Take off your shoes..

Friends..let us open our eyes today

 to see the shekinah of God's glory 

flaming all around us.

 Barefoot and humble..let us walk softly

reverently and quietly through our day

for the Holy One is with us!

A gentle pleasant manner..wins hearts

'If you love God heartily, my child, you will often speak of Him among your relations, household and familiar friends, and that because "the mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment." . . . we are told that when St. Francis uttered the Name of the Lord, he seemed to feel the sweetness lingering on his lips, and could not let it go. But always remember, when you speak of God, that He is God; and speak reverently and with devotion, - not affectedly or as if you were preaching, but with a spirit of meekness, love, and humility; dropping honey from your lips (like the Bride in the Canticles) in devout and pious words, as you speak to one or another around, in your secret heart the while asking God to let this soft heavenly dew sink into their minds as they hearken. And remember very specially always to fulfill this angelic task meekly and lovingly. . . It is wonderful how attractive a gentle, pleasant manner is, and how much it wins hearts.'
St. Francis de Sales

"I am the Carpenter with nails in My Hand.

I am the Cross-bearer with scars on My Back.

I am the Burden-carrier weighed down by your woes.

I walk beside you in all things - I never let go of your hand or cease to carry your load.

If you would walk with Me you would have peace.

Dry your tears.. they are not for profit.

What will profit your soul is this - to stand with Me in My trials as I stand with you in yours.

To stand with Me means this..to gaze upon Me with the eyes of your soul.

I am your heart's desire and source of contentment.

It is I, Who can fill you and make you clean and grant you joy.

The things of the world satisfy partially but not fully, for they are mere creations of Mine; but in giving you Myself I give you all that I am."

Your Cross

Dear friends,

Lent begins this week on Ash Wednesday, and I feel drawn to take some time throughout this liturgical season, to meditate on the meaning of taking up the cross in daily life. 

I will be posting some reflections which might be a little 'different' to what you may be used to, but never-the-less, I hope you find a blessing in them!

love & grace..Trish

*

Take Up Your Cross

Written by Pope John Paul II  August 22, 2005

"I invite you to reflect on the conditions that Jesus asked of those who wanted to be his disciples:

"If anyone wishes to come after me", he said,

 "he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Lk 9:23).

Jesus is not a Messiah of triumph and power. In fact, he did not free Israel from Roman rule and he never assured it of political glory. As a true Servant of the Lord, he carried out his mission in solidarity, in service, and in the humiliation of death. He is the Messiah who did not fit into any mould and who came without fanfare, and who cannot be "understood" with the logic of success and power, the kind of logic often used by the world to verify its projects and actions.

Having come to carry out the will of the Father, Jesus remained faithful to it right to the end. He thus carried out his mission of salvation for all those who believe in him and love him, not in word, but in deed.

Love is the condition for following him, but it is sacrifice that is the proof of that love.

"If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Lk 9:23).
These words denote the radicality of a choice that does not allow for hesitation or second thoughts. It is a demanding requirement that unsettled even the disciples and that, throughout the ages, has held back many men and women from following Christ. But precisely this radicality has also produced admirable examples of sanctity and martyrdom that strengthened and confirmed the way of the Church. Even today these words are regarded as a stumbling block and folly (cf. 1 Cor 1: 22-25). Yet they must be faced, because the path outlined by God for his Son is the path to be undertaken by the disciple who has decided to follow Jesus. There are not two paths, but only one: the one trodden by the Master. The disciple cannot invent a different way.
Jesus walks ahead of his followers and asks each one to do as he himself has done. He says: I have not come to be served, but to serve; so, whoever wants to be like me must be the servant of everyone. I have come to you as one who possesses nothing; for this reason, I can ask you to leave all riches behind which prevent you from entering the Kingdom of Heaven. I accept denial and rejection by most of my people; therefore I can ask you to accept denial and opposition from wherever it comes.
In other words, Jesus asks that we courageously choose the same path.
We have to choose it from our hearts, because external situations do not depend on us. In so far as it is possible, the will to be as obedient as he was to the Father and to be ready to accept the plan which he has for each person right to the end depends upon each of us.
"He must deny himself". To deny oneself is to give up one's own plans that are often small and petty in order to accept God's plan. This is the path of conversion, something indispensable in a Christian life, and that led Saint Paul to say, "it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Gal 2:20).
Jesus does not ask us to give up living, but to accept a newness and a fullness of life that only He can give. The human being has a deep-rooted tendency to "think only of self", to regard one's own person as the centre of interest and to see oneself as the standard against which to gauge everything.
One who chooses to follow Christ, on the other hand, avoids being wrapped up in himself and does not evaluate things according to self interest. He looks on life in terms of gift and gratuitousness, not in terms of conquest and possession.
Life in its fullness is only lived in self-giving, and that is the fruit of the grace of Christ: an existence that is free and in communion with God and neighbor.
If to live as a follower of the Lord becomes the highest value, then all other values are given their rightful rank and importance. Whoever depends solely on worldly goods will end up by losing, even though there might seem to be an appearance of success. Death will find that person with an abundance of possessions but having lived a wasted life (cf. Lk 12:13-21). Therefore, the choice is between being and having, between a full life and an empty existence, between truth and falsehood.
"Take up his cross daily and follow me". As the cross can be reduced to being an ornament, "to carry the cross" can become just a manner of speaking. In the teaching of Jesus, however, it does not imply the pre-eminence of mortification and denial. It does not refer primarily to the need to endure patiently the great and small tribulations of life, or, even less, to the exaltation of pain as a means of pleasing God.
It is not suffering for its own sake that a Christian seeks, but love. When the cross is embraced it becomes a sign of love and of total self-giving. To carry it behind Christ means to be united with him in offering the greatest proof of love.
We cannot speak about the cross without considering God's love for us, the fact that God wishes to shower us with good things. With his invitation "follow me", Jesus not only says again to his disciples: take me as your model, but also: share my life and my choices, and stake your life for love of God and for neighbor together with me. This is how Jesus opens up before us the "way of life". Unfortunately, this is constantly being threatened by the "way of death". Sin is this way that separates a person from God and neighbor and brings about division and undermines society from within.
The "way of life" continues and renews the mind of Christ in us and becomes the way of faith and conversion. It is indeed the way of the cross. It is the way that leads one to trust in him and his plan of salvation, and to believe that He died in order to show God's love for each one. It is the way to salvation in a society often divided, confused and contradictory. It is the way to the happiness found in following Christ right to the end, in the sometimes dramatic circumstances of daily life. It is the way that does not fear failure, difficulties, isolation, loneliness, because it fills our hearts with the presence of Jesus. It is the path of peace, self-control and a joyful heart." 

