I wanted to talk to everyone today about something I feel that I am guilty about more often than not.
Sometimes I believe that I focus way too much on what is happening in my own spiritual life and not enough on helping others or even the spiritual lives of others.
The proof of this is in the last post I wrote.
I know this is probably redundant of me, but please be aware of what and who is around you.
Even those that we are close to~ Just because we are close to someone does not mean that we are always aware of everything they are struggling with or even how they feel about things.
Our culture is amazingly selfish.
This doesn't mean that good things do not happen everyday but how many of us actually stop and instead of doing something we really want to do......do something for someone else because we know it will make the other person happy.
As long as what we are doing is not morally wrong or illegal, this is something selfless we can do for someone else.
Even something like this can be offered to our Lord as a small suffering or sacrifice.
I really admire St. Therese who in her own spiritual life adopted what she called "the little way".
She knew that she was a very simple soul and felt that she would never be able to offer our Lord something big or great.
But one day it struck her that she could do all of the simple everday mundane things greatly!
This means offering up every little conquering of own will or doing something as everday as washing the dishes and doing it for our Lord.
So you might ask, How on earth and what on earth does it mean to "wash dishes for our Lord"?
Well I'm not suggesting that you are actually washing the dishes for God, but you are washing them not because you want to, but because you know it is something that must be done and if that's the case it is something that God expects you to do to the best of your ability without complaing and without looking for recognition.
I think this is harder than a lot of people might think. Just try it, next time you have a lot of chores to do, do it without someone asking and when you are done do not tell people what you did or ask them what they think of your job.
This might sound strange to some of you, but this is serving our Lord with humility and love.
This means every time someone is impatient with me, I will be quiet and listen and not act impatiently in return.
Oh, if you only knew how valuable this "little conquerings" are to our Lord! To learn to be truly MEEK!
Some of us believe that meekness = weakness!
To me weakness is impatience, cowardice, and living a life of sin.
Meakness, on the other hand, isn't necessarily turning the other cheek, but knowing when to turn the other cheek with grace as opposed to standing up for what is right.
My standard for meekness is.....people can say what they want about me but not about our Lord!
This is because in my own eyes I am only as much as the Lord makes me to be and how dare anyone think less of our Lord!
You might think that maybe I am suffering from a low self-esteem or something and that is why I feel this way.
To those who are cynical of this kind of thinking, I wish I could let them see things through our Lord's eyes.
Being meek is not taking the guest of honor's place at the table but taking the last place as the guest.
If you're someone who normally does not like to be the center of attention~ This can also work in the opposite way.
If someone wishes to honor you for whatever reason, let them.
For some, this is harder than not being the center of attention. It is because it is embarrasing or humiliating for them.
Offer up this humiliation because the Holy Spirit may be working in the one who wishes to honor you and who are you to block the inspirations and actions of the Holy Spirit?
So for those of you who know me, I am making a public promise to you to try and be more aware of the Holy Spirit's inspirations in your own life and I pray that the Lord will help me to understand as opposed to being understood.
Just as saving a penny or two a day can add up to a lot of money over time......
Think about how much all these little sufferings and offerings will add up as a gift to Our Lord over our entire lifetime!
So even if you feel you cannot do great things on earth, you can do little things greatly!
So start putting some treasure in your heavenly savings account so you can make a huge withdrawal at your time of death and offer it to our Lord as gratitude for everything He gives and takes away!
It all starts with a prayer from the heart!
God bless you and reward you in all you do, say and think!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Oh, to Love Jesus as He loves us!
Come Holy Spirit....Help me write what I feel!
It's hard for me to put into words the immense love I have for our Lord and within the love the gratitude I feel for everything He gives and takes away!
Please bear with me and if you cannot understand through my words I apologize and please do not give it another thought.
It's impossible for a human with so many faults to describe such a perfect Love as in Jesus' heart!
Sometimes I feel a real pain through the love I have for Him, the best thing I can compare it to is loving another human so much it hurts or you cry!?
