What is Love?

What is Love?  More specifically what is the Love that Christ calls us to?  To love everyone (not just those who love us or whom we are attracted to) as He loves us.  How can we do that?

If the love you are thinking of is the kind of love you feel toward someone you are attracted to that isn't the kind of love we are talking about.  That kind of feeling itself isn't always love.  What is Love?  To love someone is to want what is best for them, to want them to go to heaven.  You can be attracted to someone and want to possess them and keep them for yourself.  Or you can be attracted to someone and want what isn't best for them.  Attraction isn't love.

Love is more of a decision than a feeling.  Love isnt that giddy feeling you feel when you are romantically in love with someone.  We have to love even those who repulse us and even those who have sinned against us.  We love them by praying for them and leading them to reform through our love.

Our love should bear fruit.  If it doesn't bear fruit we need to examine what we think is love and root out all pride and judgement.  Only by striving to love as Christ loved can we bear fruit.  We don't have to do great things, as Mother Teresa says we just have to do small things with great love.  Our love should push us to love the poor and to really assist them with not only money but with our our time.  We have to love the unlovely, even if that person is ourselves.

Love comes from the truth.  It is based in the truth and it has to start with ourselves.  We have to truly know ourselves and love ourselves.  Not in a self-centered way.  We have to truely know ourselves and our faults and know that God loves us to truely love ourselves.  We have to love who we are and not some ideal of ourselves.  Once we do that in some small measure we can move out of ourselves and love others.  We don't have to know and love ourselves perfectly before we love others, but we have to start.  When we move out of ourselves we will learn more about ourselves.

I have struggled greatly with loving myself and others.  I could see all my faults and I didn't unstand how I could love someone so flawed?  How could anyone love someone who was so wrong?  Then one day God made it clear to me He loved me.  That was so hard to accept.  I didn't understand what He was doing.  I fell in love with the Beloved slowly.  As I came to love Him I came to accept myself.  Loving God and accepting myself I have been drawn to accept and now love others.  I am working on truly loving myself and all others.  I now know that i love imperfect people so as an imperfect person I am also lovable.  The one thing I know now, God loves ALL of us and wants us to know and love Him.

What ProLife is and isn't

Over the last week I saw three interesting And disturbing posts on my Facebook page that for me crystallized what it is to be ProLife.  The first one pictures from Syria of a group of small children all about 5 years old or less who were victims of the blood shed there.  All were dead.  The next one was the picture of a beautiful and smiling young girl, a toddler, who has Downs Syndrome.  The last one was a meme that asked, "if the infant in the womb was gay would you still fight for its rights"?

For me the first picture was a reminder.  In all wars there are innocent victims who need to be protected at all costs.  Children have been killed during drone strikes, have I said enough about this?  Have I emailed my or called my Congressmen about this enough?  No I haven't.  I think that pictures like this though very disturbing, need to be seen.  We need to know so we can react properly.  Being ProLife means standing up for these lives.  I know these deaths happened in Syria, what am I going to do?  What can I do?  First, I can pray.  Second, I can call my congressman.  Third, I can use social media to bring attention to the issue.

The second picture of the little girl with Downs Syndrome was so beautiful.  Her smile made me smile.  There were people who objected to seeing the child's picture.  They didn't think the parents should post pictures of their child, like everyone else does, because of her condition.  They even questioned the parents love for their child.  They seemed to say we don't think you should be proud of your child.  Most people currently have the tests done to check for Downs Syndrome and abort the children if they have it.  We don't want these imperfect children.  The funny thing I'd that most of the people who responded who had downs syndrome children called them a blessing or angels.  ProLife means accepting ehat the world calls imperfect children and people.  We know that she is made in the image and likeness of God so she is perfect.

The third post made the most upset.  The meme that asked if we knew that the child in the womb was gay would we protect it's right to life?  Wholeheartedly yes.  The funny thing is that if there were a test for homosexuality how many of those infants would be aborted by so called progressives?  My guess is a lot.  In the quest for the perfect child many babies are aborted because they aren't "normal".    As Christians we are called to love everyone because they were made by God, even our enemies.  Gay people aren't our enemies and we have to love them so we could never abort them.

