Faith is a gift as well as a virtue. It’s a gift of God in that it’s a light infused by him into our souls. But it’s a virtue in that our soul must exercise itself to practice it.
Continue reading “A Lively Faith”A Lively Faith
Month: February 2025
Knowing God’s Voice
In just a couple weeks, we’ll enter the desert when Lent begins. It’s a season where we’re encouraged to quiet the distractions around us so that we can better hear the voice of God and grow closer to Him.
The Lord says, “My sheep know my voice.”
Continue reading “Knowing God’s Voice”From What Will You Fast ?
With lent around the corner starting on March 5, it’s time to start asking in prayer what small sacrifice we should make in order to tame our physical desires and symbolically share in Christ’s suffering. This biblically based practice comes from the 40 days Jesus went into the desert prior to his public ministry. All this is for the greater love of God.
This year I’ve been contemplating from what I need to fast. I wonder if this dish towel that caught my eye at Cracker Barrel is telling me something?
You Are Free
Do you live a life of freedom, allowing yourself to accept God’s divine love?
Many of us live as slaves, to the past or to the idea of how we think our life should look.
Continue reading “You Are Free”The Task of Love
If we let it, love can be the journey of our lifetime. This is actually the fire of spirituality placed with each of our hearts. What we do with this fire is up to us. A life of love takes effort and discipline. It is a practice and a state to which we must strive.
Continue reading “The Task of Love”Mystery of Relationship
Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day where we honor our love relationships, whether a spouse, trusted friend or child. As you prepare your cards, gifts or make reservations for a special dinner, have you taken the time to reflect on the quality of the relationship you are celebrating?
Relationships are not to be understood and fixed and solved. They are the mysteries of life to be enjoyed and help us grow.
How are your relationships helping you stretch and grow into the best version of yourself? If not, where is the love?
Faith Under Pressure
Recently while chewing on the words of James who was writing to the twelve scattered tribes, I was contemplating purification. This process, through testing our faith, ultimately leads to our sanctification which will happen when we reach our eternal home.
Continue reading “Faith Under Pressure”Hope Does Not Disappoint
Today we celebrate the World Day of the Sick and the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes. May all who are suffering find consolation and strength through our prayers, and the prayers of the Blessed Mother.
The theme is “Hope Does Not Disappoint” inspired by St. Paul in Romans 5:5. It is a prayer for God’s healing presence in the world’s ailments.
Our prayer today is grounded in reflection, and solidarity with those who are ill and their caregivers. We recognize the inherent dignity of every person, express commitment to providing support, love, and care to those in need and call upon individuals, communities, and institutions to extend a helping hand.
Our Lady of Lourdes, please 🙏🏻 pray for us!
Doing Nothing
Often when we think of the sin of pride, we think of someone (not ourselves), who constantly talks about how amazing they are. We are prideful whenever we seek to divorce ourselves from God, and rely solely on our own merits. Interestingly, we can be prideful when we refuse the gifts God has given us and simply do nothing with them.
St. Francis de Sales points this out in his Introduction to the Devout Life:
God’s Will is that we should be perfect, uniting ourselves to Him, and imitating Him to the utmost of our powers. The proud man who trusts in himself may well undertake nothing.
When we refuse to do God’s will in our lives, or refuse to preach the Gospel in any way, we are being prideful.
We are trusting more in ourselves than in God.
Left to ourselves, we cannot do anything and it is only through God’s grace can we accomplish anything on this earth. When we humble ourselves is when we are strong.
We certainly may be a sinful vessel, but God still can use us if we let him. God may not be calling us to preach on the street corners, or to become a priest or nun, but we can bring Christ to everyone we meet. The key is to do something, letting God use us however he wishes.
Lord please use me as an instrument of your peace today and do your will. Amen
Voice of Our Heart
The process of discovering another person in a relationship is endless. This discovering and rediscovering of each other is intimacy. We long for intimacy.
Relationships are not a task to be finished so you can move on to the next task. Being in relationship is a process to be enjoyed and is the life work of our hearts. This is true in our relationship with God.
What words are in your heart today yearning to be heard by your Creator, Comforter, Healer, Savior?
“When we pray, the voice of the heart must be heard more than the proceedings from the mouth.”— St. Bonaventure
Smitten With Goodness 