A major theme in this past Sunday's liturgy was the ability to see. In the Gospel, we heard the story of Jesus curing the blind man, and the Pharisees, who, in contrast, had physical vision, but lacked the spiritual clarity to see the pure goodness of Jesus's act of love. Further, we heard of Jesus as being our "light".
Light is so important; without it, we would have a very difficult time getting through our day. Light illuminates our environment so that we know where we are going, and allows us to perform a variety of important tasks. In that vein, Jesus as our spiritual light helps us to see where we are going, by revealing to us the unique gifts we possess and the path down which we are meant to use them, as well as his own life as the most shining, perfect example of how to behave and love. In addition, the light of God helps us to see when we have strayed from our path by making decisions that are not in keeping with the word and love of God. When this happens, we can then follow the light by making amends with God and anyone we have hurt, and correcting our behaviour to be more like Christ.
This last point emphasizes the fact that to "see" is not entirely enough; we must also take an active role in applying that which we see and learn.
In relation to this idea, my choir sang "Day by Day" from the musical Godspell as our second recessional hymn. Here are the main lyrics:
Day by day, day by day
O, dear Lord, three things I pray
To see thee more clearly
Love thee more dearly
Follow thee more nearly
Day by day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWQEUzOACm4
This uplifting, melodious song gives us great advice for three wonderful things for which we can pray.
1. To See Thee More Clearly
We can pray to God for help with more profoundly understanding His word, both when we hear it during Mass, and when we encounter it during personal liturgical reading. We can ask Him to help us not only see or hear the words but to better comprehend and remember the meanings and teachings within them. We can also pray, as we have discussed in recent blogs, for greater clarity when it comes to discerning one's path in life and figuring out how to live in a way that will best glorify the Lord and serve those around us. Furthermore, we can ask for greater ability to recognize our sins and need for reconciliation with God.
A year or so ago, I heard a metaphor on a Matthew Kelly CD that really stuck with me. He asks us to suppose that our car's windshield is dirty. When we are driving away from the light, we don't necessarily realize the dirt is there; everything looks more or less fine. However, when we change direction, and the light hits our windshield, we suddenly realize it is marred and in need of a good cleaning. Likewise, when our heart and mind are not attuned to the Lord, but distracted by a multitude of other things, it is easy to overlook our sins and think that "everything is fine". With humble prayer, however, we can become more clearly attuned to God's love and word, and we will be better able to tell when our souls are in need of a little (or a significant) purification.
2. Love Thee More Dearly
Is simply knowing what God wants us to do good enough? It is a great start, but that's all it is - a start. It is the total acceptance and embracing of God's word and His will for us that helps us start to move more significantly along our spiritual journey.
Jesus explained that the most important commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, all our souls, and all our minds. That is, the loving, serving, and glorification of the Lord should be our top priority. When we completely love God and fully accept His will for us, we are in turn better equipped to love and serve others with a pure, Christlike love.
3. Follow Thee More Nearly
Okay, so we have determined what God wants of us, and we have lovingly embraced it. Now comes the hard work; following that path and sticking to it! There can be many roadblocks along the way, such opposition, physical struggles, doubts, fears, and so on. Indeed, following God's plan can involve a lot of self-sacrifice of our time, resources, and desires. When times get tough, what are we to do? Again, we can always pray to the Lord and ask him to help us stay strong and carry on. I often pray to God for help with cultivating what I call the "3 Ps": Patience, Positivity, and Perseverance, and I find that God is always there to help me along. Moreover, as mentioned above, when we do stray from our path (it happens to us all!) we can pray to God for both forgiveness and also the wisdom and fortitude needed to replace our sinful behaviours with more loving ones.
Finally, the title of the song, "Day by Day", reminds us that seeking to cultivate greater clarity, love, and perseverance is not a one-time thing; it is an ongoing process. We receive opportunities to learn and grow every single day, in every experience and encounter, because God is always right there with us. There is no ceiling over our ability to grow in our relationship with the Lord. It is a perpetual, active journey, and how great it is to know that we are never on this journey alone.
May God bless you today and always,
Karen
Monday 31 March 2014
Wednesday 19 March 2014
"Follow Me"
A significant theme of last Sunday's readings is that God has a calling for each and every one of us - a unique, beautiful, grace-filled calling in which we can do wonderful things.