It's funny how the Pro abortion side tries to portray us as hypocrites.  In part because there are some hypocrites in the PrLife movement but we just need to educate both the pro abortion side and the hypocrites that ProLife comes from God and is based in Love for all of Gods creation.

Life is the most precious gift - a ramble caused by grief.

How precious is life?  If it were not the most precious thing then the Redeemer's sacrifice would not have been so important.  This is why destroying life is so wrong, no matter how you destroy it.  The funny thing is that this is the same reason why being a martyr is such a great thing.  We can give our life away as a great gift but we can't destroy it as if it means nothing.

It is so hard then when someone we love dies.  It is their life that is gone and not them.  They still are and we hope to see them again when we die.  We will see them forever and they won't be in pain, but still death causes grief.  Why is that?  Is it the loss of what they could have become if they were still alive?  Is it only their company we miss?  Is it really just that we miss them?  If no one misses someone who dies is their life somehow less precious?  I don't know other than to say life is so precious that everyone's life is precious.  

With life we have the hope of repentance.  I often think this is why the death penalty is so wrong.  I often wonder why atheists don't value life more than those who have a hope of the afterlife.  If you believe that this all there is shouldn't life have the highest value?  This maybe why we grieve when someone dies to some extent.  We know that they are either destined for heaven or hell at that point.  When a great saint dies we often feel that they have gone to their reward and that helps us in our grief.  

Life is so precious in fact that even the partial death of causing pain and suffering is wrong.  Driving someone to despair is like causing a partial death, and not helping someone in need is like not helping someone who is hurt.  ProLife has to mean more than being antiabortion or it is not ProLife.  If ProLife means shaming pregnant women or blowing up doctors are we any better than those who kill innocent children?  We might actually be worse because we should know better.  ProLife means a life of love.  Love all,even or especially our enemies.  I heard it once said that an enemy is simply someone you need to pray for.  

Waiting in the void - Reflection on Holy Saturday

Imagine what it was like today for disciples.  We are lucky, we know what tomorrow brings.  We know that He is here with us in the tabernacle, but they didn't know that.  To us Easter is great.  We have a beautiful Mass, dinner with our families, and chocolate Easter bunnies.  But imagine what Easter was for the Apostles.  The two days before had been a nightmare culminating with the horrific death their Messiah and friend.  We know how much Jesus loved them and when a loved one like that dies and leaves us it creates such a hole in our souls.  Imagine then what it's like if you have been walking, talking, and learning the God who is love itself, the hole would be a chasm.  Imagine the fear and doubt, what will happen next?  And then you remember Lazarus and some of the other things Christ said.  Didn't he say something about dying,  and whatHe said about the Temple.  Peter remembers what Christ told him during the Last Supper and gathers them all to wait.  

How sad and frightened they must be.  They have Mary with them and that is a comfort to them.  They wait on her and hold her hand, but is calm.  She has an inner peace that comforts them as they comfort her.  Some can't stay, two have to set out for Emmaus.  What will tomorrow bring for them?  Imagine you simply had to sit there and wait.  You believe still in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God, you have seen Him have power over death, but what happens tomorrow has never happened before.  How could you imagine what is about to happen?  The fathers of our faith had to wait in faith.  They had to believe that Christ wasn't simply a prophet, so they waited to see what would happen.

We know what happened and yet we doubt what God can and is doing in our lives.  We don't know what God will ask of us so we too have to sit and wait in faith.  But we must be convinced in our hearts that the God who died for us and rose again will lead us home, if we only follow Him.

Holy Thursday Reflection - Do This in Memory of Me

And so it starts.  The three holiest days of our year.  Tonight, we remember the institution of the Eucharist during which our Savior says to us all, "Do this in memory of me".  Of course He means the Eucharist, but doesn't He also mean the rest of it?