But this is a sort of pining for our Lord, the kind of love you may feel when you fall in love with another human but it is on a whole 'nother level!
I told you this comparison would be bad at best!
I also have never felt such a strong desire to take on suffering as I do now! I have always been one to run from pain or any unpleasantness in life!
It's not that I look for suffering, but when it comes my way I thank the Lord for trusting me with it and offer it back up to Him to use as He sees fit! I have become so untrusting of my own will that I can't even seem to decide how to "offer it up" I tell our Lord that I am offering it up to do His Will in the world.
Does this make sense to anyone out there?
It seems our Lord has set my heart on fire with love, yet it is a sweet burn. It burns without consuming yet sometimes it hurts with such a sweet pain and joy I know that it is only Him that keeps me from dying of Love! Thank you Jesus!
It seems You have chosen the smallest and most wretched of hearts to reside in. I only hope that You transform my heart enough to make it a fitting dwelling place for Your Spirit and Divine Love.
Maybe this is why I feel as if sometimes my heart is bursting at its seams! Such a small heart cannot contain such love! Why Lord, did you not give us bigger hearts to love You with?
Sometimes I wake up feeling like I've been marinating in His love overnight and wake up exhausted and dripping in Divine Love! I feel it run off of me and feel an intense urgency to share it with others and bring them into union with our Lord!
Why Lord? Is it that I was the weakest and most wretched creature, so you could prove to others that it truly is not me doing these things, but only the power of God could work such wonders in such a wretched and ungrateful soul?
I'm most positive this is it! Why else would something so wonderful happen to me, who is such a sinner?
It's peculiar, but even in all of His consolations there is a sweet suffering my intellect cannot describe. It's as though one cannot love in the true sense of the virtue without some suffering.
It's a beautiful union- one completes the other in such a way that I wouldn't ever want His love without the cross!
Only through The Cross can we truly appreciate Divine Love!
I am almost shameful for revealing such a feeling to you, but I know it is God who asks me to share it and so I willingly will endure the humiliation. Even through the humiliation of sharing it comes a peace and sweet pain I cannot describe.
So I guess the point of sharing this with you is to tell you to not be afraid to embrace your crosses in life and even love them a little!
You must endure the sun and the rain to enjoy the rainbow!
I guess that's where I feel that I am at right now, I am in the midst of pain, joy, love and suffering and even though I feel it all ~
it is mixed into a sweet burning love and desire to love and serve our Lord even unto death!
Lord, I love you but help me to love You more!
Not my will but Your Will be done!
Christ be with you,
Erin
It's hard for me to put into words the immense love I have for our Lord and within the love the gratitude I feel for everything He gives and takes away!
Please bear with me and if you cannot understand through my words I apologize and please do not give it another thought.
It's impossible for a human with so many faults to describe such a perfect Love as in Jesus' heart!
Sometimes I feel a real pain through the love I have for Him, the best thing I can compare it to is loving another human so much it hurts or you cry!?
But this is a sort of pining for our Lord, the kind of love you may feel when you fall in love with another human but it is on a whole 'nother level!
I told you this comparison would be bad at best!
I also have never felt such a strong desire to take on suffering as I do now! I have always been one to run from pain or any unpleasantness in life!
It's not that I look for suffering, but when it comes my way I thank the Lord for trusting me with it and offer it back up to Him to use as He sees fit! I have become so untrusting of my own will that I can't even seem to decide how to "offer it up" I tell our Lord that I am offering it up to do His Will in the world.
Does this make sense to anyone out there?
It seems our Lord has set my heart on fire with love, yet it is a sweet burn. It burns without consuming yet sometimes it hurts with such a sweet pain and joy I know that it is only Him that keeps me from dying of Love! Thank you Jesus!
It seems You have chosen the smallest and most wretched of hearts to reside in. I only hope that You transform my heart enough to make it a fitting dwelling place for Your Spirit and Divine Love.