Amid this fast-paced, busy world, can we hear that call?
And are we willing to answer it?
-----
In the Second Reading, we heard that God has "saved us and called us with a holy calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and the grace which He gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago" (Timothy 1:9). Then, in the Gospel, the Lord said of Jesus, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him", shortly after which, Jesus said to "Rise and have no fear" (Matthew 17: 5, 7).
Taken together, these messages are very powerful and inspiring. We can see that God has a wonderful plan for each of us, and has mercifully and generously provided us with the graces needed to fulfill it. Even more, He gave us His only son as an ideal example of how to live one's life as a means for serving others, glorifying the Lord, and manifesting God's plan, even when it means enduring hardship and making great sacrifice. To be sure, to accept God's call, which may or may not be exactly how we had envisioned our life when we were formulating hopes and dreams for the future, and to pursue the fulfillment of that call, can be challenging at times. Yet, as Jesus reminds us, we should "rise and have no fear", because He is ever at our side, loving us, guiding us, and helping us along our way.
In keeping with this theme, my choir sang Paul McCartney's "Follow Me" during Communion this past Sunday. Here are the lyrics, as well as a link to the video.
You lift up my spirits, you shine on my soul
Whenever I'm empty, you make me feel whole
I can rely on you to guide me through any situation
You hold up a sign that reads: "Follow me"
You give me direction, you show me the way
You give every reason to face every day
I can depend on you to send me to any destination
You hold up a sign that reads: "Follow me, follow me"
Down the track of loneliness, down the path of love
Through the woods of heartache to the end
On the shores of sorrow, where the waves of hope crash in
The perfect place for me to find a friend
You lead me to places that I've never been
Uncovering secrets that I've never seen
I can rely on you to guide me through any situation
You hold up a sign that reads: "Follow me, follow me
Follow me, follow me
Follow me, follow me
Follow me, follow me"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzHkYUPf59s
-----
The title, and thus the main theme of this song, in my choir's interpretation, is that God is lovingly asking us to follow Him - that is, to accept the plan and calling He has for us, surrender our hearts to Him, and go about life seeking to serve others and glorify Him in the distinct way He has shaped for us, using our unique God-given gifts and talents.
Also of note is that He is not ordering us, He is asking us. He gave us all free will, and thus, we are given a choice.
Will we choose to open our minds and hearts so that we can hear the call God is making to us?
Will we then choose to answer that call? That is, will we submit ourselves to the Lord and seek first and foremost to do His will?
Will we seek to help others? Will we seek to live and love in a Christlike way in all that we do?
From the final verse one can infer that when we do choose to listen to God and to follow Him along the path He has crafted for us, we will experience opportunities and joys we never thought imaginable! From good comes more good, when that good is rooted in the love of God and His word.
-----
What is your calling? How are you fulfilling it? I would love for you to share your thoughts.
Let us all pray to be able to clearly discern God's unique, loving calling for us, and to more greatly possess the patience, positivity, and perseverance needed to carry out His plan.
Love and blessings to you all,
Karen
Amid this fast-paced, busy world, can we hear that call?
And are we willing to answer it?
-----
In the Second Reading, we heard that God has "saved us and called us with a holy calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and the grace which He gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago" (Timothy 1:9). Then, in the Gospel, the Lord said of Jesus, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him", shortly after which, Jesus said to "Rise and have no fear" (Matthew 17: 5, 7).
Taken together, these messages are very powerful and inspiring. We can see that God has a wonderful plan for each of us, and has mercifully and generously provided us with the graces needed to fulfill it. Even more, He gave us His only son as an ideal example of how to live one's life as a means for serving others, glorifying the Lord, and manifesting God's plan, even when it means enduring hardship and making great sacrifice. To be sure, to accept God's call, which may or may not be exactly how we had envisioned our life when we were formulating hopes and dreams for the future, and to pursue the fulfillment of that call, can be challenging at times. Yet, as Jesus reminds us, we should "rise and have no fear", because He is ever at our side, loving us, guiding us, and helping us along our way.
In keeping with this theme, my choir sang Paul McCartney's "Follow Me" during Communion this past Sunday. Here are the lyrics, as well as a link to the video.