The first thing He did was wash the feet of the Twelve.  He does so much in that one act.  He the Teacher and Master becomes the servant.  We are all called to be servants, especially when we are called to lead, we are called to be servants.  He also purifies the Twelve and so are we called to work for the salvation of those around us.  He shows us that we can best do this in humility and through service.  He also washes the feet of Judas, the betrayer.  We are called to love not only those who are our friends but especially those who hate us and who hurt us.

He then gives us the gift of being eternally with us.  By that gift He pledges to stay by us and strengthen us.  He gives us His life.  We then have to be willing to give Him ours.  We are to feed the world with our lives.  Feed them spiritually and bodily.  The life lived to the other is the only true life.  It is a life of Love.  God is Love.  He gives us a new commandment, Love one another as I have loved you.  How did he love us?  He died for us, He gave His very body for us, He suffered for us.  We are called to do the same.  We may not be called to die for anyone or for God, but we still have to die to ourselves.  We can't just do it once, we have to do it day by day, minute by minute.

What is it that I need to die to?  It changes all the time.  But like many people I have my struggles.  Facing my demons is one way I can die to myself.  It's will be painful.  It is already.  But I am strengthened by Him who died for me.  I only have to die to myself and for that I get everything.  Everything that matters because I get love, the Beloved.

This night He gave us all we ever needed.  He shows us how to live a righteous life full of all He has to give us.

Help me Oh Lord to remember this night everytime I receive You.  Remind me Oh Lord that to live with You, I have to die with You.  Grant me Oh Lord the grace I will need to deny myself and walk with You.

The Cross and true freedom

I have been watching Fr Robert Barrons Catholicism series and the most recent thing from that wonderful documentary that struck me the the idea that the picture of true freedom is the Crucifixtion.  Christ on the cross is perfect picture of detachment.  He freely chose to sacrifice Himself.  He freely chose to be powerless, naked, and without esteem.  Yet, he had all he wanted.

We often think of children as free, yet I look at the high school students I trach and I see them as probably the least free people I know.  They are so worried about their clothes and what people are saying about them.  They are not free.

How free am I then?  How much do I worry about what the people I know think of me?  Too much I am afraid.  St Francis was as free as anyone I've read about.  Maybe that is something the Holy Father is trying to show us.  That we need to detach our selves from the world, be poor in spirit and be free.  Joy comes with that freedom, and love.  Francis showed us that.  How can I be more free?  What can I detach myself from?  I'll have to think about that and pray.

Filling the hole left by God

Why, oh why do I try to use food or feeling good or being appreciated to fill the spot where God should be. I want people to like me.  I want them to think good of me.  I am addicted to honor.  This is what I need to give up for Lent.  How do I do this and still do Gods work?  I make myself miserable by looking for happiness in ways that are fleeting.  Honor is so fleeting, you have to seek it moment to moment.  I a second it can be gone.  Christ on the cross is the picture of freedom and joy according to St Thomas Aquinis.  How can I get there?  How can I become detached?  At this point I think I need to pray to God for help.  I want the true freedom that comes from loving God.  I don't want to worry about approval and prestige.

I think that I need to start with accepting myself and knowing that imperfect as I am that God loves me.  Maybe I need to start with accepting God completely. Surrendering myself to Him and asking Him to fill me.  I can not fill the whole in my life where God should be.  I need to let Him fill me and stop kicking Him out when I think He should reject me.  When I do that I feel the lack of God so completely.  That is true desolation and Hell here on earth.

In AA you learn let go and let God.  I am the prodigal daughter all I need to do is turn back to Him and He is waiting there to welcome me back.

Dear Lord take away my shame.  You never desired me to feel the shame I feel, you want me to feel Your love and be freed by that love.  Fill my heart with Your love and help me to realize that I don't have to earn that love.  It is a gift.  Free me to Your will.  Help me to remember that all I need is You.

