When the Lord speaks………..listen!

Posted on November 15, 2017November 15, 2017 by MSFriend

When the Lord speaks…………listen! I’m not one for routine. I like to change things up a bit every now and then. Several weeks ago I woke up in a bit of a fog. I didn’t feel like keeping to my usual Sunday routine of attending 10:30 mass so I attended 6pm mass at another parish.

As I drove to Church I thought about how certain things become second nature for us. There are things we do every day or week simply because it’s what we have done countless times for many years. Things like waking up for work at a certain time and attending mass every Sunday.

I can tell you not a Sunday goes by that I do not attend mass (unless I’m sick or the weather does not permit it). If I wake up later than usual and can’t make the 10:30 mass, then 12:15 it is. If I don’t want to go in the morning and want to change it up a bit then Saturday evening or Sunday evening it is. If I’m away, I use my Mass Times app to see where the nearest church is. There’s no stopping me, not even the temptation of laying on a cozy couch under a blanket on a cold rainy day.

As I thought about that, I wondered why I couldn’t be the same way with my contemplation practice. I feel like I’m constantly being called to sit, yet it hasn’t become a solid practice for me. I must work on accepting God’s invitation to be still and know Him. I MUST get to that point where NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING, stands in the way of my 20 minutes twice a day. I tell myself I’ll wake up earlier, go to bed later.

Then I hear the homily. It’s about the parable of the king who sends his servants to invite guests to the feast and the invited guests reject the invitation. “Why won’t they come to the feast?” The priest asked this of us as he compared the parable to our lives. Why are the pews in the church so empty? What he said spoke to me directly and made sense of the thoughts I was having as I arrived at Church.

What he said was the evil one is always trying to keep us from the feast. He tempts us with “good” things like the cozy couch, the beautiful hike, the perfect vacation. Sometimes he even tempts us with a nice dinner and conversation with family and friends. These are ALL good things but participation in the banquet of our Lord is GREAT! So why should we settle for good things when we have an opportunity to experience something great!

Even more interesting is the fact that after I drafted this post, I received an email from one of my sisters in Christ. The email contained an article which touched on the subject of distraction in prayer. The article outlined various things we could do to remain focused and set the tone for our days. Here it is.

As I take stock of my “dilemma” I say to myself – it’s true – all the things that keep me from my practice are good but they need not keep me from the Great I AM! I need to be consistent with my practice in order for it to become second nature. I need to accept God’s invitation to be still and know Him on a deeper level.

I’m rethinking my schedule. I don’t want to be one of the guests who killed the servant. I want to welcome the servant and accept his invitation. I hope you do too. God bless you!

**Since first drafting this post, I’ve been on a roll. I’ve been going to bed earlier and getting up before 5am while the world is still silent. I find that by doing this I am able to focus on being still. I’m able to pray, contemplate and exercise without feeling guilty about all the other things in my life that need tending to. By the time the world awakes, I’m spiritually ready for it. I have put God first! Waking up extra early makes me feel like there ARE enough hours in a day. I even have time to sit and have breakfast. God is good!

The Would Be Followers of Jesus – Luke 9:57-62

Posted on October 23, 2017 by MSFriend

The Would Be Followers of Jesus – Luke 9:57-62

As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him: “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” And to another he said “Follow me.” But he replied “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But he answered him “Let the dead bury their dead. But you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” And another said “I will say farewell to my family at home.” To him Jesus said “No one who set a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.”

In this passage Jesus warns his disciples that the road ahead is not going to be easy. Even He did not have a place to rest his head. He admonishes the followers who want to handle their business first before proclaiming the kingdom of God. As a matter of fact, he says they’re not fit for the Kingdom of God. Those are strong words!

The term “would be followers” implies that a desire to follow is present but the action is lacking. Sound familiar? It does to me. When I read this passage, I immediately thought of all the times I get the sudden desire to pray or meditate. Unfortunately I give in to the pressures of daily life and fail to ACT on the desire.

What upsets me most about myself is the fact that I KNOW where the sudden desire to pray comes from. It is actually the Holy Spirit prompting me from within. It’s His calling out to me. When I ignore that prompting, I ignore God’s calling. In that moment I’ve lost the opportunity for God to reveal Himself to me. When I think of all the lost opportunities…………………I’m disappointed.

Sometimes I’m on a roll and consistent with my practices. At other times I’m being pulled away by thoughts, activities and responsibilities. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve felt the desire to contemplate or write in recent months but ignored it because I have other things on my mind. How horrible is that? Ignoring the Spirit even though I know how fruitful His action and presence will be. Today I refused to be sidetracked and Lord knows how many distractions there were. It was interesting for me to witness the distraction and then get myself back on track when I realized THAT was exactly the topic of this post. A lesson in perseverance for sure!

I have read many books on the practice of contemplation. Contemplation is just sitting in God’s presence and surrendering to His action and presence.. The beauty and benefits of simply sitting and allowing God’s presence to envelope us described in these books makes me DESIRE to contemplate more often than I actually do. It’s what I believe Jesus is getting at in this Gospel.

I would venture to say that Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, moves within each one of us as He moved through the Samaritan town on His way to Jerusalem. In those days the Samaritans didn’t welcome Him because they were more focused on His destination (Jerusalem) and not His journey. At times we refuse to welcome Him as well. Maybe because we hope to create the perfect environment and perfect life for ourselves before we can bask in His presence. It’s quite possible that, like the Samaritans, we get so caught up in the destination (where we want to be spiritually, emotionally, financially) that we ignore the journey, the in-between, the lessons and our relationships (with others and ESPECIALLY with Jesus).