Exploring the depth of our prayers
Some celebrate today the Immaculate Heart of Mary. If you want to see a bit more about this, check out the Wikipedia article.
What I’m pondering is the purity of Our Lady’s devotion and dedication. I have plenty of things in my own life that I’ve stayed committed to for a long period of time, even decades.
But what about my purity of dedication? I’m not so sure.
What a fabulous sending forth after the Easter season! Today we are celebrating the Solemnity of what Christ gave us in the Last Supper.
His body and His blood, shed for the salvation of every person in all of humanity.
On Holy Thursday we remembered that meal, but today I’m thinking about the implication of His gifts.
Continue reading “Body and Blood”
I realize that many of my prayers are invocations. Pleading.
I often forget to be grateful for everything I’ve been given in my life. So starting with this Lent, I’ going to begin my prayers with gratitude.
It’s simple: “Thank you, Lord, for your generous love.”
Continue reading “It is good to give thanks”
I firmly believe that we’re here to help each other.
There are many times when it feels like I’m on a lonely journey, it’s about ME finding my holy path and getting to heaven. But Jesus made it clear that it’s not just about loving God, but loving each other.
Continue reading “Us”Love your enemies and do good to them,
Luke 27:37
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Blessed are those who ….
In today’s Gospel, we have the amazing Beatitudes. Some say that these are the most powerful and deep teachings of Christ, even more fundamental than miracles and forgiveness and love.
It’s hard for me to say.
Continue reading “Blessed”
But by the grace of God I am what I am,
1 Cor 15:10
and his grace to me has not been ineffective.
It’s a challenge to let God work in my life. And I realize that this is a common journey for most everyone. We want to be in control.
Continue reading “By the grace of God”
As I’ve been praying the rosary in recent years, I’ve consistently worried about my lack of focus. Sure, if I’m saying it as part of a group before Mass, it’s pretty easy to get caught up in the prayers.
By myself? I get distracted. All the time.
But I came to a powerful realization this morning: The ideas and worries that I wake up with are God speaking to me.
Continue reading “God whispers”
Today is such a powerful celebration. Really, the final event in the story of Christmas. Infants were to be consecrated to God forty days after their birth, so here we are. 40 days, February 2nd.
One of the most beautiful parts of today’s readings are what we call the Canticle of Simeon:
Continue reading “Presentation of the Lord”Lord, now you let your servant go in peace; your word has been fulfilled: my own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people: a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people Israel.
Luke 2:29-32
“I’ll pray for you.” “Please pray for us.”
I find this a little curious, because we do this all the time. We’re not saying exactly what we’re praying for, or even what we’re praying about. So it’s easy to say, but perhaps not as focusing as we’d like to think.
That’s why I like to pray for something more specific.
Continue reading “Pray for us”
We’ve heard the story so many times that it ceases to amaze us. Yeah, water into wine. Nice trick.
It was Jesus’ first miracle that we know of. But this amazing event had so many other powerful connections for me!
Our own wedding 40 years ago was such a powerful sacrament. I wasn’t Catholic at the time, but it really drew us closer to God and His Church.
Continue reading “The wedding feast”