The Love of God - Love is the thing

I was asked how can I judge what other Christians have done.  For the most part I can't.  I don't know what is in their hearts but at times it is evident.  Love is the thing, love for God and love for others is how you can judge your own actions.  When we act out of fear, jealousy, or hatred we are not acting in way God desires.  Our God is not simply a God of rules.  We don't love God by following His commandments but we love God so we follow His commandments.  Those do not know God and don't follow his commandments do not sin as much as those who know Him and love Him.  In little things our sins are greater than theirs in greater matters in part at least because when we don't act out of love we drive the non-believers farther from faith.  We might be tempted to blame the non-believers actions on the devil but I would say we do more good for hell when we call ourselves Christian but act out of hatered and fear.  Indeed tore,ember this when I amateur work and things don't go my way.   I wear a crucifix and if I act unjustly or rashly in the eyes of my co-workers I am acting like all Christians do.  We are not and never will be perfect.  We can repair much of the hurt we do by owning our faults, apologizing, and working to make reparations.  If you are wondering how you should respond to a situation remember this, Love is the thing.  Act out of love for the other and you can't go wrong.  But until you love yourself as God loves you, then you can't truly love others.

Keep in mind, love is not a soft thing.  It isn't cute and cuddly.  Love is hard and often painful.  It isn't easy to Love.  It means putting ourselves out there.  It means not doing the easy simple or even popular thing.  True love means telling the truth and can make others uncomfortable.  It means embracing the lepers of our world, praying for terrorists, caring for addicts, and doing good to those who hurt and hate you.  It takes bravery.  Don't forget our model is Christ who died for those cursed him, betrayed him, and abandoned him.

Being openly Christian

I am often amazed at how often someone who thinks themselves open minded calls me names because I am openly Christian.  It really makes me happy to be able to suffer in such a minor way for Christ.  Many people would at this point start to talk about how awful those people are but I won't.  They are a reminder to me that we should be better mirrors of the Love of God and how far I fall short.   I am so grateful to have someone else to pray for.  I truly wish them love and joy.  Those things come from God and we all need more love in our lives.  I thank them for reminding me that they are watching us and we need to be good examples of true Christian love.  I have to learn to love them better.  The better I can love, the better an example I can be to my fellow Christians too.  Unfortunately, as I am often reminded I fall short of truly loving all my fellow man.  I am a human being and i make mistakes, luckily God still loves me.  I wish God would give the gift of knowing what each one needs to be healed of whatever hurts them in their lives.  I would wish to someday know that love for us that drove Him to sacrifice Himself for us and to have that love for each person.  I wish I could give them the gift of seeing Gods love.  In the meantime I can still pray for them, for them to know infinite Love and Joy.

Why ProLife has to be Pro Women

The ProLife movement has got to meet head on the claim that we are not Pro Woman and educate the the non-pro woman elements in our ranks.  To be ProLife, we have to support women.  There has never been a woman who skipped up to an abortion clinic saying "Yeah! I get to have an abortion".  It goes against our nature.  The forces in the past that denigrated a woman who had an unwanted pregnancy and made her a permanent second class citizen for having a baby out of wedlock, were anti woman and not ProLife.  ProLife should, and does in many cases, support these women now.  Many pro life group work to help them bear the burden of bringing the child into the world and either give the child up or get started as a new parent.  Abortion supports the idea that the mistaken pregnancy is so wrong and so shameful that the woman's child has to be sacrificed.  How does that empower a woman?  It says you did something so wrong you now have to go against your very nature.  We are designed to want to protect our offspring.  Even those who reject God and the idea he made us must agree that we by our nature want to protect our children.  To make a woman believe that an abortion is something that won't effect her, is wrong.  It goes against how we are.  ProLife understands and wants to help and support these women.

 Abortion, like suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem, and just as unfortunate.  We need to work within our culture to promote the idea of the woman who decides to give her child life ia a hero.  If she doesn't want to raise the child, we should congratulate, support, and thank her for giving her child up for adoption.  We need to make that choice attractive, and promote that idea in our culture.   If churches would create a fund to support these women while they are pregnant and do what they to make their lives better after they give the child up that might help.  At the very least we can promote this in the media.

