A Gift of Another Year...of Faith

In the quiet of this dark night, as I reflect on the past year...simply another gift of grace from the Lord, I offer thee Lord, another year of journey, my simple pilgrimage through this noisy world...that I may trust you more, allow you to lead me...that you may continue to walk with me, guide me, carry me, a sinner, when I fall...lead me back, when I am lost...

 

To the everlasting Father,
And the Son who made us free
And the Spirit, God proceeding
From them Each eternally,
Be salvation, honor, blessing,
Might and endless majesty.
Amen.

Most of all, Lord, thank you for giving yourself to me, the ultimate gift...the gift of faith...the gift of the Most Holy Eucharist.

 

 

Can You Spare An Hour?...

"Everything changes, always.  Only God is steady and changeless." - St. Teresa of Avila

Life is indeed a pilgrimage…when we recognize God’s presence – whether we zigzag across the continents visiting great shrines or sacred places or never even cross the state line.  Pilgrimage does not necessarily mean reaching a particular geographical location or destination.  Instead, it refers to us reaching a deeper interior place within our heart.

Every one of us, pilgrims, are all on a journey towards God, whether we know it or not.  We cannot simply rely on ourselves in this journey…we need God as our companion...only He knows the Way, only He shines the Light. 

We are free to decide whether this journey will be about simply surviving the daily challenges of life or becoming a pilgrim on the road to union with our Creator.


“…he went out into a mountain to pray, and he passed the whole night in the prayer of God.” (Luke 6:12, Douay-Rheims)


During His life on earth, Jesus spent the whole night in prayer before He selected the twelve who were to become His disciples.  We can be certain that Jesus spent much time praising and thanking His Father.  We must also take time to thank God for all His blessings upon us each day.


“And rising very early, going out, he went into a desert place: and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35, Douay-Rheims)


Furthermore, Jesus needed His Father’s support before He began each new day.  As pilgrims, we too need the same guidance and support from God, on our pilgrimage through life.


“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.  Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will…” (Matthew 11:25-26, NAB)

Jesus constantly prays and He understands His Father’s unique ways of doing things.  The prophet Isaiah also assures us that God’s ways are not our ways, nor His thoughts our thoughts.  In prayer, we too must be obedient to God's will, God's timing.

Similarly, Jesus also wanted the prayerful support of His friends when He suffered the agony in the garden of Gethsemani. 

His disappointment at their failure to respond at His hour of need is most evident.

“…What? Could you not watch one hour with me?” (Matthew 26:40, Douay-Rheims)


Do you hear that same plea deep within your own heart?  Could you not even stay awake with me for even one hour?

As we journey towards the commencement of Lent, we should make time for prayer and spiritual reflection.  Each day, choose to spend a simple hour in prayer and quietly reading and pondering the Word of God in the holy scriptures.

Abide in God's word (John 15:7), meditate on it (Psalm 1:2) and recite it day and night (Joshua 1:8).

This simple practice can then reach out into our busy lives to help us be a little more calm and mindful of God's presence in everything we do, not do, say, not say and in everyone we encounter…hence, preparing ourselves towards a more meaningful journey towards Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the holy season of Lent.

Today, create some sacred space, take time to talk with God and listen for his voice.  God always hears us when we call.

Life's a Symphony

Here’s something I came across from Anthony De Mello, he shares:

“Happiness is enoughness.” The secret is to be content with what comes our way, rejecting nothing and hankering for nothing. The great virtue of contentedness. To take things as they are and to imitate the birds in the sky and the lilies on the field.”

I am reminded of a friend who is down with terminal cancer. A fellow pilgrim who has been blogging (http://upekah.blogspot.com) - sharing the journey with others and perhaps, to keep one’s own hope alive, find daily strength, purpose to go on. When one carries such a dis-ease, which does not discriminate, one must be brave to walk the lonely path, struggling with having to heal oneself and remaining strong for the loved ones. Yes, life can be harsh and unfair… the quiet can be deafening...

Tony goes on to share, “A classical symphony. The perfect experience. A symphony has no purpose, no meaning. There is also no clinging to it and no hastening it. One does not wait till the end to enjoy it, but takes in every note, every chord as it comes and lets it go to welcome the next in uninterrupted flow. Any attempt to stop the performance, any “attachment” to a single note, will ruin the symphony…. The less the attachment, the greater the love.”

Sometimes in life, we fool ourselves to think that we have found the perfect note or keep on pushing ourselves to find that perfect note; not realizing that life, in all its richness offers us a variety of notes, which, at the end of it all, becomes a great symphony. A symphony, only if we drop all attachments, possessions, presuppositions, clinging, unforgiveness. The less the attachments, the more we love, the more we live life to the fullest, the more we live in the present, the more we are healed; savoring just the chord of today - not worrying about tomorrow's note.

We all have to end this life one day but right now, my friend may be the luckier person, by the grace of God, to savor every chord that comes along and hopefully be the symphony that will inspire others to listen so as to be able to play out their own - a symphony that I pray, will last a little while longer, by the merciful grace of God.

Tony goes on to say, "Yield to the currents of life...unencumbered by baggage." We must learn to travel light as this pilgrimage journey can be long and the gate narrow.


"How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it!"
- Gospel According to Saint Matthew, Douay-Rheims Bible