You lift up my spirits, you shine on my soul
Whenever I'm empty, you make me feel whole
I can rely on you to guide me through any situation
You hold up a sign that reads: "Follow me"
You give me direction, you show me the way
You give every reason to face every day
I can depend on you to send me to any destination
You hold up a sign that reads: "Follow me, follow me"
Down the track of loneliness, down the path of love
Through the woods of heartache to the end
On the shores of sorrow, where the waves of hope crash in
The perfect place for me to find a friend
You lead me to places that I've never been
Uncovering secrets that I've never seen
I can rely on you to guide me through any situation
You hold up a sign that reads: "Follow me, follow me
Follow me, follow me
Follow me, follow me
Follow me, follow me"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzHkYUPf59s
-----
The title, and thus the main theme of this song, in my choir's interpretation, is that God is lovingly asking us to follow Him - that is, to accept the plan and calling He has for us, surrender our hearts to Him, and go about life seeking to serve others and glorify Him in the distinct way He has shaped for us, using our unique God-given gifts and talents.
Also of note is that He is not ordering us, He is asking us. He gave us all free will, and thus, we are given a choice.
Will we choose to open our minds and hearts so that we can hear the call God is making to us?
Will we then choose to answer that call? That is, will we submit ourselves to the Lord and seek first and foremost to do His will?
Will we seek to help others? Will we seek to live and love in a Christlike way in all that we do?
From the final verse one can infer that when we do choose to listen to God and to follow Him along the path He has crafted for us, we will experience opportunities and joys we never thought imaginable! From good comes more good, when that good is rooted in the love of God and His word.
-----
What is your calling? How are you fulfilling it? I would love for you to share your thoughts.
Let us all pray to be able to clearly discern God's unique, loving calling for us, and to more greatly possess the patience, positivity, and perseverance needed to carry out His plan.
Love and blessings to you all,
Karen
Sunday 2 March 2014
"Trust and Obey"
Hello, wonderful people!
After a long absence, I am finally back with my latest blog post. My apologies for taking so long to return to the bloggersphere. Life has been beautifully busy with many things on the go, most joyfully, my marriage to the most amazing person in the whole world! I have never known and experienced happiness as profoundly as I have since being united by God to him about 9 months ago!
With life's changes and new experiences, I found that my habit of writing this blog fell by the wayside. There always seemed to be one thing or another I needed to do first before this, and then, as tends to happen to us all, I would forget. The longer it had been since I wrote my last entry, the less it was on my mind. But, lately, I have felt God gently nudging me towards getting back into the habit of writing to you, and most significantly so today. So, here I am!
Having been so greatly blessed, I truly feel it is not only my duty but also my sheer joy to share the word of God's love with others. With that, let's take a look together at the beautiful nuggets of God's amazing love in today's Mass.
----
Today's readings, and particularly the Gospel, lovingly implored us not to be bogged down by earthly worries and concerns. Specifically, we heard that we should not focus our energy on comparatively trivial things like our clothing or our food. More broadly, we were warned against getting ensnared by the mires of doubt, worry, and anxiety.
From a young age, I have been a worrier. I recall rather clearly spending sleepless nights in grade school, worrying about one thing or another. Today, as an adult, I still find myself to be a bit of a habitual worrier.
There always seems to be so much to worry about. What if this goes wrong... What if I can't do this... What if things don't go my way... What if... What if?
Worry can be exhausting, emotionally and even physically. We lack sleep, we lack concentration, and we lack focus on the better, bigger picture, beyond our worry of the moment. Worst of all, we lose sight of the fact that, as our Mass readings told us today, we are called to have unwavering faith in the Lord.
The Lord loves us so immensely, so unconditionally, that we cannot truly describe or even conceive of it. He loves us so amazingly, and as such, He will never lead us astray. He will always be there at our sides, protecting us, strengthening us, and guiding us along our way.
We just need to trust Him, place our hand in His, and stride confidently onward, knowing that whatever happens, our hearts are in God's keeping. He knows what is best for us, beyond what we can comprehend, and so we need only believe and trust.
In keeping with this theme, my choir sang "Trust and Obey" by Big Daddy Weave. Here are some of the lyrics, and a Youtube link for your viewing and listening pleasure.
