Tag: Perspective

Today we celebrate Memorial Day, a day where we pause, reflect and honor those who have given their lives to our country. These individuals, drawn outside themselves to a larger mission and purpose, served and protected our country’s liberties and freedom.  

Yesterday in the Church, we celebrated the Holy Trinity, where we remembered and celebrated the fundamental mystery of our faith: One God in three persons, God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  This divine circle of love, of which we are a part, is our summons to mission and call to action.  We are to draw people into the dynamics of divine life. 

How deeply do you dive into this mystery and remember whose you are and how much you are loved? It is only through this identity we can draw others to divine love. It is by giving and trusting God with our whole heart we are able to love, taking our narcissistic self interests out of the equation.  

Our ability to love others is connected with our ability to receive God’s love. Authentic love is of one piece and how we love anything is how we love everything. Let us always remember the power we have participating in this divine love.  A love that serves as a beacon, drawing the lost, brokenhearted or hurting souls towards safety, freedom and honor. 

Lord, all power in heaven and earth has been given to me through You. Energize me with zeal to go and make disciples of all who cross my path, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that You have commanded. Help me remember and hold dearly, that You are with me always, until the end of the age. You will not, do not and cannot abandon me and all Your creation. Glory and honor is Yours, now and forever. Amen

How well do you know the Holy Spirit? 

The person of the Holy Spirit guides us in our spiritual depth of relationship with God. Attuning our ears to listen, our mind to understand and our hearts to obey God’s word. The quality of our prayer life will always go back to the disposition of our heart and whether we are open to the movements of the Holy Spirit. 

I take comfort in the fact that the Lord leads us all by paths and in ways pleasing to him, and each of us responds according to our heart’s resolve and the personal expressions of our prayer. However, Christian Tradition has retained three major expressions of prayer: vocal, meditative, and contemplative. They have one basic trait in common: composure of heart. 

If we want to prepare our hearts for our life of prayer, we need to frequently turn to the Word of God and frequently practice the presence of God.

Prayer doesn’t simply “happen” to most of us and we need to train our heart to listen to God’s voice. When we successfully prepare our heart for moments of prayer, we will experience a profound union with God that is a foreshadowing of the ultimate union with God in Heaven.

Lord, help me seek you first, giving you my best and not what’s leftover. Guide my attention to focus on you and turn away from the evil of distraction. Let me live for an audience of one so I can carry out your holy will. Amen

As a convert, I grew up in a divided household where my stepmother believed that the pope wasn’t Christian and that Catholics wrongly worshiped Mary. How this lens skewed the truth for me for many years. My husband however was raised catholic and had a true devotion to Mary. She is his gracious protector. How beautiful is that! 

It is through his example I was drawn to develop my own relationship with Mother Mary. First through praying the rosary which showed me the way to a deeper relationship with her Son through this daily practice. Next, by walking with Mary as my Saint Buddy and learning more about her story. I continue to grow in relationship with her today through Hallow and reading daily meditations from A Year With Mary. 

In Jesus’ last words he gives Mary to us as our mother. She is Mother of the Church, Mother for us all. We need Mary!  May we all go to our Spiritual Mother whose only desire is to make us holy and lead us to her son.

Lord, you are always with Mary, and Mary is always with you. She can never be without you, because then she would cease to be what she is. Let me surrender to this realization that I am nothing without you. Amen

Today is Pentecost Sunday, celebrating when the Holy Spirit was poured forth at Pentecost, Christ’s Paschal Mystery was brought to completion, and the Church was fully equipped to carry on his redemptive work in the world. At Pentecost, it is revealed that we remain always intimately united to our heavenly Father, who will shepherd his people home to the glory of heaven. Let’s live in this knowledge that our help is here and find strength and purpose in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Veni, Sancte Spiritus

Come, Holy Spirit, come!
And from your celestial home
Shed a ray of light divine!
Come, Father of the poor!
Come, source of all our store!
Come, within our bosoms shine.
You, of comforters the best;
You, the soul’s most welcome guest;
Sweet refreshment here below;
In our labor, rest most sweet;
Grateful coolness in the heat;
Solace in the midst of woe.
O most blessed Light divine,
Shine within these hearts of yours,
And our inmost being fill!
Where you are not, we have naught,
Nothing good in deed or thought,
Nothing free from taint of ill.
Heal our wounds, our strength renew;
On our dryness pour your dew;
Wash the stains of guilt away:
Bend the stubborn heart and will;
Melt the frozen, warm the chill;
Guide the steps that go astray.
On the faithful, who adore
And confess you, evermore
In your sevenfold gift descend;
Give them virtue’s sure reward;
Give them your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end. Amen.
Alleluia.

