Will I surrender to God today and mean it? There is beauty in a God-guided life. There is wonder in the feeling of being led by God. There is the excitement and anticipation of realizing God’s bounty and goodness more and more and what God is planning for me. Wonderful are His ways—they are beyond my knowledge. Will I turn to the words of Jesus and find God’s goodness today?
Continue reading “Week Twenty-Six – Finding Goodness. Turning.”There are three essential disciplines leading us further in the journey of spiritual transformation: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Finding goodness lives in the space of healthy boundaries (fasting) and giving to others (almsgiving).
Continue reading “Week Twenty-Six – Finding Goodness. Spiritual Discipline.”When I PRAY, I find God’s goodness, the love and answers I need.
P – I praise God for the details of my life. Another day to fulfill my mission, to love my husband, children, and friends, to make a contribution at work, for the job that provides, for the food on my table are a few praises of gratitude I offer.
Continue reading “Week Twenty-Six – Finding Goodness. PRAY.”A dear friend of mine lost her husband about seven months ago and about a month after she was diagnosed with breast cancer needing surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. She just recently rang the final bell after completing her course of treatment. I’ve been amazed at God’s grace carrying her this awful time of sickness, grief, and multiple losses. She has cast herself into the arms of God and relied on the loving people in her life to carry her through this difficult time.
Continue reading “Week Twenty-Six – Finding Goodness. Strive for Better.”Staying persistent in prayer is a challenge. But it is worth the battle as I’m finding the quality of my prayer life is directly tied to my finding God’s goodness. It is the key which opens up my heart as well as the heart of God.
Continue reading “Week Twenty-Six – Finding Goodness. Open Heart.”Looking for God’s Goodness in contemplation and prayer. The Litany of the Holy Spirit.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Comforter and Helper to be with you forever, the Spirit of Truth. . . . You know this Spirit, for it abides with you and will be in you. —John 14:16–17
Continue reading “Week Twenty-Five. Sacred Love. Looking for God’s Goodness and Weekly Reflection Summary.”Today we celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart in the Catholic Church. I recently read that this feast is a Divine Corrective. Just as we might view the birth of Jesus as the arrival of God’s love and light into a world grown cold and dark through sin, so we might view the growth of the devotion to the Sacred Heart as a response to the world grown cold. When we live in disconnection from God, we become confused and demoralized. In a world that is constantly pulling us away, we need a constant reminder of God’s love and mercy and a positive view of our own sacredness.
Continue reading “Week Twenty-Five. Sacred Love. Divine Corrective.”The human heart has long been a symbol of love. At one time, it was viewed as the source of all human activity—intellectual and emotional. It has also metaphorically symbolized the center of things, such as the heart of a relationship or the heart of a city. It could also represent the character of a person, such as describing someone as having a good heart.
Continue reading “Week Twenty-Five. Sacred Love. Take Heart.”Through intentional breathing, I can subtly affect both my heart rhythm and my interior life. Such gentle guidance constitutes a form of asceticism whereby I can calm the disorders of my heart and create the opportunity to receive God’s love. Another way to put it is that meditation and prayer must be integrated into the constant call of Jesus Christ to experience healing and transformation in a way that frees me to love God and neighbor. If I practice some esoteric spirituality while continuing to commit mortal sins, I’m living in an illusion and not following the will of God.
Continue reading “Week Twenty-Five. Sacred Love. Noticing.”Do you have all the crazy voices in your head vying for attention? Certainly, I’m not the only one who has a hard time discerning what is the sacred loving voice whispering words of love.
Continue reading “Week Twenty-Five. Sacred Love. Voice Within.”
Smitten With Goodness 