Deacon Robert, Leah Darrow, and The Power of Testimony: C.C.

   

    Tonight at prayer group I was very grateful to hear the testimony of a Deacon that I truly respect. It was through his humility, rawness, and truth that we as listeners were able to recognize the Lord's hand upon every moment of his life. Throughout the sharing of his testimony Deacon Robert also allowed for each of us to understand the importance of sharing the experiences of our own lives and God's mercy with one another. It is in this sharing and relating that we come to see Christ present among us today.
   Throughout the history of our Church there have been numerous men and women of faith whose lives have served as testimonies of our Lord's love and mercy. Often the way in which God revealed Himself through these early followers is quite drastic. There are various Divine interventions leading to conversions that continue to leave us speechless today. As we reflect upon these moments from Scripture and history it takes great faith in our Lord to believe them. It also takes great faith to acknowledge these events as the work of our Almighty God. From Abraham and Sarah, Job, our Holy Mother, St. Paul, and St Augustine the lives of these men and women have revealed to us the love of our Lord and the power of His grace and mercy. No less important are we as His followers today.
  Our lives also serve as testimonies of God's goodness and mercy. It is through the sharing of our experiences with one another that we each come to glorify God and recognize Him present today among us and working through us. Deacon Robert shared his story tonight, and yet, what was truly being shared was the story of the Lord's love for each of His children.
   Following the prayer group this evening I came home and began watching one of my favorite shows on EWTN entitled The Journey Home through which various testimonies are shared. Tonight Leah Darrow was featured. As I listened and watched her recount her story I was deeply moved. I watched as she spoke about her way of living before "reverting" back to her Catholic faith. I could not deny the immense courage that it takes to be able to publicly reveal personal struggles, to fully expose ones weaknesses, vulnerabilities and sin. Yet, through seeing her speak so full of Christ's love tonight her openness serves as a means of glorifying the Lord and understanding the depths that He will go to transform our hearts and our lives if we permit Him to. Our present day testimonies are reminders in these times that our Lord's love is constant and unchanging. We are His children. Jesus died for you.
    Let us each take the time to reflect upon our lives and take note of the moments that we recognized God working. Let us offer prayers of thanksgiving for everything that He has given. May we each pray for the clarity to see Him at work daily in our lives, surrendering fully to His will and allow ourselves to be His instruments each day. Lord Help us to also share our story and glorify You by doing so. Provide us with the strength, courage, and humility that we need. Thank you Lord for your unchanging love and for your mercy and grace. May we strive each day to live in closer union with You. We pray for the intercession of our Blessed Mother and all the Angels and Saints. Amen. (C.C) 

http://youtu.be/78pQoOsHSaI - Leah Darrow- The Journey Home

Chastity. By: C.C.

    

        Chastity is not about repression, but rather it is truly a means of reclaiming the wonderful gift of sexuality that God gave to each of us. I am currently reading He Speaks to You by Sr. Helena Burns and this month's focus is Chastity and Celibacy. As I read these wonderful reflections each day I am strengthened through my journey of chastity and have also come to understand the importance of speaking to this matter openly and without shame. Somehow the sacredness of our sexuality has been lost amidst a culture that is seemingly okay with highly provocative and arguably pornographic lifestyles, images, shows, and music . There seems to be an expectation that all of these things are truly "normal" and accepted, where as living chaste or celibate is considered an illness. 
     Chastity is not a fear of sexuality or of sexual desire, but rather it is an understanding of ones sexuality as a gift from God and the acknowledgement that the marital act is entrusted to His children in the Sacrament of marriage. Our society makes it difficult to speak of these matters and determines that anyone who lives in such a manner is "abnormal" or "repressed". I admit that there are struggles and challenges living out chastity in these highly sexual times. There is no way that this would be possible without a loving commitment to the Lord and full trust in His Providence and mercy. No matter what your past is and what you have gone through living a life of chastity is truly possible.
    Heavenly Father we thank you tonight for the gift of our sexuality. Help us always to acknowledge this as a gift from You and provide us with strength to live in purity as we strive to serve You. Lord forgive our sins and protect all of us from temptations and from lust. We pray especially for the intercession of Our Blessed Mother to wrap her mantle of love around our shoulders and guide us along our journey toward purity. Amen (C.C.)

An Embrace of Grace. By: C.C.

