Friday, November 24, 2006

a sour stomach

“Take and swallow it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.”

On the way to Mass this morning, I had a lot of thoughts running through my head...one of them was...why me Lord. But not the usual 'why me' type of wandering...I wasn't really questioning why I have to suffer. I was questioning why the Lord would call me to so much when I don't seem to be able to handle it all very well. You see...I saw my 'suffering' as a sign that I wasn't 'handling it' well.

Then Fr. Ron in his homily talked about the first reading passage from Revelations where John is asked by an angel to swallow the scroll and how at first it will taste sweet in his mouth and then turns sour in his stomach. How being obedient to the Word of God can be the same.

At first there is so much excitement and eagerness to listen to God's Word in our lives and to jump right to it in obedience...however at some point it is apt to turn 'sour'...things get hard and this is where dispair can set in. Wrong thinking can set us off on the wrong road. I had gotten caught in this.

The point is not so much about how well WE handle life, it is about how much we allow GOD to handle it FOR us. Constantly giving Him everything as it comes up...sour tummies and all!

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Happy Thanksgiving

"It is through thanksgiving that we are delivered from evil because thanksgiving puts us in touch with God. The Lord wants to be appreciated. He created us. It's the least we can do for Him. He wants us to love Him as He loves us (who would not?).

And so there is real potency in thanksgiving -- in using the feast, the week, as a special time of thankful reflection."


read full story here

Sunday, November 19, 2006

cliques

"May I never see 'cliques' developing in your work. It would make a mockery of the apostolate: for if, in the end, the 'clique' got control of a universal undertaking, how quickly that universal undertaking would be reduced to a clique itself!"

– St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way, #963

Friday, November 17, 2006

joy

"Pain does not mean we have to lose our joy! There are times and seasons, times when we have sorrow -- but if that lasts too long, if joy does not return, something is out of balance.

Or something has to be cast off: Often we go through periods of "aridity," when we can't shake what seems like bad luck, and sometimes it's because we forget to do what Jesus taught and command oppressing spirits out of us. We get trapped by our blindness. We forget to cast away darkness that strips us of joy and we forget that in the perspective of eternal life there is no "calamity" on earth that warrants hopelessness."

read full article here

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

keep up the struggle

"Doubts assail you, temptations, with that gloss of elegance about them.

I love to hear you say how this shows that the devil considers you his enemy, and that the grace of God will never leave you unprotected. Keep up the struggle!"
– St. Josemaria Escriva, The Forge, #309

Monday, November 06, 2006

we do not have to hide

"Remember that God loves us as we are. We do not have to hide like Adam and Eve did; we do not have to keep wrapping the fig leaves around ourselves anymore. We want Jesus to touch us right now as He finds us today. Also remember that God will not violate our own free will. It is necessary to invite Him to enter into our hearts and to touch any painful memories we have stored there. If we can recall nothing, then we can still ask the Holy Spirit to direct Jesus’ healing love to any past experiences, which may now need to be touched. The Lord does not usually just erase traumas from our lives. But, when He came forth from the tomb, God transformed them so they no longer have the power to keep us in bondage. We can remember them. We can remember what happened but we can do so without the negative feelings of fear, of anger of sadness, of guilt or pain."

Excerpt from Mother Nadine’s, “Lady Wisdom Sings Her Own Praises,” Omaha, NE 2005

words

Life in Christ: Catechism #2480
"Every word or attitude is forbidden which by flattery, adulation, or complaisance encourages and confirms another in malicious acts and perverse conduct. Adulation is a grave fault if it makes one an accomplice in another's vices or grave sins. Neither the desire to be of service nor friendship justifies duplicitous speech. Adulation is a venial sin when it only seeks to be agreeable, to avoid evil, to meet a need, or to obtain legitimate advantages."

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

becoming more human

One Minute Meditations

Friendship
"It is true that life, which by its nature is already rather narrow and uncertain, sometimes becomes difficult. But that will help you to become more supernatural and to see the hand of God. Then you will be more human and understanding with those around you."
– St. Josemaria Escriva, Furrow, #762