Devotion for today: Set the goal, have a team, overcome the obstacles

2 Timothy 4:7: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;

One of my favorite television shows is Ultimate Survivor Alaska, a National Geographic program. In this show teams of men try every week to be first in reaching a certain destination in order to pick up a victory for that week. Now, they are in the back country of Alaska, so the challenges that face them are enormous. If they do get to the weekly destinations, however, they are one step closer to winning the huge prize at the end reserved for the team with the most wins.

I love this show. First of all, the incredible beauty of Alaska makes this show worth viewing. But more importantly, this show reminds me so much of our struggle to get to heaven.

I see three similarities in our struggle and the struggle facing these men: the desire to reach a goal; the need to overcome obstacles, and the necessity of a team.

The goal for these men is simple. Each week they must get to a preset destination before the other teams. The ultimate goal is to be the best, or ultimate.

Their obstacles are unbelievable. I have watched them as they scale mountains, kayak across raging waters, bushwhack though thick foliage, and pull themselves out of quicksand. They have had to swim through ice, dodge rock slides and distract wild animals.

The amazing and beautiful part of all this is how they work together as a team. Each member totally respects the specific and special talents and abilities of his teammates. They defer to each other’s knowledge and experience to plan their attack against the elements and reach the goal. They need each other to stay alive in this battle against nature. One man falls into the ice and other two are there to get him out. One man is swept away by the current and the others are there to rescue him and pull him to safety. One man broke his ankle, and although it could have cost the others the entire race, they would not leave him behind just to win that day’s challenge.

That is how it is for us in our spiritual lives. Ultimately, we want to get to heaven. To do that, however, we must overcome many, many challenges along the way. Society is filled with dangers that can trap us at any time, that can cause us to lose our way or start to sink. We cannot fight through the distractions and temptations that surround us if we do not have our eyes firmly fixed on the goal. Each of us must have a plan, of course and the means to fulfill it, just like the teams have a map and food for the journey (our Bible and Eucharist) but we must recognize that we cannot do it alone. Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis I all speak of the New Evangelization as the only hope for a world that closely resembles the wilds of Alaska. None of us can battle today unless we have a good team to support us. We need each other in order to survive.

In every show I watch, at least one team member states that he would have died had it not been for his teammates. So it is with us. We have to have people in our lives who will show us when we are on the wrong path, or sinking in the quicksand of sin, or trying to follow a dangerous path that takes us away from our ultimate goal. The call is for us to put ourselves out there in the world as well and be the special team member to others: to youth who have no direction; to young adults who may not see how God fits into the picture anymore, to the engaged couples in our parishes who may need examples of what good holy marriage looks like. The list goes on and on.

 We are really crazy if we think we will make it today without a support group. We cannot see the dangers and snares that await us at every turn. We must join parish groups, prayer meetings, attend good lectures, help out in shelters and homes for the elderly and find like-minded people who will save us when we fall. Jesus came for everyone, but He surrounded Himself with 12 really good friends. That is the example we must follow. Make a friend, be a friend and bring a friend to Christ is the motto of the Cursillo movement in the Church. It applies to us all. Let’s start today to be a team member in the struggle to get to heaven, and let’s just be thankful every day that we don’t have to swim through ice to do it!!!

Devotion for today: Use them or lose them

Matthew 25:14-30: “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them.  To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents.  In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more.  But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

 “Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’  His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

 “Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’  His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 

“And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.  And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’  “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed.  Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.  Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

“For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Footnotes:  A talent was worth about fifteen years’ wages of a laborer

I helped an elderly aunt of mine move out of her house into assisted living. When it came time to clean out her “medicine pantry” I found seven beautiful lotion bottles that were given to her as gifts throughout the years. “Auntie,” I exclaimed, “why didn’t you ever use these?” Most were so old that the lotion inside had turned to some indescribable liquid, not pleasant, or else had just dried up. Auntie explained that she was afraid if she used them they would be gone and so would the memory of the people who gave them to her. They were her little treasures. She didn’t see that they were given to her to make her life better, to increase her joy in living by having soft, creamy skin and that every time she would have used them she would have thanked the person who gave her the gift. Now they were stale and useless and had to be thrown away without any benefit to her or anyone else.

This is how it is with the gifts God gives us. Everyone one of us is as unique as a snowflake. Our physical features, our laugh, our personalities, all have a “one of a kind” stamp on them. The Creator, our good God, did that for a very special reason. We aren’t able to see it, but the world God created is like a wondrous mosaic, with each tiny piece fulfilling a purpose. It is cut to a specific size, chosen for its unique color, and polished to brilliance. Then it is carefully laid in the exact spot where it is needed. Voila! We now have the fulfillment of a purpose.