Until we take charge of this issue of being pro woman, the otherside will continue to promote the idea that this is still the 1950s and women have no control over their lives and so have to hide an unwanted pregnancy through abortion.  Maybe the truth is that the otherside finds the idea that women are human and flawed and make mistakes so appalling that they are ashamed of the woman and think she should hide the evidence.  Women are human and there will be unwanted pregnancies.  We need as a culture to accept this idea and support women to do what is best for them.  Bring their child to term and either keep the child or give it up.  They say we are anti woman because we don't accept abortion.  I say that what we don't accept is the idea that women need to be made to suffer for an unwanted pregnancy.

The Big Lie - Who is really fighting a war on Women?

The lie is that the Pro Abortion side is really on the side of women, they know what is best for us, how women should live.  Even if we don't want to.  They tells that we shouldn't rely on our families and other relationships for fulfillment.  Work is where we are to find our happiness.  We don't need children and love to be happy.  We can put off having children as long as we want and then, if we must, we can have a child later when we have our careers.  We don't even need to marry to have those children either, better in fact to be single moms.  This is bullshit.  Sorry to be blunt but I often wonder if any of the people who made this up are women.  After years of delaying my life to get my career going I now see that unless I someday become Jane Goodall or Jane Austin the meaning in my life comes from the impact I have on those around me, my family and friends.  I don't have children, and I regret that, I will always regret that.  I will however never regret that I didn't spend more time at work pushing papers and doing something that could be done by almost anyone else.  Talking, teaching,a nd being with young people is much more important to me.  Having an impact on their lives building them up is more important to me.  And why can't the world change and allow women to both have children and advance in their careers?  Why can't the world change to make being a family easier?  Do we have to buy into the idea that we all have to now fit in the old mold of working men?  Even men for that matter?  I challenge the young people of this world to not accept that we have to live to work.  We need to work to live.  When life is the focus of our lives we know that personal relationships, love, marriage, family, and community is way more important than money.  Success shouldn't be measured by how much money you have but how many relationships.  We are told that casual sex is what we should want and that if a child is conceived we can dispose of it without any consequences.  To do this people have to become objects to us that are there only for our pleasure.  A bit of our humanity has to die.  Then we are told that children are our right and we can do whatever we want to bring them about.  The child then becomes our possession and not a free gift of God.  Once we have that child, God forbid we want to spend time with them, unless it's to push them to become what we want.  A happy well adjusted child is sacrificed for a successful child who goes to the right school and gets right job.  Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed, we were made by God to love and be loved.  All else is illusion and fleeting.

Resolutions for the new year

Our Priest today told this story.  The was a little boy and he asked his father, "Father if there are three frogs on a branch and one decides to jump off, how many frogs are left"?  The Father said "Easy, two".  "No"said the boy.  "Hummm" said the father "I know, the one frog jumped off so the other two followed, and now there are none".  "No" said the boy, "remember I only said the frog decided to jump, not that he did jump".  His point was that resolutions are wishes unless we take concrete steps to do them.  He recommended that we make concrete resolutions not wishes.  We should resolve to come closer to God, but instead to resolve to pray at a certain time every day, or to read spiritual books.  I really like that idea.

To strengthen ourselves for this task if we remember to take the Holy Child in our arms everyday He will strengthen us.  Also think if we are carrying the Holy Child into the world the Communion of Saints will be with us.  They are drawn to Him and as long as you hold Him in your arms, they will be with you also, helping you.

Today I watched again the movie "The Thirteenth Day" what a beautiful movie and a beautiful message.  If you want a good resolution for the next year resolve to say the rosary every day and so become closer to Our Lady, and so to her Son.

Love God with your whole heart everyday and carry that Love out into the world.  Show the world who our God is by how you treat them.  Carry the Child Jesus out into the world, when you meet anyone hold Him out to them and let them see Him.  When we don't show them Jesus by how we act, what they see they take to be Him anyway.  When we carry selfishness, judgement, hatred, out into the world instead, that is how the world sees Jesus.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.  May this next year bring you closer to Our Lord and so bring so many more to God.

