Tag: Virtue

Being Loved

The Deepest Love

Smitten With Goodness

How often do we reflect on God’s deep love, shown in sending His Son to live, teach, and die for us? Isaiah understood something that we so often forget—God revels in us so fully that He wishes to envelop us completely in His light. He wants to cover us in His glory so that others may see the magnificence within His creation. He desires our hearts to overflow with His love and our love for Him.

It’s so easy to forget that amidst the darkness of this world, and in our pursuit of following God’s law and avoiding sin, the point of everything is love. God deserves all the glory, and only He is to be worshipped. But we forget, either because of past hurts or current struggles, that we come from God and belong to God, and that there is nothing God wants more than to unite us to Him and celebrate our existence. He pours out His riches to us in our daily blessings—the food we eat, the families and communities we build, the homes in which we live, the air we breathe, the innate goodness that marks us as His own, and so much more.

Rise up in splendor, Jeru­salem! Your light has come,/ the glory of the Lord shines upon you./ See, darkness covers the earth,/ and thick clouds cover the peoples;/ but upon you the Lordshines,/ and over you appears his glory./Nations shall walk by your light,/ and kings by your shining radiance./ Raise your eyes and look about;/ they all gather and come to you:/ your sons come from afar,/ and your daughters in the arms of their nurses. 

Then you shall be radiant at what you see,/ your heart shall throb and overflow,/for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,/ the wealth of nations shall be brought to you./ Caravans of camels shall fill you,/ dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;/ all from Sheba shall come/bearing gold and frankincense,/ and proclaiming the praises of the Lord. Isaiah 60:1-6

May we remember that we are God’s cherished people, called to reflect His glory, now and always.

Inspiration

A New Perspective

Smitten With Goodness

With the start of another new year, we can use the calendar to help us with new resolve. So many times are attitudes affect our vision of how we see the world. We can believe the right things and do the right things, but we must have love at the foundation of everything.

Mary can be our role model for a new loving perspective. She achieved so much by her silent presence along with her son at many of the moments of his life, his birth, his first miracle at Cana and his death on the cross. She is for a model of silent contemplation as she ponders with great faith and devotion the mystery that unfolded before her in the life of her Son.

What perspective do you bring into this new year? Will you work tirelessly to seek God in everything? Will you strive for your faith to be visible through your actions? Do you plan to tell your family and friends you love them? How often will you tell God you love him? Will you give God thanks for your many blessings? Will you be bold in your faith? How do you plan to grow interiorly? Will you trust God’s plan and know you are exactly where you need to be? Will you endure the suffering you experience well? Will God come first in your life?

Ponder these things in your heart for a new loving perspective for 2025! Let’s be smitten with Gods goodness.

Teach Us To Pray

Contemplating the Eternal Word

Smitten With Goodness

Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist
Third Day of the Octave of Christmas

Season of thanksgiving in prayer

Beloved: What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we looked upon and touched with our hands concerns the Word of life—for the life was made visible; we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible to us—what we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; for our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.  We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.  1 John 1:1–4

Continue reading “Contemplating the Eternal Word” →
Teach Us To Pray

King of All Nations

Smitten With Goodness
Season of thanksgiving in prayer

O King of all nations and keystone of the Church: come and save man, whom you formed from dust!

O King of us all.
I find myself standing before
your strength and splendor
watching, waiting
and filled with total joy.

You have lifted my mind in hope.
Now help me to open my life
the coming of the Spirit.

I want to be like Mary, your mother.
Her wonderful courage and strength
inspire me to do the same.
She simply said Yes
and the impossible was done.

Thank you for this Advent journey.
The anticipation has filled my life
and made me long for
a closer relationship with you.

My life gets so busy that I forget to focus.
Thank you for your guidance.
Thank you for the quiet moments
when I have felt your love.

Nothing will be impossible with God.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel!

Jesus, King of all nations, shine your light on all my allegiances, and show me how they should be ordered. Help me serve your nation – the church – better than I have. Show me how and where to devote myself and my abilities.  Every day it becomes more and more important to celebrate anything that makes us think beyond what it means to be an American in order to become a wild, loving Christian let loose in the world to fill it with love. 

Teach Us To Pray

Secret of Happiness 

Smitten With Goodness
Season of thanksgiving in prayer

The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God. Pray in gratitude every day.