If we take inventory and work to discover the unique qualities and gifts God has given to us, we will see that He has a very specific purpose for us in the world. It doesn’t have to be grand or recognized by society, but it is important to God nonetheless. Are we compassionate? Do we have the rare gift of being a good listener? Are we able to explain truths without arguing? Can we make sense of a mess, either in someone else’s personal life or in the real world? Can we discern spirits and know immediately what is of God and what is not? Whatever gifts we have, we must find a way to use them for the purpose God had in mind when He formed us in our mothers' wombs. We must be centered every minute of every day on God’s will for us at that moment, and always begin and end every day in prayer. We must also learn the St. Michael’s prayer whenever we hear a voice inside of us telling us to back away from our special gifts and just coast through life. That can never be God telling us to do that. Be tough, be determined, and be without fear. If God gave you the gift, God will open the opportunities for you to use it. You, in turn, must develop the ability to hear and see Him in the world around you.

Don’t let your gifts go stale and turn into something unusable. Don’t let them be thrown away on worldly matters only, and not for the purpose of evangelization.  Pull them out, dust them off and get to work. Using them will only make you a much better person and the world a much finer place to live. Think of my dear Auntie. She could have used her lotions for the purpose for which they were intended. Instead, they had to be thrown out. If God can’t use us, He most definitely will find someone He can. Remember my favorite explanation of the personal judgment. We stand before Jesus with the report card of our life and say, “Here Lord, this is what I did with what You gave me.” Hopefully He will look at it and say, “Well done my good and faithful servant. Now enter into the home of my Father.” God bless us as we do our part in the work of evangelization so desperately needed in the world today. 

As St. Francis of Assisi once said: "Remember when you leave this earth, you can take with you NOTHING that you have received, only what you have given: A heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage."  

Devotion for today: Sometimes we have to change direction

John 21:1-6: After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way.  Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.

 But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.” And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.

So many times in life we find ourselves stuck in a rut. We are doing what we always do. Or we are following a plan we feel is right for us, although we are not realizing any success. Sometimes we honestly believe we are doing what is necessary to survive or even complete God’s will, yet things are not going well. Maybe we are trying to care for others and putting our own needs aside, yet the joy and satisfaction of living are long gone from our daily routines. Just like the apostles, who caught nothing, we are frustrated.  What to do?

In the above passage, Jesus has already risen from the dead. Many scholars ask why the apostles are fishing at this point. They are aware that Jesus has miraculously returned to them, and they were told to wait for Him. Yet here we see Peter leading the others into the sea. Maybe they were hungry and this is how they obtained food. Maybe Peter was tired of waiting, or confused or frustrated and needed to do what was familiar. I think this is a key point. God reaches out to us wherever we are in life. He comes to us in the ordinary aspects of our lives. We do not necessarily find Him secluded in a church or during prayer time. God wants us involved in life, and that is what happens here. I am reading a wonderful, short but powerful book entitled, “Abandonment to Divine Providence.” It is attributed to Jean Pierre de Caussade and this was a favorite book of St. Therese of Lisieux. In every chapter the author reminds us that simple daily living performed completely in abandonment to the will of God is the only requirement for life. Easy to say, but how do we know the will of God?

We see in our passage that Jesus is standing on the shore but they do not recognize Him. I thought it was strange that He called them children since these were His closest friends, so I read some commentaries and it really is odd to use that expression here. The word John used was paidiai and literally means little children. No wonder they didn’t know who was talking to them! Jesus never called them that before. Plus, we are told many times in the other gospels that the apostles didn’t recognize Jesus once he rose from the dead since His body had undergone a miraculous change. It is for our benefit, I think, that Jesus used the term for little children. What is a better description of us when we are lost and confused and frustrated? How many times has Jesus reached out to us in our lives in varied and unusual ways, and because it was “different” from what we expected we didn’t listen. We need to learn to expect a God of surprises to lead us in our daily lives.

Jesus offers the apostles advice. He tells them to throw their nets off the right side of the boat, and they do. What a difference! Before their very eyes, the nets are filled to the breaking point. That is what happens when we listen to Jesus. That is what happens when we are humble enough to acknowledge that the plan or idea we thought was so great, really isn’t so great because it isn’t the one God had in mind for us. Repeated disappointments and failures in life are sometimes the result of just not casting off on the other side of the boat. If we follow the voice of God, we will always be successful in the will He has for us. Don’t be afraid to change directions, or intentions. Don’t worry if at first you can’t hear God speaking to you or you don’t recognize the voice as His. Keep praying, and keep thinking about God. Make your life a prayer to Him, every thought word and deed, and soon you will hear Him whispering in your ear. God is always near us in our repeated failures and disappointments, ready to turn them into successes. Pray without ceasing by making your life a prayer; be humble, obedient and faithful to God, and then get ready for the big haul.