In the western world, it is engrained to be independent.  But to live fully we need community and connection.  Perhaps this independent mindset feeds our struggle with loneliness and anxiety.

I need others in order to really see and know myself. Otherwise, I will listen to my own arguments, believe my own lies, and buy into my own delusions. If I am going to see myself clearly, I need others to hold the mirror of God’s Word in front of me.

As Christians who still have pockets of spiritual blindness, we need two character qualities:

First, we need the loving courage of honesty. We need to love others more than we love ourselves, and so, with humble, patient love, help them to see what they need to see.  Second, we need the thankful humility of approachability. We need to forsake defensiveness, be thankful that God has surrounded us with help, and be ready to receive it—every day!

I need to wake up in the morning and say, “God, I am a person in desperate need of help. Please send helpers my way and give me the humility to receive the help you have provided. Lord, make me willing to help someone see themselves as you see them today.”

We need to live in humble, honest, intrusive, and intentional community with one another, where personal ministry that goes both ways is part of our daily culture.

God, would you send helpers my way and give me the humility to receive the help you have provided? And Lord, would you make me willing to help someone see themselves as you see them today? In your name, amen.

We are called to an intimate friendship with the Holy Spirit, the “Sweet Guest of the Soul.” Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit upon us at our baptism to be the craftsman of our holiness, and our consolation and strength as we await Christ’s return.

Today we celebrate Saint Dymphna who is the patron saint of mental disorders.  As many struggle with disconnection, anxiety and loneliness, let’s pray for the presence of God to envelope these hurting minds and hearts.  

No one wants to face the world alone and unaided and we do not have to because we have the help of Christ’s advocate. Let’s be aware of the gentle presence of the Holy Spirit in our souls. Let’s be attentive and docile to his inspirations and movements to console our weary hearts.

Lord, as I begin this prayer, I offer you my whole self: my thoughts, desires, decisions, actions, hopes, fears, weaknesses, failures, and petty successes. I open my entire being to you, aware that you know everything already. I’m certain of your mercy and of the purifying power of your penetrating, loving gaze. Amen

Jesus stresses two essential qualities for effective prayer: confidence and perseverance.  Prayer brings our mind into the brightness of divine light and exposes our will to the warmth of divine love.  Nothing else can purge our mind from its ignorance and our will from disordered affections. As St. Francis de Sales says: It is a blessed fountain which, as it flows, revives our good desires and causes them to bring forth fruit, washes away the stains of infirmity from our soul and calms the passions of our hearts.

When we put our heart at Jesus’ feet, this is the gift that he loves the most.

Lord, grant us the confidence and perseverance to meet you in prayer, bringing us into the light of your face. Amen

Heavenly Father, I lift up to you today my mothers and all mothers. Bless them with strength to continue to care for their children, with the same bold, selflessness Mary showed Jesus. Help my mother and all mothers feel our gratitude and truly know their impact. May we honor them today and on all days as vessels of Your love. In Your name I pray. Amen.

The Memorare

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,

that never was it known 

that anyone who fled to thy protection, 

implored thy help, 

or sought thy intercession, 

was left unaided. 

Inspired by this confidence 

I fly unto thee, 

O Virgin of virgins, my Mother. 

To thee do I come, 

before thee I stand, 

sinful and sorrowful. 

O Mother of the Word Incarnate,

despise not my petitions, 

but in thy mercy hear and answer me. 

Amen.

At various points in our lives we find ourselves needing to sing a new song. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I need an attitude adjustment, a change of mindset, in how I see the world and those around me. I need to sing a song of salvation rather than one of fear, doubt and despair.

As believers, we look forward to God’s coming reign. This isn’t just a future reality, it’s a present one. Every prayer, word or action can be a note of song. God gathers the world in mercy and love and everything sings together in response – the sea, the earth and everyone on it. What a beautiful vision of beauty and hope. Let’s remember this and be a part of God’s new song today! 

God of Salvation, 

The entire earth sings of your creative and saving presence in human history. We lift our voices to you in praise and thanksgiving. Grant that your power animates our thoughts, words, and deeds drawing us to sing Your healing and merciful song today!

Amen