Psalm 100 instructs the soul to, “enter his gates with thanksgiving.” Gratitude is the key to God’s Heart, the place to begin in prayer. When you thank God, you’re acknowledging reality: God is real and He is the Source of all gifts and graces you receive in life —He is the Source of your very life!

Thank Him for Who He is: Savior, Healer, Redeemer, Lover, Friend. Thank Him for what He’s done. For giving you life, for His forgiveness and mercy, for the myriad of ways He’s provided for you both daily and in times of crisis, for speaking to you through His Word and the Church and in the silence of your heart. For blessings and for the beautiful mystery of suffering.

And it will open up your own heart, too. Thanksgiving will lift the veil of comparison and consumerism to see all that God has already done, all that He gives, all that He is. It will lift your heart and inflame your love. Thanksgiving will make you more content with what you have and more hopeful for what’s to come. Practice thanksgiving every single day and soon it will become a habit and your habits will become your life.

Start here: Thank you, Jesus, for…

Teach Us To Pray

Born In Me

Smitten With Goodness
Season of thanksgiving in prayer

As we begin the advent season, how can we not contemplate Mary’s journey in the final days of her pregnancy. Her journey mirrors ours as we prepare our hearts for Christmas. Take some time today to reflect on what sacred longings are in your heart. What are the joys you long for?

What are the joys you are currently experiencing? How do I maintain the balance and lean towards gratitude during uncertain times not falling into the spiral of fear? 

Lord, every day can be our yes, our Fiat, like Mary allowing your love to be born in our heart. Help me say yes today out of love for you. Amen

Teach Us To Pray

The Moment of Gratitude

Smitten With Goodness
Season of thanksgiving in prayer

Remember the past with gratitude.  Live the present with enthusiasm.  Look forward to the future with confidence. –St. John Paul II.

A Prayer Inspired by St. John Paul II

Heavenly Father, 

I come before You with a heart full of gratitude, 

Thankful for the blessings of my past, 

For the lessons learned, the love shared, 

And the experiences that have shaped me into who I am today. 

Help me to remember the moments of joy and grace, 

And to carry those memories as a source of strength. 

May I reflect on my journey with a grateful heart, 

Recognizing Your hand at work in every season of my life. 

As I embrace the present, fill me with enthusiasm, 

To live each day to the fullest, 

To appreciate the beauty of each moment, 

And to serve others with love and kindness. 

Help me to be fully present, 

Finding joy in the ordinary and extraordinary alike. 

Looking to the future, grant me confidence and hope, 

Trusting in Your divine plan for my life. 

May I face the unknown with courage, 

Knowing that You are always with me, 

Guiding my steps and lighting my path. 

Lord, help me to live a life marked by gratitude, 

Enthusiasm, and unwavering faith in You. 

In all things, may I seek to glorify Your name, 

And to be a beacon of Your love to the world. 

In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Teach Us To Pray

Rejoice In Blessing 

Smitten With Goodness
Season of thanksgiving in prayer

Brothers and sisters:

Hearing of your faith in the Lord jesus and of your love for all the holy ones, I do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him. May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might, which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens.

Ephesians 115-20

God of all thankfulness,

you invite us to rejoice in the blessings

we receive your presence in our lives.

May we return thanks for all that you have given us and witness your love in the world.

Through Christ our Lord.

Amen

Teach Us To Pray

Thankful Heart

Smitten With Goodness
Season of thanksgiving in prayer

Do you remember to express gratitude in every situation? This is actually what God ordains for us, a heart full of thankfulness.

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1Thessalonians 5:18

Gracious God,

We come before You with hearts full of gratitude, giving thanks in all circumstances, for this is Your will for us in Christ Jesus. We acknowledge Your presence in every moment of our lives, both in times of joy and in times of challenge.

Thank You for the blessings that brighten our days and for the trials that strengthen our faith. In every situation, we see Your hand at work, guiding us, teaching us, and drawing us closer to You.

Help us to maintain a spirit of gratitude, no matter what we face. May we always remember that Your love and grace are sufficient for us. Teach us to trust in Your perfect plan and to find peace in Your will.

We thank You for the gift of Your Son, Jesus Christ, through whom we have received salvation and the promise of eternal life. In Him, we find our hope, our joy, and our reason to give thanks.

May our lives be a testament to Your goodness and a reflection of Your love. Let our hearts overflow with thanksgiving, and may we always seek to glorify You in all that we do.

In Jesus’ name, we pray.