I will not be doing a daily blog for awhile as I have decided to go back to work full- time. I have been praying for a way to financially keep my mom and aunt in the nursing home we chose for them. I really wanted a very rich uncle from Italy that I didn’t know existed to write me a letter and send me a check for a huge amount of money since he discovered I was his only living relative. So, ok, this was not realistic, but I really had fun with the idea as I prayed for a solution. Then out of nowhere I was offered a job that I couldn’t refuse. Still sounds very Italian, I know, but hey, I am the descendant of Italian immigrants, so I pray, dream and live the Italian way! I will write my blogs as this new schedule permits. I love writing these, and I thank all of you who gave me encouragement and kind comments. Just keep checking, I’ll be posting, and let’s all keep casting our nets into the unknown.

 Love you and God bless, or as they say in Italy, "Ti amo e che Dio benedica", 

Sandy

Devotion for today: 10 resolutions to live in love

1 John 4:18: There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Did you ever hear a homily that hits so close to home, you swear the priest crawled right into your soul and found out what you are hiding, and what you need to set you free? That is what happened yesterday when I casually turned on the Mass (EWTN). Fr. Wade Menezes, a Father of Mercy, gave a homily on the freedom which comes from love. He explained that God does not want slaves, people who love Him because they are afraid of the consequences if they don’t, but He wants sons and daughters who love Him freely and confidently. He explained that problems we have in life are based in fear, and that the perfect love of Jesus for us is the way to release ourselves from the fear that we are carrying, fear that we are not good enough or that we cannot change the situations in our lives. He then gave the following 10 Social Resolutions that will help us live out the beatitudes and commandments without fear and with love.

1)      Listen without interrupting. God could be trying to speak to you through the words of others. Proverbs 18:2: Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions.

2)      Speak without accusing. Just state the facts. James 1:18: In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth

3)      Give without holding back. Be generous. 2 Corinthians 8:13-15: For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness  your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over and whoever gathered little had no lack.”

4)      Pray without ceasing. All activities, including work and recreation, can be forms of prayer if we offer them up to the Lord. Colossians 1:9: for this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding

5)      Answer without arguing. Stay calm. Proverbs 17:1: Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it than a house full of feasting with strife.

6)      Share without pretending. Don’t tell “little white lies” or exaggerate to make yourself seem more than you are. Be honest. Speak the truth and only the truth. Ephesians 4:15: but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head

7)      Enjoy without complaint. Always find the good. Philippians 2:14:  Do all things without grumbling or disputing

8)      Trust without wavering. Jesus, I trust in You. 1 Corinthians 13:7: bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

9)      Forgive without punishing. Desiring to somehow punish those who hurt you is the work of Satan, causing you to stop any spiritual growth. Colossians 3:13: bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

10)   Promise without forgetting. Be honest. Keep your word. You are as good as your word. Proverbs 13:12: Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

Always remember: 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24: Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.

Devotion for today: Life is good

Psalm 27:4

 One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.

In my family we put up the Christmas decorations close to Christmas day, and take them down at the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which is this coming Sunday. It is a practice that I really like, since the glow of Christmas lasts for me way past the Hallmark movies on TV and the rush of shopping, wrapping, writing, and baking. Now I can sit and peacefully gaze at the star on the tree and the baby Jesus in the manger. I can study the figures in my nativity set and the angels on my buffet and wonder about that blessed event so long ago. I don’t know about you, but I find such peace when my home is decorated and the only lights I have on are the little white ones in the tree and in the garland. I just can imagine being surrounded by the stars in the calm sky on Christmas night. No, I am not in any hurry to get it all down and get back to normal. I like bringing my troubles to the infant Jesus and laying them at his feet. I like looking at the Magi and identifying with them as they finally arrive at the Lord’s dwelling after an arduous journey with many twists and turns. I feel at peace with Mary and Joseph as the gaze upon their newborn son in wonder and awe.

I feel the same way in church. I like to arrive about a half an hour early for daily Mass. The church is sparsely populated at this time, and it is very peaceful and quiet. The lights are still dimmed and the sanctuary candle standing vigilantly next to the tabernacle serves to draw my attention to the host for this day’s meal. I always begin my holy half-hour by thanking God for inviting me into His home for this banquet, for surrounding me with the people who love Him so much, for giving me the opportunity to partake of the only food I will ever really need in life. I rest in His presence and allow my thoughts, worries and prayers float like incense to His altar on high.

I know, too, that the people who surround me in my quiet church and in my hectic life are also the means by which I can gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. He is present to me in them, hard as it may sometimes be to believe,  just as He was present to the shepherds and wise men in the form of a helpless baby, hard as that was for them to believe.

