Category: Inspiration

Inspiration

Advent Day 9:The Spirit of Patience

Smitten With Goodness
Preparing our heart in Advent. Read, Reflect, Respond

Read:

Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly. 

Proverbs 14:29  

Reflect:

Patience allows us to have compassion for people despite their flaws and weaknesses. This fruit comes from an understanding of our own imperfect state and how God has given us His unconditional love and mercy so we should do the same for others. Patience is the virtue of suffering interruption or delay with composure and without complaint; to suffer annoyance, insult, or mistreatment with self-restraint, refusing to be provoked and to suffer burdens and difficult tasks with resolve and determination. It is also the willingness to slow down for another’s benefit, to set aside one’s personal plans and concerns, to go at another’s pace, and to take whatever time is necessary to address their needs.  Patience is waiting with grace, and it is what enables us to live in this demanding world and still have love, joy, and peace, and all the other fruits of the Spirit. But patience is much easier said than done

Respond:

Love is patient and I have so many opportunities to practice patience. It is not easy.  Holy Spirit, help me find the calm within that helps me and gives me patience to love others, myself and you.  May I endure the cross of impatience by slowing down, breathing deeply and being confident you are my God. 

Inspiration

Advent Day 8: The Spirit of Peace

Smitten With Goodness
Preparing our heart in Advent. Read, Reflect, Respond

Read:

Contentment and unity between others.

John 16:33

Reflect:

Peace is a gift of the Holy Spirit when we live in harmony, putting our complete trust in God. True freedom and real peace can only be found in the person of Jesus Christ. Nothing else will free us from the disturbances, worry or anxiety of our life. When we know the Prince of Peace, we are blessed with His peace. We are united with Him bringing love, joy, and peace into our hurting world. In peace, the Spirit rests.

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace; Where there is hatred, let me sow charity; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is error, the truth; Where there is doubt, the faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; and Where there is sadness, joy. O, Divine Master, Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; To be understood as to understand; To be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; It is in pardoning that we are pardoned; And it is in dying to ourselves that we are born to eternal life. Amen

St. Francis of Assisi

Respond:

Lord, Make me an instrument of your peace.

Inspiration

Advent Day 7: The Spirit of Joy

Smitten With Goodness
Preparing our heart in Advent. Read, Reflect, Respond

Read:

Gladness not based on circumstances. 1 Peter 1:8-9

Reflect:

Joy is a gift of the Holy Spirit when we delight in living an eternally ordered life. When our joy comes from knowing and loving Jesus, we have meaning and purpose. Our eyes are focused on what is important and the storms of life are less likely to throw us off balance. We believe and He fills us with an inexpressible and glorious joy!

Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. This is a very real danger for believers too. Many fall prey to it, and end up resentful, angry and listless. That is no way to live a dignified and fulfilled life; it is not God’s will for us, nor is it the life in the Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen Christ.

Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium

Respond:

Help us seek the values that will bring us lasting joy in this changing world. In our desire for what you promise to make us one in mind and heart. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Inspiration

Advent Day 6: The Spirit of Charity

Smitten With Goodness
Preparing our heart in Advent. Read, Reflect, Respond

Read:

Commitment to the wellbeing of others no matter what. 1 John 4:7-12

Reflect:

Charity is a gift of the Holy Spirit when we unconditionally love God and our neighbors. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God . . . If we are children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. We must love the Lord your God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength. (Deuteronomy 6:5) and be committed to the wellbeing of others; seeking good for all people, no matter what. (1 John 4:7-12)

We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become.

St. Claire of Assisi

Respond:

The Spirit lives. Let Your good Spirit lead me on a level path.

Inspiration

Advent Day 5: Where I’m Supposed to Be

Smitten With Goodness
Preparing our heart in Advent.
Read, Reflect, Respond

Read:

Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. Romans 13:14

Reflect:

So much of sin is a product of our pride and ego, thinking that we know more and what is best rather than surrendering to God who has knowledge of the whole plan of eternity. We have expectations that life should be a certain way rather than treating each day and breath as a gift. When I’m jealous of what others have, or live in excitement of the next party or relationship to ease the hole inside me that only God can fill, I create division in myself and become divided for the divine within. I must resist the work of the flesh of envy, drunkenness, and carousing which lead me away from you God. Let my mustard seed of faith grow my confidence in you allowing me to accept that I am exactly where I’m supposed to be.

More souls go to Hell because of the sins of the flesh than any other reason.

Our Lady of Fatima

Respond:

Lord, because nothing but my self-will separates me from you, call me to love you more than anything so I can be aligned with you.

Inspiration

Advent Day 4: Building Healthy Walls

Smitten With Goodness
Preparing our heart in Advent.
Read, Reflect, Respond

Scripture: A man without self-control is like a city broken into without walls. Proverbs 25:28

Reflection: We live in an impulsive world full of toleration. It’s the I’m OK, You’re OK culture. Our society doesn’t have a north star or know how to define truth. This promotes ignorance and lack of healthy boundaries. It breeds dysfunctional marriages, families, relationships, communities (including faith), countries and the world. Works of the flesh like hatred, strife, rivalry, jealousy, anger, rage and selfishness cause division, creating fractured families and communities. Evil divides while God unites. Do I build healthy walls in my life based on virtue, humility, modesty, and self-restraint?

