Saturday 8th Week in Ordinary Time - May 29, 2010

Saint Teresa of Avila:
"Whoever has not begun the practice of prayer, I beg for the love of the Lord not to go without so great a good. There is nothing here to fear but only something to desire. Even if there be no great progress, or much effort in reaching such perfection as to deserve the favor and mercies God bestows on the more generous, at least a person will come to understand the road leading to heaven. And if one perseveres, I trust then in the mercy of God, who never fails to repay anyone who has taken him for a friend. For mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with him who we know loves us. In order that love be true and the friendship endure, the wills of the friends must be in accord... And if you do not yet love him as he loves you because you have not reached the degree of conformity with his will, you will endure this pain of spending a long while with one who is so different from you when you see how much it benefits you to possess his friendship and how much he loves you."
(Taken from the May Magnificat)

Wednesday May 26, 2010

"If we do what we have always done, we will get what we always got!" A saying I heard when active in a 12-step program. So true!!

Change came to me on a Saturday August 2, 1980 when an elderly gentleman from my parish knocked at my door and asked if I could say one rosary every day. I said that I could, not knowing fully the demand he had made on me. Not knowing completely just how much this was going to change me. But it was a beginning of a new day!

God bless!!

Tuesday May 25, 2010

When we open ourselves up to the presence of God in our lives, we change! Is that not a good thing? For most of us, we live daily with feelings of unrest which could include feelings of anger, resentment, unforgiveness, etc. But God's presence is like a well that is opened and the waters of Love are released. To know that we are loved ALWAYS is a great gift. But we can only receive this knowing by our first letting go of our will and allowing God to fill us.

God bless!!

Back to Ordinary Time!! Easter is over for this year!

On my walk this morning I was gifted with some sightings that were amazing. The first was a Cardinal, bright and cheery for the early morning. And then as I rounded the bend a deer came out of the woods, stood there for what seemed like minutes, staring at me and I frozen staring at him before he darted off. The last sighting was of a poor robin. I had seen him, and I'm sure it's the same one, a few days ago. He is obsessed with a window in one of the condos. He looks at himself in the window as if in a mirror and then pecks continuously, flying off now and then, but always coming back to the same spot. I feel sorry for him. It reminds me of total need and selfishness and the saying, "If you do what you have always done, you will get what you always gotten!" Our own selfish needs make us look in the mirror and see only ourselves and our wants. If we are being served and loved, it matters not if those serving and loving us are loved in return. I can only imagine that the little bird is looking for a mate and thinks the mirror of himself is what he needs and wants. But it's a futile desire. For when we look to meet only our needs and wants, we fail to see the bigger picture around us. Just like the little bird! If he were to drag himself away from the mirror of his image in the window, he might meet a mate flying through the air or perching in the trees. We too, when we learn to love others not because they serve our needs, but because they too are creatures created by the same God who desire love as we ourselves desire love. And it's a love without conditions. Since we are truly imperfect human beings, we desperately need to be loved unconditionally and always! When we can drag our inner eye away from the image of ourselves in the mirror of our souls, we will see the bigger picture of all that God created for us to enjoy and love. For God is love and it is in love that we find him.
God bless!!