                                                                         

"Love is the condition for following Him,

but it is sacrifice that is the proof of that love!"

To me..these words of John Paul II, mirror the relationship of a wife who gives up all to follow her husband.

As the betrothed of Jesus Christ..what am I willling to leave behind as I walk with my Heavenly Bridegroom?

                              

God alone is enough!

Let nothing trouble you, let nothing make you afraid.

All things pass away.

God never changes.

Patience obtains everything.

God alone is enough.

- Saint Teresa of Avila

When God Calls

God’s call doesn’t only come once when he calls us to our vocation. No, it comes over and over.
There is a moment when God calls you. It is as if he sends a note, as on a tuning fork, and it reverberates in your heart.

It might sound in the midst of a busy street, or in the depths of solitude, or on a train or airplane, or on a crowded city bus. But you hear it—unmistakably.

"Now!" it says. "Now! Arise! Go! Go to this place or that. Go speak to this person or that one. Go write this book or article. Arise and be reconciled with your neighbor. Arise and take the step for which I have been preparing you."

At this point, you hold on to your chair, symbolically speaking. The last thing you want to do is arise and go, because when God calls, he purifies through suffering the one he chooses.


If you follow him, you may be spit upon or have stones thrown at you—figuratively or literally. You may be called names, as I was when I tried to talk about racial justice in the Deep South during the 1940s.

But when you hear God’s call, it is more agonizing to sit still than to obey. Such was the experience of Jonah, of Jeremiah, and of many other prophets.

When you hear God’s call, whatever it is, there will be tremendous turmoil in you. You will feel as if you are being ripped apart.

This is the beginning of your journey inward, the moment of realization that the Holy Spirit dwells within you, as well as outside of you.

The moment when you hear God’s call is a moment of recognition, a moment of receptivity, and of deep openness. It is the moment when all we have to do is realize that we are creatures, and that it is God who is calling us.

What is he calling us to? He is calling us to what each of us most deeply desires. He is calling us to a life that will bear fruit, for sterility is the most tragic thing that can happen to us. Remember the parable of the fig tree?
God offers us fertility. He offers us a life of unimaginable fruitfulness, because he offers us the possibility of helping him build his kingdom.

What is that kingdom? It is you and me, and the girl who takes drugs, and the alcoholic down the street. His kingdom is the lame and the blind, the lonely, and the jobless, the rich and the poor. It includes all human beings. It is the whole world.

The moment when you hear God’s call is also the moment of prayer. Not of long prayers, not of prayer as you or I might understand it, but something else, something so very simple: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief." "Jesus, help me."

He is used to that prayer, and often it is not even voiced aloud. It’s a cry of a few words, a cry of agony, a cry for help, a wordless cry for clarity.

Behind these short cries, accented with pain or sorrow, or even with joy, lies the plea, "Help me to move on, to wherever you want to take me."

For the moment God calls is also the moment of choice. It is one of many such moments, for we will be called to choose every day of our lives until we die.

But the fantastic thing about it is our freedom. We are utterly free to turn back from this power that draws us on. We are free to loose ourselves from the bonds of a love that demands our total surrender. Nothing prevents us from saying no—nothing except God’s love!

We crave greatness for our lives, and God asks us to become.. little.
To pass through the door that leads to his kingdom, we must go down on our knees.
Catherine Doherty

Catherine Doherty is one of my favourite writers on spirituality. I hope this blesses you today.
joy in Christ..Trish