Storms of life

Life is like the ocean; some days are rougher than others. But even in the storms of life there can be a peace for those who have faith. “He rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm”. Bring your storms to Jesus, “For even the winds and the sea obey”.

We must never forget that our first duty is always the one imposed on us by our Baptism: to preserve intact the white garment of grace and purity. Before everything else, we have the immense responsibility of living our Baptism promises.

The uncertainties of life, when left in our own hands, can remain uncertainties, but when we place our doubts, our fears and our reservations in God’s hands we can be assured he has a certain plan for our future. With trust and patience, God can work with us.

"God never forces anyone; He takes what we give him, but does not give himself wholly until he sees that we are giving ourselves wholly to him", a beautiful quote by St. Teresa of Avila. God has made man free, and with that freedom we accept him or refuse to accept him.

For Jesus, Nazareth was peaceful and home was comforting, but Jesus answered the call and the challenge of God. At Jesus’ baptism, the heavens were opened to him, and the mystery of the Trinity was made manifest. The same Holy Spirit was upon us at our own baptism.

It is true, this life is a challenge, but God says, “my grace is sufficient”.  Take a leap of faith, renew your baptismal promises and answer God’s challenge, placing you on that narrow road.

Surprise like no other

Maybe it was an element of surprise, for this poor old man. “Now, Master, you may let your servant go, in peace, according to your word”. It took the eyes of an old man and the faith of an old woman to recognize that the Lord was in their presence.  These two had been waiting, they had been preparing for His coming, and the world had waited and prepared for hundreds of years. Surprise, and maybe amazement for them both.

I don’t know if there will be an element of surprise for us today, or anytime soon, but, Like Simeon and Anna, we need to prepare ourselves for an encounter with the Lord. 

Jesus has many ways of surprising us, and there are many ways to encounter Jesus in our lives.  Every creature we meet, every person we speak to, everyone who is around is an encounter with. As we all know, the Holy Spirit works in mysterious ways.

The poor and helpless, the sick and dying, and those in prison, hospitals and the homebound; our co-workers, both holy and unholy people, Jesus is in every one of those souls. Maybe that can be an element of surprise for us.

Jesus is always waiting for us in his temple, every one of his brothers and sisters. He is in the Eucharist, waiting for us to embrace him and hold him close to our hearts.  His love, stronger than any sin we may commit – will purify us.  Then like Simeon, we will be filled with his grace and peace.  Like Anna, we will give thanks to God.

Yes, preparation is the key, for the element of surprise may not be today, may not be in our meeting of a homeless person, may not be in the Scripture verse we read, but our element of surprise, may be that day we are judged by our Lord.  

Blessed to All

How blessed and pure she was, sinless in God’s eyes.  There can be no room for sin when you are “full of grace”. “And all generations will call me Blessed”, she cries with joy to her cousin Elizabeth. Yes, all will call her blessed.

 A beautiful woman who said “Yes” for all mankind, and then with that trust and humility in her God, lived a life as the Mother of the Savior of the world.  “And Mary kept all these things reflecting on them in her heart”

Saint Alphonsus Liguori says, that the most holy Virgin saw her Son in the crib of Bethlehem, and believed Him the Creator of the world.

She saw Him born and believed Him eternal, she saw Him poor and in need of food, and believed Him the Lord of the universe. She heard Him weep, and believed Him the joy of Paradise.

 And yes, she saw Him in death, despised and crucified, and, although faith wavered in others, Mary remained firm in the belief that He was God. Yes "Mary stood, supported by her faith."

Her faith is the pillar of strength that when we imitate her, becomes our strength as well. And that strength provides the stepping stones to receive all the other virtues of our Blessed Mother, that model of perfection.

So many times, God asks each of us to "cast out into the deep", enter the unknown, just like He did with Mary. These are challenges, and these challenges, when accepted, imitate Mary’s trust, Mary’s unshakable faith, moving us forward knowing that He is with us every step of our journey.

Mary carried Jesus within her body, the first Tabernacle.  Our own body and soul, when prepared, can receive Jesus as the Living Waters, needed to refresh and nourish us for our journey.  

Today, let us thank God for all He has done in our lives and for all that He has blessed us with, and for that he will wants to do if we allow him to live in our heart.

Mary, our Blessed Mother, Queen of Heaven and earth, pray for us to be imitators of your virtues.

I think it smells like bacon

It’s large puffy white clouds. It has the smell of lavender, or the fresh scent of clothes hanging in the day time sun. You can see forever. You are with all your love ones. These are some of the answers I get when I ask kids, “What is heaven like”.

I suppose I look at it a bit differently. It’s when everything just seems to be working the way it should, the body, the mind, and the spirit. And a true taste of heaven is family. Just this past summer, my wife and I went camping with some of our children and grandchildren.  It was the first time in over twenty years and we went hard core; in a tent, on an air mattress, and in a sleeping bag.

But, what a beautiful experience, to wake up to the smell of fresh coffee brewing on a camp fire. It doesn’t get any better than that. That is, until the aroma of hickory cured bacon fills the entire camp ground as it sizzles on that same open fire. I know not all will agree, but to me “That moment was a taste of heaven”

And, I really believe God gives us those moments, blessings from heaven, to help us reflect on his generosity.  And, to thank him for all the wonderful gifts he provides.