Trust and obey. Easier said than done? Perhaps. When things are going great for us, and problems are happily few and far between, it isn't difficult to recognize God's blessings and gifts to us, provided we 'stop and smell the roses' and take the time to reflect. Rather, it is when our road is full of obstacles, stumblings, and frustrations that it can be difficult to identify and appreciate God's workings in our lives. However, this doesn't mean that they aren't there! God is always there, doing marvelous things for us, even when things seem the most bleak - perhaps especially when they do!
We have probably all experiences losses, setbacks, and failures, and, at the time, didn't understand why these things happened. However, I truly believe that each experience, be it seemingly good or bad on the surface, is a positive stepping stone down the journey of our lives, a journey which God has personally and lovingly crafted for each and every one of us. I can now look back at past hurts and difficulties that I so disdained at the time and realize that they were actually priceless gifts that helped move me along my journey in a more positive direction, towards my husband, my job, and my personal and spiritual growth. I can thus feel grateful for the experiences which previously caused me pain. How awesome is that?
Let us try to bear this idea in mind when we feel bogged down by our earthly worries. Despite all the what ifs, when we truly surrender ourselves to God's love and His will for us, we can comfort ourselves with the knowledge that no matter what happens, no matter whether things do or do not turn out the way we think they 'should', God's providence will ultimately play itself out in the best possible way. We may not see it immediately, but we just need to be patient, and trust in the Lord's goodness and benevolence with a humble and hopeful heart.
If we are not to worry about earthly things, what should we worry about - that is, on what should we focus our emotional and physical energy? Today's readings gave us that knowledge, too - we should focus ourselves on doing the good works that God has intended us to do. We should focus our energy on prayerfully discerning God's will for us, and patiently, positively, and perseverently carrying it out. Yes, there will be challenges along the way. That is inevitable. But, anything worth doing is worth doing right, and worth doing all the way - and what is more worth doing than fulfilling God's plan for us?
Moreover, as both the readings and the song "Trust and Obey" tell us, surrendering ourselves completely to God is the key to experiencing the greatest possible joy. It is not that life will always be supremely easy. Instead, it is knowing that even when we face difficulties, we can never be truly down and out because God knows and will lovingly provide what is best for us. In this way, we can persevere, and can find something positive in any situation, which will even better equip us to continue to do God's will and spread His love and mercy to others.
To truly love and serve God is to know true joy!
----
Fully embracing and living out an attitude of spiritual surrender and a triumph over worry is not an easy task, and cannot necessarily be done overnight. We need the support of those around us to help us put aside our personal, worldly worries and to instead offer everything up to God. My husband has been incredibly helpful in inspiring me to adopt this way of thinking and feeling, and I am so very grateful. Furthermore, let us always turn to God through fervent, humble, passionate prayer, asking Him to help us cast aside our worries and focus on carrying out His will instead. We can ask Him for the physical, emotional, and spiritual strength, loving patience, and humble compassion needed to do so, and we can in turn ask him for renewal when we stumble along the way.
The Lord is reaching out His hand to us.
Will we fully trust in Him, and reach back?
I pray that we will!
May God bless you, today and always!
- Karen
After a long absence, I am finally back with my latest blog post. My apologies for taking so long to return to the bloggersphere. Life has been beautifully busy with many things on the go, most joyfully, my marriage to the most amazing person in the whole world! I have never known and experienced happiness as profoundly as I have since being united by God to him about 9 months ago!
With life's changes and new experiences, I found that my habit of writing this blog fell by the wayside. There always seemed to be one thing or another I needed to do first before this, and then, as tends to happen to us all, I would forget. The longer it had been since I wrote my last entry, the less it was on my mind. But, lately, I have felt God gently nudging me towards getting back into the habit of writing to you, and most significantly so today. So, here I am!
Having been so greatly blessed, I truly feel it is not only my duty but also my sheer joy to share the word of God's love with others. With that, let's take a look together at the beautiful nuggets of God's amazing love in today's Mass.
----
Today's readings, and particularly the Gospel, lovingly implored us not to be bogged down by earthly worries and concerns. Specifically, we heard that we should not focus our energy on comparatively trivial things like our clothing or our food. More broadly, we were warned against getting ensnared by the mires of doubt, worry, and anxiety.
From a young age, I have been a worrier. I recall rather clearly spending sleepless nights in grade school, worrying about one thing or another. Today, as an adult, I still find myself to be a bit of a habitual worrier.