One thing I truly ask of the Lord, and this is truly what I seek, to live every day of my life in such a way that I can spend eternity in His presence.  One thing for which I am constantly thankful is the gift from the Lord of Himself in the Eucharist, present and available to me every day of my life. Yes, I love to dwell in the house of the Lord here on earth, and to imagine an after-life in His heavenly temple.

The decorations will come down next Monday and my home will become normal once again. But for now, I think I will pour myself a cup of hot cocoa, play some Christmas Carols, not holiday tunes, and visit with the holy family for a few more days. Ahhh, life is good.

One Thing I Ask, performed by Vineyard: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFd7_q2WsH4

Devotion for today: I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace…

1 Corinthians 2: And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

Resolution: noun

1.       a firm decision to do or not to do something.

Goal: noun

1.       the object of a person’s ambition or effort; an aim or desired result: going to law school has become the most important goal in his life

2.        the destination of a journey

3.        a point marking the end of a race. (Oxford Dictionary)

Goals and Objectives

·         Goal: Broad spectrum, complex, organizational, indication of program intentions.

·         Objectives: Measurable, defined, operational, simple steps, and specific. Objectives contribute to the fulfillment of specified goals. Complete with a beginning and an end. (www.msu.edu)

My friend Frank and I had an interesting conversation the other night over dessert and coffee. We were discussing the idea of making New Year’s Resolutions. I complained that I have never really been successful at this practice, and he explained that he never does it. He sets yearly goals and then develops short but achievable ways to attain his goal. At first I thought we were talking about the same idea in different words, but a quick trip through the dictionary proved me wrong. After much pondering, I can see how both fit into our disciplined lives.

That is, after all, what it is all about isn’t it…discipline? If I resolve to cut back on the amount of time I spend playing video games, for example, it is going to take discipline and will-power to change an event in my life that gives me pleasure and relaxation. If I resolve to stop talking about people behind their backs, the same principle applies. In both cases, I will need to walk away from the situation of temptation and do something else.

I think that is why, in the case of sin, it is a resolution. We don’t say we will set a goal of not viewing pornography by the end of the year, and decide how much we can view every month until we achieve our goal. No, we have to stop it. We have to find support groups or programs or good reading or a spiritual adviser or a personal confession buddy who will hold us accountable and strengthen us in our resolve. It is sin and it must stop.

For the betterment of our lives, both physical and spiritual, however, I really like Frank’s idea of setting goals. If my goal for 2014 is to increase my morning prayer time from 10 minutes to 30 minutes, then I can set the clear objective of adding 2 minutes every month until I reach my goal. If I never attend daily Mass and want to do so, then my objective could be to go once a week for a month and then increase it by one day every month.

St. Paul tells us that he resolved to know nothing but Jesus, Christ crucified, while he was with his followers. That is probably the best resolution I can think of. The old Baltimore Catechism told us the true purpose of life: to know, love and serve God in this world so that we can be happy with Him in the next. Let’s put our time and energy this year into achieving that goal by resolving to make God first in our lives, and then by setting clear and attainable objectives to reaching the finish line. Sounds like a plan to me!!

St. Paul, pray for us.

Devotion for today: Just a little becomes a lot

 Luke 21:1-4: And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

Yesterday was the feast day of St. Andre Bessete, one of my favorite saints. He was a very humble man who was a member of the Holy Cross Fathers in Montreal, Canada. He began his service to them in 1870, and because of his poor health was assigned to be a door keeper and a barber. He had a vision, however, of building a beautiful shrine to St. Joseph, to whom he was greatly devoted. Although he received permission from the Archbishop and his order, he was told he could only build what he could afford without going into debt. He had a few hundred dollars which he accumulated from his haircutting and from a little pot he placed next to an outdoor statue of St. Joseph, so he built a little wooded structure for devotions to St. Joseph. He dreamed of more, however, and again received approval but with the stipulation of not going into debt. Soon he was able to earn the money to put a roof on his shrine, add heat and windows for the many pilgrims who were coming. Long story short, if you visit Montreal today, be sure to visit St. Joseph’s Oratory, one of the most beautiful Shrines to St. Joseph you will ever see. And it exists today because St. Andre had a dream, and wasn’t afraid to start small and trust in God.

One of the most fascinating parts of the St. Andre story is that people came from around the world to be healed at his little shrine. He would take oil from a lamp and pray to St. Joseph to bless it, then apply it to the sick people or give them bottles of it to take home. Miraculous and documented healings began to occur, and today the Shrine is filled with crutches, braces, etc. testifying to the miracles which occurred from St. Andre’s “St. Joseph Oil”.