Wise Words: It is by resistance to temptations that we give God proof of our love. St. John Vianney

Prayer: Lord, give me the self-restraint to respect any holy boundaries I need to set today.

Inspiration

Advent Day 3: The One True God

Smitten With Goodness
Preparing our heart in Advent.
Read, Reflect, Respond

Read:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 14:6

Reflect:

The next two sins of the flesh, idolatry and sorcery, are when we fail to praise and thank God for His goodness. We worship things, like power, wealth, and status more than our Creator. Coveting is idolatry as it reveals desires that rule in human hearts, so that the desired thing takes precedence over God. With Piety or Reverence, we have a deep sense of respect for God and the church. It is in this posture that I recognize my total reliance on God and come before Him with humility, trust, and love. Piety is the gift, at the Holy Spirit’s instigation, where we pay worship and duty to God as our Father. It is also the perfection of the virtue of religion. While we tend to think of religion today as the external elements of our faith, it really means the willingness to worship and to serve God. Piety takes that willingness beyond a sense of duty, so that we desire to worship God and to serve Him out of love, similar to the way that we desire to honor our parents and do what they wish. True piety instills in us a desire always to do that which is pleasing to God.

Wise Words:

The closer one approaches God, the simpler one becomes.

St. Teresa of Avila

Respond:

Lord, help me to contemplate you as my heavenly Father and grow in reverence towards You.

Inspiration

Advent Day 2: Sins of the Flesh

Smitten With Goodness
Preparing our heart in Advent. Read, reflect, respond.

Read:

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, and they are: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality” Galatians 5:19

Reflect:

Identifying works of the flesh does not demand extraordinary spiritual discernment. We can clearly see they center around sexual sin. Think about ordering your physical appetite according to your vocation in life. When we lack restraint with our passions and our thoughts, we can start down the slippery slope of considering others as mere objects to fulfill our desires. Ask yourself, do any of my thoughts, words or actions go against the beliefs of my faith? Does my heart hold any strong cravings or desires that are impure? How does my behavior, including the entertainment I consume, reflect my values and nourish my soul?

Take care of your body as if you were going to live forever and take care of your soul as if you were going to die tomorrow. St. Augustine

Respond:

Today, Lord, please purify any of my desires that do not come from You.

Inspiration

Advent Day 1: Living In The Spirit

Smitten With Goodness
Preparing our heart in Advent.
Read, Reflect, Respond

Read:

I say, then: live by the Spirit…not the desire of the flesh…These are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.… In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control…If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. Let us not be conceited, provoking one another, envious of one another.

Galatians 5:16-26

Reflect:

The battle is real between the world and spiritual life. If I want to bring your love Lord to my family, friends, and those I encounter today, I need to live in the spirit, and live in your mercy and compassion. As I surrender myself, my wants, and desires to Yours, I trust Your plan is larger than mine. I release the exhaustion of trying to hold it all together and live in the peace and trust of Your endless and generous love.

“It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you.”

St. Teresa of Calcutta

Respond:

Lord, help me live with an eternal perspective in the Spirit, living in the world but not of the world. Reveal to me the areas of my heart that need attention to fully grow in your love.

Inspiration

Preparing Our Heart for God’s Goodness 

Smitten With Goodness
Reflections for contemplative living

Tomorrow is the first day of December and marks for many the beginning of the Christmas season.  During the hustle and bustle of the season, it is hard to stay grounded in the true meaning of the season. Through the month of December, Smitten with Goodness will invite you to take a few moments each day to prepare your mind and heart to receive the gift of Advent, the birth of Our Lord and Savior.

Preparing Our Heart for God’s Goodness is a 25-day journey to renew your mind and prepare your heart to embrace the beauty of God’s goodness. When we stand in solidarity with our Creator, we unite our thoughts with His and surrender to His beauty and love. 

God loves us so much that He became human, through Christ Jesus, so we can have eternal life. So, we can experience true joy and happiness. To live a full life and bear good fruit.

Through His mercy and compassion, He set us free. 

But we must stand firm, fighting the spiritual battle and not go back to the slavery of ourselves through sin. Our natural tendency is to be drawn to the works of the flesh. We are called to live in the Spirit and not in the flesh. 

When we live in the Spirit, we trust and surrender to love. Love engulfs our hearts and we become who He created us to be. In turn, we bring this love to the world – loving our neighbor as ourselves.

As we prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of our Savior, commit to taking in the daily scripture, reflection, wise words, and prayer. Reflect on these words of truth throughout your day as you are able.  By rejecting the works of the flesh and living in the Spirit we embrace God’s goodness and the true reason for the season.