Journaling Archives - Page 14 of 68

New Year, new you

I will come to you in the silence are the lyrics of a beautiful song entitled You Are Mine. Yesterday, it was just what I felt God was speaking to me when I woke up. Wouldn’t you know it, it was one of the songs the choir sang at mass. Blew my mind!

As you all know, a new year brings with it many new blessings, challenges and resolutions. Sometimes, in our resolve to change, we bite off more than we can chew. For me, in my spiritual life, as I continue to thirst for more, I tend to do too much: pick up too many books at one time, pray several devotions, read email subscriptions and follow too many apps. This then becomes a morning prayer ritual that spans several hours.

Don’t get me wrong, if I could do it all day, I would. This is where I am most happy. However, there are days, like yesterday, where I sense God telling me to shut up and be still. I woke up at 4 am yesterday, prayed a rosary and a divine mercy chaplet and said to myself, “I need quiet.” So I sat on my recliner, coffee in one hand, Bible in another. Before I opened the Bible I just sat, enjoying the deafening silence. In that moment, the power of His presence was palpable! Amazing!

God is good all the time

God is so good! He knew what I needed. You have to understand something: although I’m usually alone with my dogs in the morning and it’s usually pretty quiet – there’s always the whisper of the pellet stove, our heat source. Yesterday was different, we didn’t refill it the night before and so it had shut down by the morning. Aaaaah the silence! I refused to refill it. It was just what I needed. Thank you Lord.

I immediately thought of the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 19:11-13. It dawned on me what it all meant for us. It’s not that God is not in the tumult and noise of our lives (as a matter of fact yesterday’s Gospel tells us He gets in the “boat”with us). It’s just that we can’t hear or feel Him there. Imagine the various moments of our lives as the wind, earthquake and fire described in this verse. How can we hear that “soft whisper of a voice” amid all the chaos – the errands, the work, the mindless chatter, the worry and anxiety?

God called to Elijah (for us I would say the call is a prompting, a feeling) in the midst of all the noise and He commanded him to go out and stand before Him on top of the mountain. There goes that mountain again! Isn’t that also where Jesus would go to pray and be renewed? Elijah listened to the prompting and after working through all the noise and worry, He was able to feel God’s presence and hear His message.

I think about the fact that my pellet stove was not running yesterday morning. The house was in complete silence – what a gift that was for me. I can’t stress enough the peace and comfort I feel just sitting, enjoying the silence – not planning my day or worrying about past or future obligations. It may seem like a waste of time to some people, but for me it’s when I feel closest to God and it’s when I feel Him closest to me.

Silence is a virtue

I believe that just sitting, in silence, focusing our attention simply on God is a way of saying: Here I am Lord, I love you, I need you, I want to grow in relationship with you, I want to know you better and do with me what you will. It’s our embrace. It’s our telling God: you matter more to me than anything I have to do.

It may seem like a waste of time but please believe me – it is powerful and it is how we strengthen our relationship with God. It’s how we become united with Him, who calls us to Himself at every moment.

In this New Year, can you commit to sit in silence? Start with just 5 minutes a day and build on that. Don’t sit with a book or the Bible, just sit in complete silence – work through the discomfort. Feel the power!

During one of my silent retreats they discussed the fact that people on the outside looking into the retreat might think “what a waste” but in fact, “it’s the time wasted on a rose that makes it so beautiful.” How poignant! Several days later, I researched the quote on google and realized it came from a children’s book entitled The Little Prince. The wording was a bit different but still poignant.

So many lessons can be learned from the book, The Little Prince by Antoine S. Exupery. In it one of the characters states “it is the time wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important………….you are responsible for your rose.” We most certainly are responsible for our souls. Is your soul important enough for you to “waste” time for it? God bless you!

To Jesus through Mary is what many Catholics imagine when praying the Rosary or thinking about Jesus ‘ first miracle, the wedding feast at Cana. The phrase seems to imply that Mary is our conduit to Jesus or that without Mary we can’t “get” to Jesus. In a sense, that’s true. Think about what our lives would be like if Mary had said no – but that’s not what this post is about.

I recently contemplated what the phrase REALLY means for me. So, on this Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God, I wanted to share some thoughts on that.

My Advent Journey

During my morning meditation several weeks ago, I was joyful because Christmas was a little over a week away and my Advent preparation has been amazing. I’ve been journeying through Advent with Mary through a book called Rejoice: Advent Meditations with Mary. The meditations helped me to truly focus on Mary’s wisdom. I was reminded of how she studied and prayed with scripture and how she pondered things in her heart. Mary possessed a strength, confidence and trust that allowed her to accept God’s will for her life. She was unwavering in her faith. Mary was a powerful example of discipleship for her son and she should be a powerful example for us!

So how do I translate “to Jesus through Mary?” What does it mean for me? Of course, through baptism we all begin to develop a relationship with Jesus and yes, we can go straight to Him in prayer. But for me, this phrase is more about how we become more like Him rather than how we approach Him in prayer.

A great example

As all mothers are examples for their children, Mary was an example for Jesus. Although Jesus was divine, He chose to become human for our sake. In His humanity, He chose to remain humble, as His mom was. He didn’t “drop names” to get what He wanted or to change the outcome of certain situations. Instead, He chose to remain human and follow His mom’s example of humility and trust in God.

Jesus was divine and thus, perfect – no doubt. His supernatural gifts came from the Father. But when He chose to become human He became subject to the same trials and temptations we are. Worse, He was subject to massive persecution. Despite all that, Jesus remained steadfast in faith. His faith was unwavering because He trusted in God’s promise. Sound familiar? Where do you think that came from? It came from His mother.

To Jesus through Mary?

So when I hear “to Jesus through Mary” now I think: How can I become more like Jesus? By looking to Mary, Jesus’ prime, shining example of humility, faith, strength and trust. In His humanity – He was who He was and how He was because of the example He had in His mother, Mary.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen! What a gem, scriptural in nature and the background music of the rosary.

Happy New Year! May this year be one of abundant blessings, good health and tremendous spiritual growth. Step out of your comfort zone this year – stretch yourself beyond your perceived limits. Remember God loves you and He’s with you every step of the way! God bless you!