When I was in Montreal visiting St. Joseph’s Oracle, I purchased some of this oil. Several months ago I developed a large walnut sized growth in my mouth between my cheek and gum. It was painful, and the doctor thought that it was the location of an abscess she had no luck in locating up to that point. I was very sick and in great pain. Upon lancing the walnut, however, she discovered that the abscess was not located there (she eventually found it and I am fine today) but after repeated draining it did not go away. Those dreaded words, “You may just have to learn to live with it” were uttered more than once. My husband decided to take matters into his own hands and began applying the St. Joseph Oil to the walnut every night before I fell asleep, asking for the intercession of St. Andre and St. Joseph to heal me of this deformity. Sure enough, it disappeared. I went back to the doctor to show her what had happened, and being a Catholic, she was not afraid to simply state, “I think it is a miracle.” I think so too.

My point in telling you this is simple. Do not be afraid to pray for physical healing, and do not ever become so cynical that you do not believe in miracles. God honors our requests, and if they are beneficial to our salvation, will answer them with a miracle such as mine. It also helps to have friends, relatives and spouses whose faith is strong and can take over when we are weak. Also, never be afraid to start small and dream big. St. Andre had nothing, yet with God’s help, he made his dream come true. St. Andre, pray for us.

For more on St. Andre, visit http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=18

Devotion for today: I came, I saw, I stayed

John 14:9: Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.

Matthew 2:1-2: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

I am so happy my kings have finally arrived at my nativity scene. I put my set up a few weeks before Christmas, but leave the manger empty. Just as my father taught me to do so long ago, I ceremoniously place Jesus in the manger on Christmas morning, and to be honest, I still feel the excitement I did when I was a little girl and it was my turn to do the honors. The next step is to place the kings far off on the side of the display area. My dad would bring the kings up on Christmas morning and place them at a distance from the shepherds and the stable. Little by little they would make their way across the buffet until finally, on January 6^th, the Feast of the Epiphany, they would arrive at the stable and get close to the baby Jesus. How thrilling! I was always so happy that they made it! To be honest, I still am!

Now that I am somewhat older and hopefully wiser, I can see so much meaning behind the kings’ slow yet deliberate trek across my family’s buffet, or in the real story, from the “east” to Bethlehem. They were seekers, men of great knowledge who knew that all the words they had read and all the facts they possessed were not enough. There was still something missing from their lives, and they were determined to find it. They followed the star, which they knew from their readings meant the birth of a great king, and they stayed true to their purpose, never taking their eyes off the point of light which would bring them to the truth, the ultimate wisdom, the ever-loving and powerful God of the universe. They found a little baby, but they knew, and they fell to their knees in worship. They were gentiles, foreigners, unwelcomed in the land in which they traveled, yet they were welcomed and loved by the baby.

We are the kings, the seekers, the searchers of the world. We know a good deal about a lot of things today, but as Christians, we are wisest in knowing that we will never possess all the knowledge there is to possess about God. And so we fix our eyes on the light of our faith, on the scriptures and the sacraments and the holy men and women God has given to us to lead us to Him. And when we find ourselves in front of Him in the Blessed Sacrament, in the manger in our nativity scenes, and in our hearts, we fall in adoration and awe that such a mighty and powerful God deigns to come to us in swaddling clothes, in a host, in the rays of love which fill us and make us whole. We are the magi, we are the foreigners in a world that understands us not, and yet we keep to our path and continue our journey, no matter the cost. Unlike the magi, however, we do not need to return to our homes. We have found our home in Christ, and it is with Him that we will stay for all eternity. 

Devotion for today: Meet God

Matthew 5:3: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

Poor in spirit: those who recognize their complete dependence on God. (USCCB)

Happy New Year to all of you! I pray the holidays found you surrounded in the peace and the joy of the new born Christ-Child. It seems that no matter what family problems we must face all year long, no matter how annoying fellow workers can be, no matter how much heartache we suffer at the hands of others, we can always find a place of solace and relief in front of the manger and the outstretched hands of the baby Jesus.

 As it has been said before, there is something so profoundly humbling about seeing the wood of the manger cradling the baby Jesus, and realizing that prophetically it becomes the wood of the cross that hung Him for our sins. His little outstretched arms and reaching hands will one day be nailed to the wood and bleed for us. Yet, here He is, like all of us: trusting, loving, and reaching out. We can see ourselves in this little baby as we try to place ourselves in the world and at the mercy of those in it. Sometimes it works out just great. We find solid friendships and loving relationships just as Christ did with His apostles and disciples. Sometimes our efforts are rejected, scorned and even hated by those who don’t understand us or by those who feel threatened by us, like the holy men of Jesus’ time. And then there is the beat of life which takes us into situations over which we sweat blood and beg God to remove from our lives, just as Christ did in the Garden of Olives.