Carrying the Christ child out into the world

Merry Christmas!  Today with all its hustle and bustle is a hard day to find the quiet needed for meditation.  Lucky for us Christmas lasts 8 days in our Church, we have the Octave of Christmas.  That gives us plenty of time to reflect on the meaning of our Savior coming into the world, what that means for us, and how we are called to respond.

I have a suggestion for a meditation.  Read the nativity story in Luke's Gospel.  Find a quiet comfortable space, set the scene in a way that will help you focus your mind.  I use a dark quiet room with candles and incense.  Read over the story once to familiarize yourself with it and then again slowly contemplating each sentence.  Next pray to the Holy Spirit to guide you as you meditate on the birth of Christ.  Close your eyes, imagine what the stable where was born, what does it smell like?  There are animals and hay.  What does it sound like?  Do you hear the animals?  Mary and Joseph are they talking?  How does the air feel, is it cold, or damp, or warm?  What do you see?  Look around in your mind.  Look at Joseph, how does he look?  Look at Mary, what do you see?  Finally, let your eyes rest on the Christ child.  What do see?  How do you feel?  Ask Mary if you can hold Him.  Take the Love of the world into your arms.  Gaze at Him, warm and helpless in your arms.  Sit there for a while just holding Him quietly.  Let go, and the Holy Spirit guide you.  There are no wrong answers here, let go and let God.

Now imagine that He never leaves your arms.  You are to carry Him out into the world.  To every person you meet, you carry Him to them.  What is it like to carry Him to your friends, family, and coworkers?  How do explain, who it is that you carry?  The world is introduced to our Savior by you.  He cannot speak to them, you have to speak for Him.  Or better yet, if you let Him, He can speak through you.  What does that mean for you and how you live your life.  If you hide the Christ child and refuse to show Him to anyone except those who already carry Him, are you doing His will.  Do you get tired and refuse to carry Him?  By your actions, do you show the Christ to be Love incarnate, or a fraud?  As Christians, we are embassadors of our faith to the world.

With New Year coming take sometime and write a few resolutions based on what the Holy Spirit lead you to see.  if you want to you can share some of what you learned in a comment.  May God bless you and keep you.

Morning Prayer - Further Reflections on Advent

I am very lucky, not only do I live near my church but I have a key so I can get to church early in the morning and pray before the tabernacle.  These mornings are do like Advent.  Sitting there waiting for God, listening for God.  Finally He comes and I am enveloped in Him and in His light

It is a pregnant time, full of so much longing and yearning.  Wanting to see Him, feel Him,and speak to Him.  It is still dark, but I know that dawn is coming.  Others will arrive and we will start the ritual of Morning Prayer.  Morning Prayer something shared, a lot like Christmas.  Now it is quiet and dark and I sit here watching and waiting for the coming of the Savior.  How Blessed is this time!  It reminds me of how much I long for Him.

Today, I will try to carry this feeling with me, to be always looking for Him today in everyone I meet.  Everyone I see has a spark of Him and it is my job to see it, my job to look for it.  I have heard that Buddists spend their whole day looking for the Budda in every person.  They walk down the street saying to themselves Budda?  Budda?  Budda?  We can learn from them.  We know that God is there in each person.  So when I answer the phone today, I shouldn't be annoyed, I am not just talking to someone, I am also talking to Christ.  He is there in each person, if only we look for Him.  And how do we see Him?  We have to look with Love.  I am still working on that.  May God Bless you.

A broken tool in the hand of the Master

I wonder constantly why God calls me.  I am such a faulty tool for his hand.  Everything is a struggle for me.  Life is a struggle for me.  He could call so many others who could a much better job than I can.  I am not a good organizer or a good speaker.  I can't preach, I forget everything and get it wrong.  Yet He calls me, and he asks me to do things I would never want to do myself.  Why does He do this?  Maybe He has already called the others who are better and they refused.  Maybe He calls me to show me and everyone else that if we depend on Him, He can do anything through us.