                                           
                                          
"The moment a man, by the help of God, succeeds in overcoming his own will, that is, in freeing himself from every inordinate affection and care, to cast himself and all his miseries unreservedly into the bosom of God, that moment he becomes so pleasing to God that he receives the gift of grace. Grace brings love, and love drives out all fear, and hesitation, and fills the soul with confidence and hope. What is more blessed than to cast all our care on him who cannot fail? As long as you lean upon yourself you will totter. Throw yourself without fear into the arms of God. He will embrace you, he will heal and save you" (Saint Albert the Great, Magnificat reflection for today)

    What does the Lord will for my life? What does He will for this day? How can I be sure that I am fulfilling the will of God? These questions can often cross our minds as we try and live a devout life. It is also in these questions that we recognize the stronghold to our own action and will opposed to a complete and open surrender to the Lord. Saint Albert reminds us that overcoming ones will is attained through a total casting of oneself "into the bosom of God". This image that St. Albert presents us with is deeply comforting. Just as we see children in the arms of their mothers so safely at peace and rest, so too does our Heavenly Father yearn for us in His bosom with trust and at peace.
    The pull of our society and worldly demands often distracts us from this resting place. It is not God who lets us go, but rather, our own humanness that gradually breaks away from the closeness of this bond that He yearns to maintain with us. We must continuously mortify our own will and cast everything on Him with faith. We must strive each day with an effort of perpetual giving of self to God in order to allow His gift of grace to rest within our soul.
    Lord, tonight I pray for those who are attempting to know Your will in their lives. Please help us daily to mortify each and every action that comes from our own selfish will. Provide us with clarity and peace through discerning what we are called to do in every situation. Thank you Lord for Your mercy and grace. Thank you for Your unchanging love. It is truly through You that we are strengthened and come to know a sense of peace while on earth. May we each fearlessly cast ourselves into the bosom of God daily with faith in His healing and Providence. Amen (C.C.)
     
   

  

What Is In Your God Hole? By: C.C.

  
      It has been spoken about in numerous homilies and prayer talks, written about in many spiritual books, and often thought of as we journey toward holiness. What is in your God hole? What do we fill ourselves with instead of He who is the Only that can satisfy and sustain us. As we live with a yearning to be most like Jesus we battle greatly with out human reality. Often times we get ourselves  down by the "fleshy" things and are victim of emotional swings and materialistic lures. Yet, through this, we are also reminded somehow of God and our deepest most present hunger that can only be satisfied by our Lord. This soft whisper that breaks through our flesh and into our soul is God; He calls us and yearns for our love as we seek to be loved, to be accepted, and to be fulfilled. In our tireless seeking we often pass Him by, Only then to return at our starting point more drained and empty than when we first began our search.
    Seeking for that which satisfies can lead us to destructive behaviors and addictions. We are attracted to that which at first does not seem to be threatening but in time has proven it's evil. It is grace that awakens us to the reality of our Lord. His mercy on us that truly breaks through the "muck" and disillusion. His love for us that will sustain us and lead us to become the people that we are created to be.
    Regardless of your spiritual state in life, your devoutness and sanctity, we must all empty ourselves of everything that remains in the dwelling place created solely for our Lord. As long as we are part of the world we will need to frequently evaluate our true commitment and connection to God. We must constantly work at discerning what we are drawn to through worldly allure and what is truly guided by our Lord and the Holy Spirit. This work in our lives is ongoing and always changing. As we grow in faith and in virtue we become more aware of ourselves and are better suited to weed out the things that are not of God. It is often easy to identify the larger obstacles preventing God from truly working in our lives, yet, this does not mean that our detachment from them is made any easier. The purification is painful and there must be a conscious effort made to surrender to the Lord and ask for Him to help us. It is in this surrender to Him and through relinquishing control that we allow the dwelling place of the Lord within us to be made accessible.
   Lord tonight I pray for all of those who are truly searching for You in their hearts. I pray for those who have yet to know You and are victim to the demands and allures of our world. Help us each day to grow in faith. Guide us along this journey toward holiness and provide us with the clarity to detach from anything that hinders our relationship with You. We pray for the intercession of all of the Saints and our Holy Mother Mary to help us live more like Jesus. May we seek you in faith knowing that our fulfillment rests solely in You. Amen (C.C) 

Election Results And Our Call to Holiness. By: C.C

                                              

"The recent election in our country has favored a government whose policies include oppressive laws inimical to basic Catholic and even basic Christian values, as a large number of Bishops and Protestant spokesmen have expressly stated. A prominent archbishop has announced publicly that to vote for candidates who favor legalizing abortion and homosexual marriage is gravely sinful. The recent election has shown us that the society that had once provided conditions that allowed for fidelity to those values essential for the unhindered practice of the Christian faith has become instead a threat to our fundamental values. Similar and even harsher reactions of governments throughout the centuries have frequently tested the fidelity and courage of the Church. God in his Providence has made use of such oppression to purify his people and lead them to greater holiness through resisting such opposition. Our Lord, Jesus, the good shepherd, has always responded to such threats to his own chosen ones by making his loving concern for each one his own concern." (Abbot John Eudes Bamberger)

The nation doesn’t simply need what we have. It needs what we are." (St. Teresia Benedicta)
  