But for now, in the glow of the holy days, it is good enough to gaze upon the baby Jesus, to soak in His innocent love and reach for His little hands, to  touch His little fingers, and let Him know we love Him, and we know He loves us. As we look at Mary with her eyes fixed on her son, let us remember to keep our eyes fixed on Him as well in this New Year, and as we study Joseph, ever vigilant and prepared to follow the messages of God, let us vow to do the same with our lives and the lives of those we love. Let us vow to keep our souls free from the dangers of the world and be prepared to flee from sin as quickly as Joseph fled with his family from the terrors of Herod and his army.

I have a little scene I like to play out in my mind as I study my nativity scene: The shepherds and kings come to the stable, kneel before the baby Jesus and look curiously at Mary. She smiles sweetly and says to them: “My children, meet God.”

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Dear readers,

I will be taking a break from my blogging until the new year. I pray you have a blessed Christmas and that the season of Christmas brings you the peace that only the Christ Child can bring.

Much love,

Sandy

Devotion for today: but deliver us from evil…the Good News

Romans 8:31-39:  What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?  Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”Psalm 44:22

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Yesterday we looked at the final petition of The Our Father and identified the singular evil that is at the heart of all evils in the world, and the biggest threat to our holiness. Today we look at the Good News, the salvation won for us by Christ Jesus. “If God is for us, who can be against?” We see in today’s commentary that Jesus is with us always, and no power on earth or under the earth or anywhere can harm us as long as we fill ourselves with Him and Him alone. Who could ask for anything more?

Catechism of the Catholic Church: 2853 Victory over the "prince of this world" was won once for all at the Hour when Jesus freely gave himself up to death to give us his life. This is the judgment of this world, and the prince of this world is "cast out." "He pursued the woman" but had no hold on her: the new Eve, "full of grace" of the Holy Spirit, is preserved from sin and the corruption of death (the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption of the Most Holy Mother of God, Mary, ever virgin). "Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring." Therefore the Spirit and the Church pray: "Come, Lord Jesus," since his coming will deliver us from the Evil One.

Pope Benedict XVI (Jesus of Nazareth, Ignatius Press, 2007): Today, on the other hand, there is also the ideology of success, of well-being that tells us, “God is just a fiction. He only robs us of our time and our enjoyment of life. Don’t bother with him! Just try to squeeze as much out of life as you can.”  These temptations seem irresistible…. The Our Father in general and this petition in particular are trying to tell us that it is only when you have lost God that you have lost yourself; then you are nothing more than a random product of evolution. Then the “dragon” really has won. So long as the dragon cannot wrest God from you, your deepest being remains unharmed, even in the midst of all the evils that threaten you…. This then is why we pray from the depths of our souls not to be robbed of our faith, which enables us to see God, which binds us with Christ. This is why we pray that, in our concern for goods, we may not lose the Good itself; that even faced with the loss of goods, we may not also lose the Good, which is God; that we ourselves may not be lost: Deliver us from evil!

 Cyprian, the martyr bishop… finds a marvelous way of putting all of this: “When we say ‘deliver us from evil’ then there is nothing further left for us to ask for. Once we have asked for and obtained protection against evil, we are safely sheltered against anything the devil and the world can contrive. What could the world make you fear if you are protected in the world by God Himself? (de dominica oration 19; CSEL III, 27, p. 287)

Catechism of the Catholic Church: 2854: When we ask to be delivered from the Evil One, we pray as well to be freed from all evils, present, past, and future, of which he is the author or instigator. In this final petition, the Church brings before the Father all the distress of the world. Along with deliverance from the evils that overwhelm humanity, she implores the precious gift of peace and the grace of perseverance in expectation of Christ's return By praying in this way, she anticipates in humility of faith the gathering together of everyone and everything in him who has "the keys of Death and Hades," who "is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." Deliver us, Lord, we beseech you, from every evil and grant us peace in our day, so that aided by your mercy we might be ever free from sin and protected from all anxiety, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are Yours, now and forever. Amen.

Devotion for today: but deliver us from evil

John 17:15. "I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one."

John 8:40-44: As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the works of your own father.”“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say.  You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Romans 8:31: If God is for us, who is against us?

Catechism of the Catholic Church: 2851: In this petition, evil is not an abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God. The devil (dia-bolos) is the one who "throws himself across" God's plan and his work of salvation accomplished in Christ.

2852: "A murderer from the beginning, . . . a liar and the father of lies," Satan is "the deceiver of the whole world." Through him sin and death entered the world and by his definitive defeat all creation will be "freed from the corruption of sin and death." Now "we know that anyone born of God does not sin, but He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world is in the power of the evil one."