Just this very day is another gift from our Lord. It is this very day that Jesus tells us. "You must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect". Yes, every day is a gift to be used wisely, to prepare and to be thankful.

God gives us all an allotted time on this earth, a definite time in which we are to achieve His divine plan for our souls.

No, we don’t know when Jesus will come, so we live each day in hope. As St. Paul has said “if we hope for what we do not see we wait with endurance”.

What will heaven be like? Who really knows? But, I’ll bet it’s worth living for.

Deep Waters

Sometimes the closest people in our lives can have the biggest influence on our goals, both positive or negative.  We all want advice, but the best advice is supportive but yet provides us with direction.

This story I heard somewhere is powerful and enlightening. There was a famous composer and pianist who was scheduled to play in a concert hall. A huge event with black tuxedos and long evening dresses for the high society of this city.

There too, was a mother, who wanted so much for her nine year old son to learn how to play classical piano, but she couldn’t get her son to practice on a regular basis. She thought, that if her son could hear this composer play, it would interest him in wanting to spend more time at the piano.

As the mother began to engage in conversation with some of the other woman there in the hall, her son became quite restless and when he saw no one was looking took the opportunity to tour the hall. This venture brought him up to the stage, and to the very piano that the great composer would be playing in just a few short minutes.

So, he sat down, made himself comfortable and started to play chopsticks which brought the attention of the crowd to the little boy on the stage. They were annoyed, and began shouting. “Get that boy off the stage, who’d bring a kid that young in here, where’s his mother”.

Backstage the composer overheard the sounds coming from his piano, as well as the comments from the audience and grabbed his coat and rushed towards the stage.

He knew what was happening. Without a word of announcement, he stooped over and behind the boy, reached around both sides and began to play chopsticks along with the boy. As the two of them played the composer kept whispering in the boy’s ear, “Keep going, don’t quit, keep playing, you can do it”.

They played for fifteen minutes, just the two of them and nothing else mattered. Yes, it was that encouragement that pushed the boy forward and he passed the test of faith in himself.

We are all tested in life, our personal life and our spiritual life. But if we first, reflect on our goals with the help of God, then we act with faith that God is with us, we will pass the test of life. As God himself tells us, “When we go through deep waters, I will be with you”

This Doctor makes house calls

Remember the old saying, “Is there a doctor in the house”? It’s usually said by someone after seeing another person become ill or in an accident. And, I’m sure we all can agree, doctors rarely make house calls any longer.

But in many of our readings in Scripture, Jesus is the doctor in the house and one who makes house calls. And the most powerful doctor you’ll ever find.

The Gospels can be full of surprises and in one particular Gospel it is a demon, possessing the body of a man, who reveals who Jesus is to us and he says, “I know who you are, you are the Holy One from God”. It is a demon who understands the almighty power of Jesus. And our Lord responds with authority, “Quiet, come out of him. The Doctor is at work, the healing is beginning, the man is saved.

We need to examine how we personally look at Jesus and his power. The doctor of our soul. His power can save our lives?  His power can heal us.  With this power, we will feel the love and the embrace of the one who forgives us. And with that forgiveness, a new life begins.

Yes, evil is here in this world and uncleaned spirits roam the earth. We are in the thick of a battle called spiritual warfare, but we must believe that God is more powerful than any evil. And, it is He, who has the power to heal any soul that calls out to him.

He thrives on house calls, so invite Jesus to make your heart his home. Make Jesus your spiritual doctor.

Knocking on my door

Teach us how to pray, the Apostles asked. And Jesus did. Jesus prayed before every miracle, before every decision, and he taught his followers how to pray.

The power of prayer and the love of the Father for us, his adopted children is our true faith. And what a spectacular prayer Jesus has given us to pray. It is a prayer to honor God the Father, to thank him for everything he has ever given us. It is a prayer asking for guidance, deliverance and forgiveness.

The Bible tells us to pray always and Jesus tells us to go into our hearts, our inner rooms, close the door and pray. But, we need to be persistent in prayer, pray as often as we can with a heart focused on God.  

Jesus told us something else. He said, “knock and the door will be open to you” He said, “seek and you will find, and ask and it will be given to you”. Yes, we knock, we seek and we will find the Kingdom of God, but only through persistence.

God says knock, he doesn’t say tap, God says seek, he doesn’t say peek, God says ask, he doesn’t say wish. When we pray, we believe, we surrender, and we put our prayer in God’s hands. Praise God always.

 each us how to pray, the Apostles asked. And Jesus did. Jesus prayed before every miracle, before every decision, and he taught his followers how to pray.

The power of prayer and the love of the Father for us, his adopted children is our true faith. And what a spectacular prayer Jesus has given us to pray. It is a prayer to honor God the Father, to thank him for everything he has ever given us. It is a prayer asking for guidance, deliverance and forgiveness.

The Bible tells us to pray always and Jesus tells us to go into our hearts, our inner rooms, close the door and pray. But, we need to be persistent in prayer, pray as often as we can with a heart focused on God.  

Jesus told us something else. He said, “knock and it will be given to you” He said, “seek and you will find, and ask and it will be given to you”. Yes, we knock, we seek and we will find the Kingdom of God, but only through persistence.

God says knock, he doesn’t say tap, God says seek, he doesn’t say peek, God says ask, he doesn’t say wish. When we pray, we believe, we surrender, and we put our prayer in God’s hands. Praise God always.