If I would trust in Him my life would not be so anxious.  I sit here in my house and I have all I need because He takes care of me.  I don't need power or prestige.  I need love, and I need to share that love.  He gives me that.  On my own I would stay isolated and I wouldn't have what I need.  He has given me friends and companions for my faith journey.  He has opened my heart.

What is God calling you to do?  Have you said yes?  If you haven't don't be afraid to say yes.  He loves you, He made you, and he knows what's best for you.  What will make you happy.  Open your heart to Him and say yes.

Advent vs Christmas

The priest at our church is a lovely and very holy man who lives out his faith everyday in who he lives.  Every year he covers our church and rectory in Christmas lights starting right after Thanksgiving.  There are some people who love the lights and some who object to them as participating in the commercialization of Christmas and not giving the season of Advent it's proper place.

We as Catholics are supposed to use the season of Advent to prepare our lives and our hearts for the coming of our Lord and Savior.  It is a time of reflection and prayer and also a time to show our love for God by helping others.  In the world, this time between Thanksgiving and Christmas has become an orgy of spending and consuming.  A time to beat the next person to the best deal on some new gadget.

If the world has forgotten the meaning of Christmas, whose fault is that?  Is it the stores?  The media?  Or is it our fault?  What good is it, in the midst of all the busy shopping and preparation to have our little church be dark?  As people pass by they would not be reminded at all that this time of the year is different. Instead when you pass St Paul's you can not miss it.  It shines like the light of Christ.  It is the lamp what can't be hidden under a bushel.  It is a beacon to remind people that there are still Christians in our world and that we are preparing for the coming of the God of Love.

How can we as followers of the Light of the world honor Advent in our lives?  What are we called to do to carry that light into the world?  If the world has left Christ out of Christmas it is our fault,not theirs.  To often we fail to carry Gods love in our hearts to rest of the world.  We don't practice our faith in the most meaningful ways, by loving.  To truly prepare for the coming of Christ we have to prepare our hearts by forgiving those we need to forgive.  By examining our thoughts and beliefs and purging ourselves of our biases and prejudices.  Christ is coming into our world and we don't know how he will look.  Is he the homeless man who asks us for a couple of bucks?  Is he the immigrant who doesn't speak English?  Is he the single mom who just needs some help to feed her kids?  The answer is that he is all these people.  Celebrate Advent and Christmas not just by not doing but by doing.  Show Christ to the world by how you live and how you love,and just by not putting up Christmas lights.

As always I write this blog more as a reminder to myself than anything else. If you find anything useful in it please let me know.  If you find anything you disagree with, please also share that.

Are works dead? Why do we do what we do?

This question just popped into my head, why do we do good works?  Well first of all it is what we are commanded to do.  Matthew 7:12 contains the golden rule, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  In John 13:34 Jesus gives us the new commandment to "Love one another as I have loved you".  There are more but in Tobit and the letters of James but these will do.

The Golden Rule is something we learn in Kindergarden.  It makes sense.  Do to other people what you would have them do to you.  It in someway instructs others on how to act.  But on the other hand, if I were homeless and a bit smelly, I would still want to be welcomed in any church, so that means I have to sit next to that homeless person and not complain.  I would also want nonjudgmental help, so that is what I have to give.

We also due good works because Jesus commanded us to, and that's a good place to start.  Jesus commanded us to love one another as He loved us.  He died for us, and He gives Himself to us in the Eucharist.  What does that mean for my life?  I doubt I will be asked to die for anyone.  It means loving people who are in their sin, who don't love me and who I may not like very much.  Jesus can see Himself in us no matter how much we sin, we have to cultivate that gift.  It means going beyond the golden rule and sacrificing our lives for others by giving time, money, and prayer to others.

Is that all?  Our lives are really God's, we have to be open to Him and listen for Him talking to us in all the different ways He can.  Most of us won't be asked to give our lives.  Most of us will only be asked to move out of ourselves and do what we may not want to do.  Witness to our faith in ourdaily lives through how we love others.  Sometimes loving others though means having to talk to them about our faith.  Sometimes I think it is easier for us as Catholics to give someone our coat then to share our love for Christ with our own families.  Can we truly love our families if we don't try to get them to heaven?