The Lord who has taken away your sin and pardoned your faults also protects you and keeps you from the wiles of your adversary the devil, so that the enemy, who is accustomed to leading into sin, may not surprise you. One who entrusts himself to God does not dread the devil…

We now come to the last petition in the Our Father. In it we find Jesus addressing the presence of the devil within our lives and within the world. As we look at the words Jesus uses, we see that He has us pray in the plural as He does throughout the prayer. We are reminded that the evil one attacks every human being on the face of the earth. We note that we need to be delivered from this evil, that we cannot do it ourselves, and that we need God to fill us with His grace to fight the master of lies and deception. We need to pray for all our brothers and sisters to be delivered from their personal sins as well. As we have noted time and again in this blog, it is not enough to get ourselves to heaven, but it is necessary to bring as many people with us as possible.

 This is very difficult today. It is not “correct” to even mention the reality of sin, the possibility that actions accepted by the world are unacceptable to God. It is not “correct” to call a sin “a sin” and to remind people that the devil exists, he is real, as are his minions, and that they wreak havoc on the beautiful souls of the beloved children God created in His image. 

The world has always succumbed to the dance of the devil in the acceptance of inhumane practices such as euthanasia, human trafficking, abortion, sexual abuse, oppression of human rights and the indifference of the rich towards the sick, the elderly, and the poor. We cannot help but picture the devil sitting in a chair, puffing on a fine Cuban cigar, wearing an Alexander Amosu suit and fine leather shoes, smirking as he watches countless souls buy his lie. He must love it every time someone clicks on a pornographic image, or fights for abortion rights, buys another expensive unnecessary gadget and chooses to play games with strangers on the internet instead of joining an organization to mentor youth, offer financial support and personal time to help women in unwanted pregnancies, or assist in programs which are designed to give the unemployed the skills they need to get a job. Why does this make him happy? Because, it causes us to put ourselves and our own desires ahead of the needs of others. We then become easy targets for any action, even sin that will make us happy. We have become immune to the feeling of shame in sinful thoughts, words, and deeds because we have locked our consciences in a box and thrown away the key. 

Not a single person in the world, now or in the past, or in the days to come can escape the evil one. The best we can do is tell ourselves He doesn’t exist, or blame the evil in the world on everyone else, or waste our time asking “Where was God” when horrible crime happens. Horrible crimes happen when horrible people commit them. Horrible people exist because they threw God away, or never had the chance to meet Him. This has been true throughout history: once societies decided they were better off keeping God away from the people, stopped using the instruction manual God created for the world, and came up with their own gods and laws, evil was unleashed. For us today our freedom truly can be defined as “nothing left to lose.” We have to be monitored everywhere by cameras because we can no longer be trusted to respect our fellow man. We have to be stopped from living our faiths in society because we cannot be tolerated as marching to a different drummer.

 The evil one, my friends, laughs all the way to hell, taking as many hapless souls with him as he can. Remember Jesus’ words: deliver us from evil. We must believe that Jesus is present in the Eucharist and receive Him often. We must believe that the Bible holds the truth about living and follow its commands. We must study Jesus, and live the way He lived. And we must frequent confession. Once we are too proud to admit that we have sinned, and too proud to get down on our knees and ask forgiveness, do penance and begin again, we will have a tough time avoiding the temptations of the evil one.

 A child might not believe you when you tell him that fire is hot, but once he sticks his finger in a burning candle he knows the laws of physics and the truth of a wise parent. My friends, the fire exists, and it will burn you.

Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy. Amen (prayer given to the children at Fatima by the Blessed Virgin Mary, to be prayed after each decade of the rosary)

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Devotion for today: “and lead us not into temptation”

As we continue our meditation of The Lord’s Prayer, we will consider the somewhat curious line “…and lead us not into temptation.

James 1:13: Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one.”

When I began to carefully study the Our Father, I was a bit taken aback when I realized that I was not saying what I thought I was saying. My mind said, “and pull us away from temptation” but what I was actually praying was, “Oh Abba, (Oh Daddy), please don’t lead me into temptation.” What child of a loving father ever asks his daddy not to lead him into temptation? It sounds as though we are expecting God to take us directly into temptation unless we ask Him not to do it. Given that this prayer comes from the lips of Jesus Himself, I knew there had to be more. Obviously the clue had to exist somewhere in the translation of the words ‘lead’ and ‘temptation’.  So I began to research. The answers that I think are most succinct are from the Catechism and from Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Let’s start with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Catechism of the Catholic Church 2846: 

This petition goes to the root of the preceding one, for our sins result from our consenting to temptation; we therefore ask our Father not to "lead" us into temptation. It is difficult to translate the Greek verb used by a single English word: the Greek means both "do not allow us to enter into temptation" and "do not let us yield to temptation." "God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one"; on the contrary, he wants to set us free from evil. We ask him not to allow us to take the way that leads to sin. We are engaged in the battle "between flesh and spirit"; this petition implores the Spirit of discernment and strength.

