace in our hearts. 

Lord of All Hopefulness

Lord of all hopefulness, Lord of all joy,
Whose trust, ever child-like, no cares could destroy,
Be there at our waking, and give us, we pray,
Your bliss in our hearts, Lord, at the break of the day.

Lord of all eagerness, Lord of all faith,
Whose strong hands were skilled at the plane and the lathe,
Be there at our labours, and give us, we pray,
Your strength in our hearts, Lord, at the noon of the day.

Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,
Your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace,
Be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,
Your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day.

Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,
Whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm,
Be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,
Your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.



Note:  edited for clarity.

Happy Birthday James Fulton

Thanks to Joe (oops I mean Joseph :) ) at Defend us in Battle for posting Mystery of Prayer. He links to 61 minutes, a must read by Bonnie Engstrom, that gives us much needed hope about the power of intercessory prayer. Please go read her post!! It is amazing.

All praise and glory to God! Thank You for the trust and hope of all who seek You and for all the Angels and Saints You give us to pray for us.


And while you're at it, go check out Joseph's post as a new contributing blogger at Virtuospla.net, an awesome new Catholic blog!

God Bless the Last Ones

Because when they go looking for something beautiful, they go looking from the inside out. For my sister Laura:

He Knows What He is About

I have not posted on politics in awhile, mainly because I haven't been following it much, but I read something Ed Morissey said this morning that makes a lot of sense regarding the fiscal mess our country is in:

There is a lot of anger at the moment in the US over the embarrassment of the downgrade, as well as shock. I’m most amused by the shock, to tell the truth. S&P didn’t say anything yesterday that was not common knowledge and common sense. If you had to rate a potential investment that had an income of, say, $22,000 a year but had costs of $37,000 per year, a standing debt of $143,000, and contracted future debt that exceeded $1 million, would you give that investment a gold-plated AAA rating and buy their bonds at the lowest interest rate possible, or at all? Of course not, but that’s exactly the fiscal situation of the US, at a 100,000,000:1 scale.

The anger is mainly misdirected. The media wants to blame the Tea Party, but the Tea Party wants to solve the actual problem — overspending and overcommitment to entitlement programs. The Tea Party wants to blame the Obama administration, and it deserves some blame for refusing to address the real structural problems of the US fiscal condition. But that fiscal structure far predates Barack Obama, both as President and as human being, and Congresses and White Houses of both parties have done little to address the real problems in Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

Why? Because as soon as people try to do so, demagogues accuse them of wanting to push Grandma over a cliff. Voters respond by punishing the reformers and rewarding the demagogues. If we collectively want to blame someone, we collectively should be looking in a mirror.

So where do we go from here? I do not know, I'm just a woman trying to be a loving wife, mother, and friend, knowing that I am a daughter of God. We try as a family to be responsible with our finances and to give our first fruits to God. While I do not know the solution (besides more responsibility in our own lives as well as that of our government), I do know that the only true answer is to trust God and follow His ways, He knows what He is about.

But the Believing Soul....

Such beautiful contemplation by St. Bernard of Clairvaux On Loving God, excerpt from Chapter 4- Of Those Who Find Comfort in the Recollection of God:

In that day those who set not their hearts aright will feel, too late, how easy is Christ’s yoke, to which they would not bend their necks and how light His burden, in comparison with the pains they must then endure. O wretched slaves of Mammon, you cannot glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ while you trust in treasures laid up on earth: you cannot taste and see how gracious the Lord is, while you are hungering for gold. If you have not rejoiced at the thought of His coming, that day will be indeed a day of wrath to you.

But the believing soul longs and faints for God; she rests sweetly in the contemplation of Him. She glories in the reproach of the Cross, until the glory of His face shall be revealed. Like the Bride, the dove of Christ, that is covered with silver wings (Psalm 68:13), white with innocence and purity, she reposes in the thought of Thine abundant kindness, Lord Jesus; and above all she longs for that day when in the joyful splendor of thy saints, gleaming with the radiance of the Beatific Vision, her feathers shall be like gold, resplendent with the joy of Thy countenance.

Rightly then may she exult, “His left hand is under my head and His right hand doth embrace me.” The left hand signifies the memory of that matchless love, which moved Him to lay down His life for His friends; and the right hand is the Beatific Vision which He hath promised to His own, and the delight they have in His presence. The Psalmist sings rapturously, “At Thy right hand there is pleasure for evermore” (Psalm 16:11): so we are warranted in explaining the right hand as that divine and deifying joy of His presence.

Rightly too is that wondrous and ever-memorable love symbolized as His left hand, upon which the Bride rests her head until iniquity be done away: for He sustains the purpose of her mind, lest it should be turned aside to earthly, carnal desires. For the flesh wars against the spirit: “The corruptible body presseth down the soul and the earthly tabernacle weighteth down the mind that museth upon many things” (Wisdom 9:15). What could result from the contemplation of compassion so marvelous and so undeserved, favor so free and so well attested, kindness so unexpected, clemency so unconquerable, grace so amazing except that the soul should withdraw from all sinful affections, reject all that is inconsistent with God’s love, and yield herself wholly to heavenly things? No wonder is it that the Bride, moved by the perfume of these unctions, runs swiftly, all on fire with love, yet reckons herself as loving all too little in return for the Bridegroom’s love.

And rightly, since it is not great matter that a little dust should be all consumed with love of that Majesty which loved her first and which revealed itself as wholly bent on saving her. For “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

This sets forth the Father’s love. But “He hath poured out His soul unto death,” was written of the Son (Isaiah 53:12). And of the Holy Spirit it is said, “The Comforter which is the Holy Ghost whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” (John 14:26).