There always seems to be so much to worry about. What if this goes wrong... What if I can't do this... What if things don't go my way... What if... What if?
Worry can be exhausting, emotionally and even physically. We lack sleep, we lack concentration, and we lack focus on the better, bigger picture, beyond our worry of the moment. Worst of all, we lose sight of the fact that, as our Mass readings told us today, we are called to have unwavering faith in the Lord.
The Lord loves us so immensely, so unconditionally, that we cannot truly describe or even conceive of it. He loves us so amazingly, and as such, He will never lead us astray. He will always be there at our sides, protecting us, strengthening us, and guiding us along our way.
We just need to trust Him, place our hand in His, and stride confidently onward, knowing that whatever happens, our hearts are in God's keeping. He knows what is best for us, beyond what we can comprehend, and so we need only believe and trust.
In keeping with this theme, my choir sang "Trust and Obey" by Big Daddy Weave. Here are some of the lyrics, and a Youtube link for your viewing and listening pleasure.
- When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.- Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
- Refrain:
- But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey. - Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.
Trust and obey. Easier said than done? Perhaps. When things are going great for us, and problems are happily few and far between, it isn't difficult to recognize God's blessings and gifts to us, provided we 'stop and smell the roses' and take the time to reflect. Rather, it is when our road is full of obstacles, stumblings, and frustrations that it can be difficult to identify and appreciate God's workings in our lives. However, this doesn't mean that they aren't there! God is always there, doing marvelous things for us, even when things seem the most bleak - perhaps especially when they do!
We have probably all experiences losses, setbacks, and failures, and, at the time, didn't understand why these things happened. However, I truly believe that each experience, be it seemingly good or bad on the surface, is a positive stepping stone down the journey of our lives, a journey which God has personally and lovingly crafted for each and every one of us. I can now look back at past hurts and difficulties that I so disdained at the time and realize that they were actually priceless gifts that helped move me along my journey in a more positive direction, towards my husband, my job, and my personal and spiritual growth. I can thus feel grateful for the experiences which previously caused me pain. How awesome is that?
Let us try to bear this idea in mind when we feel bogged down by our earthly worries. Despite all the what ifs, when we truly surrender ourselves to God's love and His will for us, we can comfort ourselves with the knowledge that no matter what happens, no matter whether things do or do not turn out the way we think they 'should', God's providence will ultimately play itself out in the best possible way. We may not see it immediately, but we just need to be patient, and trust in the Lord's goodness and benevolence with a humble and hopeful heart.
If we are not to worry about earthly things, what should we worry about - that is, on what should we focus our emotional and physical energy? Today's readings gave us that knowledge, too - we should focus ourselves on doing the good works that God has intended us to do. We should focus our energy on prayerfully discerning God's will for us, and patiently, positively, and perseverently carrying it out. Yes, there will be challenges along the way. That is inevitable. But, anything worth doing is worth doing right, and worth doing all the way - and what is more worth doing than fulfilling God's plan for us?
Moreover, as both the readings and the song "Trust and Obey" tell us, surrendering ourselves completely to God is the key to experiencing the greatest possible joy. It is not that life will always be supremely easy. Instead, it is knowing that even when we face difficulties, we can never be truly down and out because God knows and will lovingly provide what is best for us. In this way, we can persevere, and can find something positive in any situation, which will even better equip us to continue to do God's will and spread His love and mercy to others.
To truly love and serve God is to know true joy!
----
Fully embracing and living out an attitude of spiritual surrender and a triumph over worry is not an easy task, and cannot necessarily be done overnight. We need the support of those around us to help us put aside our personal, worldly worries and to instead offer everything up to God. My husband has been incredibly helpful in inspiring me to adopt this way of thinking and feeling, and I am so very grateful. Furthermore, let us always turn to God through fervent, humble, passionate prayer, asking Him to help us cast aside our worries and focus on carrying out His will instead. We can ask Him for the physical, emotional, and spiritual strength, loving patience, and humble compassion needed to do so, and we can in turn ask him for renewal when we stumble along the way.
The Lord is reaching out His hand to us.
Will we fully trust in Him, and reach back?
I pray that we will!
May God bless you, today and always!
- Karen
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