Pope Benedict XVI (Jesus of Nazareth, Ignatius Press, 2007): 

The way this petition is phrased is shocking for many people: God certainly does not lead us into temptation. In fact, as St. James tells us …. ‘He himself tempts no one’.

Okay, now I understand that the word “lead” is not the literal English translation, so what I had been praying and meaning were really the same thing. Now, let’s move onto the word “temptation”.

2847 The Holy Spirit makes us discern between trials, which are necessary for the growth of the inner man, and temptation, which leads to sin and death. We must also discern between being tempted and consenting to temptation. Finally, discernment unmasks the lie of temptation, whose object appears to be good, a "delight to the eyes" and desirable, when in reality its fruit is death.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (Jesus of Nazareth): 

The Book of Job can also help us to understand the difference between trial and temptation. In order to mature, in order to make real progress on the path leading from a superficial piety into profound oneness with God’s will, man needs to be tried. Just as the juice of the grape has to ferment in order to become a fine wine, so too man needs purifications and transformations; they are dangerous for him, because they present an opportunity for him to fall, and yet they are indispensable as paths on which he comes to himself and to God. Love is always a process involving purifications, renunciations, and painful transformations of ourselves – and that is how it is a journey to maturity… When we pray the sixth petition of the Our Father, we must therefore, on the one hand, be ready to take upon ourselves the burden of trials that is meted out to us. On the other hand, the object of the petition is to ask God not to mete out more than we can bear, not to let us slip from his hands. We make this prayer in the trustful certainty that Saint Paul has articulated for us: “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it (1 Cor 10:13).

Aha! That’s it! The truth lies in the difference between a trial and a temptation. God always allows trials. If we want to see how that works, we really should read the Book of Job. Every one of us is constantly undergoing trials. Some of us are surrounded by difficult people; others have constant illnesses, and still others pray for the fulfillment of dreams that may never happen. God allows trials because that is the only way we will grow in our faith. As Michael Jordan discovered when he was cut from the freshman basketball team in high school, our reaction to trial is what makes us failures or great people. Michael worked and trained and threw himself into becoming an outstanding basketball player. He didn’t give into the temptation to become discouraged, hate the coach, and whine about not getting what he wanted. No, he turned himself into a superstar on the basketball court. That is how we are to react when God sends us yet another trial. We pray that we not yield to the temptation to reject Him, to give up and to cave into the devastation of sin. The trial is from God; the temptation to turn it into evil and sin is from the devil. We pray to be delivered from those wicked hands, and to be place into the loving hands of a loving Abba.

A Prayer Against Temptation

Behold me, O my God, at Your feet! I do not deserve mercy, but O my Redeemer, the blood which You have shed for me encourages me and obliges me to hope for it. How often I have offended You, repented, and yet have I again fallen into the same sin. O my God, I wish to amend, and in order to be faithful to You, I will place all my confidence in You. I will, whenever I am tempted, instantly have recourse to You. Until now, I have trusted in my own promises and resolutions and have neglected to recommend myself to You in my temptations. This has been the cause of my repeated failures. From this day forward, be You, O Lord, my strength, and this shall I be able to do all things, for “I can do all things in Him who strengthens me.” Amen. http://www.ourcatholicprayers.com/prayers-against-temptation.html

Devotion for today: take a risk

Today’s Monday meditation asks us to evaluate our trust in God and our desire to risk everything for Him.

Psalm 23:4

 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Psalm 9:10

  Those who know your name trust in you,

    for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

John 12:26

 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

Be willing to go out on a limb with Me. If that is where I am leading you, it is the safest place to be. Your desire to lead a risk-free life is a form of unbelief. Your longing to live close to Me is at odds with your attempts to minimize risk. You are approaching a crossroads in your journey. In order to follow Me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your tendency to play it safe.

Let me lead you step by step through this day. If your primary focus is on Me, you can walk along perilous paths without being afraid. Eventually, you will learn to relax and enjoy the adventure of our journey together. As long as you stay close to Me, My sovereign Presence protects you wherever you go. (Jesus Calling, Sarah Young, Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1993)

Selflessness Prayer

O Dearly beloved Word of God, teach me to be generous, to serve Thee as Thou dost deserve, to give without counting the cost, to fight without fretting at my wounds, to labor without seeking rest, to spend myself without looking for any reward other than that of knowing that I do Thy holy will. Amen. 

https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=195