Maybe this is why I feel as if sometimes my heart is bursting at its seams! Such a small heart cannot contain such love! Why Lord, did you not give us bigger hearts to love You with?
Sometimes I wake up feeling like I've been marinating in His love overnight and wake up exhausted and dripping in Divine Love! I feel it run off of me and feel an intense urgency to share it with others and bring them into union with our Lord!
Why Lord? Is it that I was the weakest and most wretched creature, so you could prove to others that it truly is not me doing these things, but only the power of God could work such wonders in such a wretched and ungrateful soul?
I'm most positive this is it! Why else would something so wonderful happen to me, who is such a sinner?
It's peculiar, but even in all of His consolations there is a sweet suffering my intellect cannot describe. It's as though one cannot love in the true sense of the virtue without some suffering.
It's a beautiful union- one completes the other in such a way that I wouldn't ever want His love without the cross!
Only through The Cross can we truly appreciate Divine Love!
I am almost shameful for revealing such a feeling to you, but I know it is God who asks me to share it and so I willingly will endure the humiliation. Even through the humiliation of sharing it comes a peace and sweet pain I cannot describe.
So I guess the point of sharing this with you is to tell you to not be afraid to embrace your crosses in life and even love them a little!
You must endure the sun and the rain to enjoy the rainbow!
I guess that's where I feel that I am at right now, I am in the midst of pain, joy, love and suffering and even though I feel it all ~
it is mixed into a sweet burning love and desire to love and serve our Lord even unto death!
Lord, I love you but help me to love You more!
Not my will but Your Will be done!
Christ be with you,
Erin
Monday, July 28, 2008
Be Not Afraid.....
Daily Reflection for Monday 7/28/08.
John Paul II’s words to the world, "Do not be afraid,"echo the words of Jesus.
These words reveal something of the Pope’s awareness of the precariousness of life and the need for a compass, which is the Lord
...Our lives are very small.
It was Moses to whom God spoke, from a small wind.
The wind has been silent, a long time...
The winds may seem overwhelming and beyond our control to calm them.
But it is then and perhaps only then, that the wind will speak again, calming all about us, and urging us to move on and not be afraid.
We will need to be still and listen - listen with the heart.
The heart - a small thing. It does not occupy much space but holds something of the eternal.
It guides us through what is necessarily vast and of mystery.
Like a compass, it contains all directions and yet points to the One that is necessary.
~Fr. James Behrens, O.C.S.O.
This term of "Be not Afraid" always seems to come up at the most poignant times in my life. -And yes has helped me through many trying times.
Today I find it necessary to be silent as today's reflection calls for and ask if you would or could do the same?
"Be still and know that I am God.........and Be not Afraid"
Christ's peace be with you!
~Erin
John Paul II’s words to the world, "Do not be afraid,"echo the words of Jesus.
These words reveal something of the Pope’s awareness of the precariousness of life and the need for a compass, which is the Lord
...Our lives are very small.
It was Moses to whom God spoke, from a small wind.
The wind has been silent, a long time...
The winds may seem overwhelming and beyond our control to calm them.
But it is then and perhaps only then, that the wind will speak again, calming all about us, and urging us to move on and not be afraid.
We will need to be still and listen - listen with the heart.
The heart - a small thing. It does not occupy much space but holds something of the eternal.
It guides us through what is necessarily vast and of mystery.
Like a compass, it contains all directions and yet points to the One that is necessary.
~Fr. James Behrens, O.C.S.O.
This term of "Be not Afraid" always seems to come up at the most poignant times in my life. -And yes has helped me through many trying times.
Today I find it necessary to be silent as today's reflection calls for and ask if you would or could do the same?
"Be still and know that I am God.........and Be not Afraid"
Christ's peace be with you!
~Erin
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Unless you become as a little child.......
Daily Reflection for Sunday 7/27/08
Christ’s insistence on the power of children is very striking.