Faith without good works is dead.  We show our faith and love by our actions.  If you claim you love your spouse but you cheat on them or beat them, you don't love them, you show your love by your actions.  We show love to God by doing what He asks and by increasing faith in the world by attracting others to God.  We show love and therefore God to the world by how we act towards others.

Is Christ the King of my life?

The kids in my Youth Group always ask for us to help them relate what we believe to their everyday life.  When I think of this beautiful feast day, I think of the cry "Viva Christo Rey!". The cry given by Mexican martyrs in defense of their religious freedoms.  I am not calling for an armed uprising but if Christ is really our King, then we are His army and an army does what their leader says and defends the King.

Do I do what He says?  Do I bravely take up the defense of  His Church?  Soldiers are brave and you have to be brave when your only weapon is Love.  Though one of things I like best about the Harry Potter books is that they maintain that Love is the most powerful weapon in the world.  No matter how hard it is to do we have to fight hatred and ignorance with Love.  Yelling at someone and calling them names will never convert them.  But if we learn our faith and Church history well enough then we can loving defend her.  If we spend time thinking about why we Love our Mother the Church and our Lord then we will feel more comfortable sharing our faith with our loved ones.  The better we know our faith the stronger our faith will be.

Today is a day to think about how we are going to march into Advent and the Christmas season.  Advent is coming of the light.  We sit in the darkness of winter waiting for Him to come.  Now is the time to prepare our hearts and strengthen our faith for the new year to come.  Practice loving this season by forgiving old hurts and reconnecting with anyone we are separated from.  Do nice things for those around us, especially for those we don't get along with.  The ultimate Love is coming into the world, Christ our King, make the ready by sharpening the weapon He gave us, sacrificial Love.

By the way, if you found this blog interesting (or not) or learned anything (or not) I would like to hear from you.

The Love of God is a two way street

God loves us, truly loves us and wants what's best for us.  But how do we love God back?  When you love someone you do things you wouldn't normally do, don't you?  My guy spent the day today walking through all the "girly girl" shops I wanted.  He did once complain or say it made him "uncomfortable".  He just did it because he likes me.   How much more should we be willing to do for God?  Shouldn't we be willing to show our love for Him by working to bring others to our faith?  When I see God, I see Him as all His creation.  He is that teenager who refuses to go to Mass, he is that family member who ridicules you for your faith, he is the adict who doesnt think God can love him.  He is there and I have to love that child, that family member, that friend enough to show them the love I have for them in God.  I still have to listen to the Holy Spirit for Him to show me the right time and the right way, but I can't refuse to share my faith or Gods love. If I do, then I deny Him, and if I deny Him, can I really love Him?

A Prayer

Here is a couple more like the one above.

I am small and must remain so. Below others and subject to all, I know nothing and am nothing and I have all I need.

What do I ask of My King and My Master? I sincerly ask for the gift of pouring out my life for others. I wish to be a martyr for You. Everyday let me pour out my life for others. Any small good that I do let the grace from that act be given to those who need it, to stop violence, to bring people back to the faith. Let me, Dear Lord, put myself third, You first, then others, then myself. Please Dear Lord remove all selfishness from my bones and all pride. Especially Dear Lord heal me of my pride. I cannot take pride in doing Your will. Left to myself, I am selfr absorbed and cruel. Self-sacrifice is only possible for me as a gift from You. I would mess it up. Pour me out, use me up, there is so little to use. I know that You will refill me and Oh what Joy! To be filled with Your Holy Spirit! I Gladly give myself away so that I can have you in return. You, in exchange for me, is such a lopsided gift. I run to my cross and carry it gladly. Hang me on it and pour out my life, drip by drop or all at once. I know I won't know if I can in a small way help to save anyone while on earth. I trust in Your promise that it will help.