It is plain, therefore, that God loves us, and loves us with all His heart; for the Holy Trinity altogether loves us, if we may venture so to speak of the infinite and incomprehensible Godhead who is essentially one.

Women of Mystery Women of Hope

Women of Mystery Women of Hope:



H/T Fr. Andrew

A Mother's Heart

My heart is full after reading Raising a Vocation by Anne over at Imprisoned in My Bones and her oldest son's discerning a call to the priesthood. He has a blog about his experiences at St. Francis de Sales Seminary Camp, a high school camp for high school boys discerning the priesthood. I am so amazed at how beautifully God works in people's lives!

What an amazing privilege, honor and blessing to have a son called by God to become a priest or to have a daughter called by God to become a nun. It would be wonderful for any or all of our children to have such a beautiful vocation as this! This is my prayer, but I often find myself doubting my ability as a mother to help guide their hearts. This is why I was so happy to see Anne's post, which encouraged me that God has placed this desire on my heart for a reason. Whatever His plans are for our children, we must encourage them in their walk and help them learn to listen to God.

One of the things we tell our children is how important it is to listen to God in their hearts, to listen to Christ's call and to go where He wants them to go, wherever that may be. Listening with the ear of their hearts may be in simple every day ways now, but will hopefully guide their hearts to Him more and more as they grow in age and wisdom. Living our lives in an authentically Catholic way is the best way to form them in this way. When I begin to neglect living an authentically Catholic life, I begin to fall away and it is harder to be the mother God has called me to be.

I am so thankful for Our Holy Church, Blessed Mother and St. Joseph to guide us as parents, so that we will grow in His Love and continue to nurture the faith growing in our children. God speaks to us in many ways, through receiving Him in the Holy Eucharist, at Holy Mass or during Adoration, at Confession, during prayer, through everyday experiences, and through people. May we always know and receive the graces He desires to give us, and turn back to Him when we fail to receive Him and His Love.

Lord, let me see You, hear You, receive You, and love You everywhere and always! If it be Your Will, let any or all of our sons hear and respond with an enthusiastic yes to Your call to be a priest. If it be Your Will, let any or all of our daughters hear and respond with an enthusiastic yes to Your call to be a nun. If it be Your Will that they live a married vocation, let them respond with an enthusiastic yes and bless their future spouse. Teach them all to listen to You and Your specific call for them. Help us as parents to guide them to do Your will and let them live their lives here on earth so that they will be with You forever in Heaven. In Your Holy Name, Amen.

True Wisdom - Dependence on God

Thus says the Lord:

Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
who seeks strength in flesh,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He is like a barren bush in the desert that
enjoys no change of season,
But stands in a lava waste,
a salt and empty earth.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose hope is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It fears not the heat when it comes,
its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit.

More tortuous than all else is the human heart,
beyond remedy; who can understand it?
I, the Lord, alone probe the mind and test the heart,
To reward everyone according to his ways,
according to the merit of his deeds.

~Jeremiah 17: 5-10

~~~

O Lord, plant me in the rich soil where Your Love abides. Let me not be thrown onto the shallow path to be devoured by the evil one. Let me not fall on the rocky ground where my roots do not reach You and I whither and am scorched for lack of roots. Let me not be sown among thorns of worldly anxiety and lure of world riches which choke Your Word in my soul and keep me from bearing Your fruit.

Let me be as the tree planted beside the waters, that I may stretch out my roots deep in Your Abiding Love to reach You, the Everlasting Stream of Water, the Source of all Life. Lord, let me fear not the heat when it comes and give me no distress during the drought that I may still have green leaves and bear Your fruit.

Thank You for life and Love and Grace and all that comes our way. All is Grace. All is You. I abandon myself to Your Will. I Love You.

In Your Most Holy Name, Amen.

~~~

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the filed, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will He not much more provide for you, O you of little faith. So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.

~Matthew 7: 25 - 34


Prayer adapted from Matthew 13:1-23

Abandonment to Divine Providence

From Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade's Abandonment to Divine Providence (from the English translation of the tenth French Edition of Fr. de Caussade's (d. 1751) Abandon a la Providence Divine, edited by Fr. H. Ramiere, S.J. 1921)

The divine will is to the soul in all things its method, its rule, and its direct and safe way. It is an unalterable law which is of all times, of all places, and of all states. It is a straight line which the soul must follow with courage and fidelity, neither diverging to the right, nor to the left, nor overstepping the bounds. Whatever is over and above must be received passively, as it carries on its work in abandonment. In a word, the soul is active in all that the present duty requires, but passive and submissive in all the rest, about which there should be no self-will, but patient waiting for the divine motion.

O heavenly purity! O blessed annihilation! O unreserved submission! through you is God drawn into the centre of the heart. Let the faculties be then what they will, provided, Lord, that I possess You. Do what You will with this insignificant creature; whether it works, becomes inspired, or becomes the subject of Your impresssions, it is all one. All is yours, all is from You and for You. I have no longer anything to look after, anything to do. I have no hand in the arrangement of one single moment of my life, all is Yours. I ought neither to add to, nor to diminish anything, neither to seek after, nor to reflect upon, anything. It is for You to regulate everything. Direction, mortification, sanctity, perfection, and salvation area are all Your business, Lord; mine is to be satisfied with Your work, and not to appropriate any action, or any state, but to leave all to Your good pleasure. ~ a prayer of Fr. de Caussade