Almost more than anything else in the Gospel, it proves that in God’s eyes, being something comes before doing something.
He sets a little child among his apostles as an example of what he loves.
He says that Heaven is full of children.
Indeed, the Architect of Love has built the door into Heaven so low that no one but a small child can pass through it, unless, to get down to a child’s little height, he goes in on his knees.
~ Caryll Houselander
Wow! This is an incredibly powerful quote! It's so funny how God's wisdom works in our everyday lives.
My focus lately has really been on children and their outlook on life.
Being a big overgrown kid myself, it is not too hard for me to relate to them on any level.
I remember as a child feeling sorry for adults who couldn't relate to children or were so jaded by life that they couldn't remember what it was like to be a kid. -looking forward to all that life has to offer and coping with all of life's disappointments with a sort of quick forgiveness and hope only a child has.
I've worked really heard all my life not to lose this outlook on life. Although sometimes it's harder at some points than others, I wish to remain a child in the eyes of our Lord.
I also wish to look at life not necessarily as a child would, but to keep that same hope and faith in life and in others that a child does.
Spend any amount of time with a child and you'll learn how quick they are to forgive and forget and hope for more fun in the future.
This is what I wish for all of us adults, to look at life with an adults wisdom but through a child's eyes and heart. What's wrong with having high hopes?
I hope on this beautiful Sunday afternoon you are able to spend some quality time with our Lord outside and appreciate all of his blessings in nature.
Look with wonder at our world and our Lord, no matter how many problems you may have, set them aside for today and put them in God's hands.
He'll take care of them as a good Father always does.
Take the role of His child and trust in Him.
Look at awe at all of His creations including other people and thank Him for every moment you have the opportunity to praise Him for everything He gives us!
Because the first must be the last
And only little ones may pass
Beyond the gate, narrow and small
Where God is waiting for us all.
Saint Francis, lift my spirit up
I raise to you my empty cup.
As I approach the narrow way
Make me a little one today.
-D. Allen
Christ’s insistence on the power of children is very striking.
Almost more than anything else in the Gospel, it proves that in God’s eyes, being something comes before doing something.
He sets a little child among his apostles as an example of what he loves.
He says that Heaven is full of children.
Indeed, the Architect of Love has built the door into Heaven so low that no one but a small child can pass through it, unless, to get down to a child’s little height, he goes in on his knees.
~ Caryll Houselander
Wow! This is an incredibly powerful quote! It's so funny how God's wisdom works in our everyday lives.
My focus lately has really been on children and their outlook on life.
Being a big overgrown kid myself, it is not too hard for me to relate to them on any level.
I remember as a child feeling sorry for adults who couldn't relate to children or were so jaded by life that they couldn't remember what it was like to be a kid. -looking forward to all that life has to offer and coping with all of life's disappointments with a sort of quick forgiveness and hope only a child has.
I've worked really heard all my life not to lose this outlook on life. Although sometimes it's harder at some points than others, I wish to remain a child in the eyes of our Lord.
I also wish to look at life not necessarily as a child would, but to keep that same hope and faith in life and in others that a child does.
Spend any amount of time with a child and you'll learn how quick they are to forgive and forget and hope for more fun in the future.
This is what I wish for all of us adults, to look at life with an adults wisdom but through a child's eyes and heart. What's wrong with having high hopes?
I hope on this beautiful Sunday afternoon you are able to spend some quality time with our Lord outside and appreciate all of his blessings in nature.
Look with wonder at our world and our Lord, no matter how many problems you may have, set them aside for today and put them in God's hands.
He'll take care of them as a good Father always does.
Take the role of His child and trust in Him.
Look at awe at all of His creations including other people and thank Him for every moment you have the opportunity to praise Him for everything He gives us!
Because the first must be the last
And only little ones may pass
Beyond the gate, narrow and small
Where God is waiting for us all.
Saint Francis, lift my spirit up
I raise to you my empty cup.
As I approach the narrow way
Make me a little one today.
-D. Allen
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