   Recently, my prayers and thoughts have been with my brothers and sisters in the United States. The presidential election has come and gone and threats to our core Catholic and Christian values continue to surround us. At this time, more than ever, it is evident that we are experiencing a battle that is beyond human leadership and paper ballots; this is truly a     battle between holiness and sin. Abbot John Eudes Bamberger's reflection on this recent election provides us with hope and shares a very important truth that is extremely helpful for all Christians " Governments throughout the centuries have frequently tested the fidelity and courage of the Church. God in His Providence has made use of such oppression to purify His people and lead them to greater holiness through resisting such opposition."  These threats to our Catholic Church and values calls for every single one of Her faithful to stand united in prayer and practice. 
     Beyond protestations and our righteous rage we must remain true in our hearts and souls to our faith and remember that no external force can rid us of our fire for The Lord and our faith.  Through this very public opposition to the Church each of us are faced with a question of morality and ethics. All of us are faced with an opportunity and call to further holiness by living our faith in a way that demands more of those around us. Together we must continue to assemble in our Parish communities, in our workplaces, in our prayer groups, and the silence of our rooms with full faith that our Lord will provide for His children and that His will, will be done.
     Through this political tribulation we bear a Cross upon our shoulders that Christ indeed carries with us. We have amidst this great trial an even greater chance to become His true deciples by remaining faithful and not allowing the sin of others to sway us away from our values. We must continue to pray that The Lord has mercy upon those who remain in darkness. Above all, we must continue to pray for our political leaders and pray that their hearts may be opened to The Lord and what is truly just. May we each strive for holiness within our own lives and share the light of Christ with those around us. It is through being obedient to God and true to our faith that we can aid greatly in this battle against sin. May we forgive those who persecute us and ask our Lord to also forgive them "for they know not what they do" ( Luke 23:34).  We ask for the intercession of our Holy Mother, Queen of peace to provide us with comfort and courage. Do not lose heart and remember the words of St. Teresia of Benedicta, our nation desperately needs who we are.....I would like to add that our nation desperately needs who we are in Christ. Amen (C.C.)

Resting in God. By: C.C.

"Our hearts were made for You, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you." (St. Augustine of Hippo)

   Along the spiritual journey there are moments of great peace and there is also a sense of restlessness that can present itself as we try and live in relationship with our Lord. The "peaks" and "valleys" of our spiritual lives remind us greatly of our Lord's passion. It is through this experience that we are able to see that our longing to lead a devout life is very much in union with the suffering of the Crucifixion and the glory of the Resurrection.
   Our God is one of peace and love, and our world is not always as such. As children of God we must understand that we are created for our Lord alone and that our true sense of joy, peace, and happiness can only come through Him. St. Augustine reminds of this truth and also offers us insight into the restless that we will experience until we rest in our Lord. Seeking rest and peace with God is something that is not fixed, but rather, it is something that is continuous.
   There are many times that I have felt restless in my heart and was greatly troubled by this. I felt that I was not fulfilling the Lord's will for my life, or that I have in some sense been lazy in my spiritual life. However, I turned to the Lord in these moments and asked Him what He wanted of me through this experience of restlessness. I embraced it and offered it all up to my Lord. As I sought God in these moments I realized that this restlessness was a way to draw me nearer into the heart of God. I recognized that the Lord wanted more of me, more of what I even thought I had to give. The interior battle with restlessness reminded me of my own broken and human nature and also of our unchanging and all loving God who longs to give peace to each one of us. 
  In our moments of restlessness may we each draw nearer to our Lord...recognizing that our true rest and sense of peace is only found in Him. May we seek ways daily to detach ourselves from seeking comfort in our surroundings and may we wait for the Lord patiently, in stillness, and in fullness of faith. Amen (C.C.)
   

Having Faith Through the Storm. By: C.C.

   

²³ Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴ Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
²⁶ He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
²⁷ The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (Matthew 8: 23-27)

 

        I have been praying fervently for all of those afflicted by the recent hurricane. It seems that these events call us together in unity and simultaneously expose the most important things in our lives. Whether we are personally affected by the destruction and devastation or not, each of us can use this time to truly empathize and evaluate the state of our lives and of our relationship with the Lord.

      It takes great humility and also great faith to continuously recognize the need for God and the need for an intimate relationship with Him. Potentially we may live "simply" day to day and consider ourselves to have "control" over most of our surrounding circumstances.

      Events like hurricane Sandy reveal to us how much control we truly lack over the events that occur in our lives. Certainly we can take many precautions and make decisions that can aid us in living lives that will provide some sense of peace and serenity, but our true sense of stability is only found in Him who is unchanging.

   As we reflect upon this Scripture passage may we be comforted through faith and come to understand the importance of complete reliance on our Lord and trust in Him through the storms of our lives. I pray especially for those today who are dealing with hurricane Sandy, may each of them feel the presence of God and our Blessed Mother near them. May we all pause in gratitude for the many blessings that we have and for any sense of earthly comfort that we are given. Let us remember the importance of interior peace and relationship with God so that despite what is spiraling around us we may remain in a state of calmness. Lord watch over Your children during this time and always. Protect and provide for those who have yet to know You. Open up the hearts of all of us so that we may be used as Your instruments to help our brothers and sisters in need. Amen (C.C.)