In Imitation of the Three Kings

"They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures 
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, 
they departed for their country by another way." Matthew 2

Gold- When we approach Christ do you give him what is most valuable to us? Do you give him what is most valuable to Him? Do you honor Him as a King? Do we give Him our hearts as He gave His heart? Our wills?

Frankincense - When we approach Christ do  we do it in a spirit or praise and worship, recognizing not only his littleness, and humility as an infant but also His Divinity and His majesty as creator? Do we offer Him prayers of adoration not just prayers of petition?

Myrrh- used at the time of burial reminds us of sacrifice and death. When we approach Jesus can we offer Christs our sins and sacrifices with trust that His sacrifice was for us personally?

The Snowman - rerun

I built this snowman today. I knew I was too tired to make it well but I did it anyway.
I am not sure what inspired me but it was great fun. As I was rolling it's body in the pure white snow I noticed that bits of leaves and grass were sticking to it and ruining it's pure white coat, but I kept rolling anyway.
Here is a picture of him. As you can see it is less than perfect. In fact,when my brother saw it, he kidded with me that I was sculpturally challenged. I agree.
But it was still a joy to make the snowman and I knew I would enjoy him no matter how imperfect. Now that I look at him he reminds me of how imperfect we all are and yet God still delights in us.
In the background of this photo you may notice there is a nativity scene. Both the nativity and the snowman are reminders to me of how God embraces us in all our imperfections. The stable was a mess. This snowman is a mess. We are a mess.
The world demands perfection but God desired to enter into our imperfection. Often times I think of my heart as that messy and imperfect stable and I pray,
Dear Jesus, come into our mess.
Sometimes in life the world will judge us for our imperfections but we just have to keep rolling, trusting in the only thing that is perfect in this world;that is God's perfect love for us. Jeanne Dandrow reposted from previous year 2013

THE POWER OF THE ROSARY

Happy Feast of the Epiphany

O Come Let Us Adore Him O Come Let Us Adore Him. 
 The journey of the first Christmas included traveling, waiting, fighting the crowds, plans and preparations that were thwarted by the need to register to pay taxes.
 We all can relate to this, after all, it almost sounds like a modern day at the mall during Advent. 
Mary's and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem included not only joy but frustration, rejection, poverty, and trials. 
But then there was that “Silent Night” when the heavens were opened and the Christ child was revealed to the world. And yes, there was the Epiphany! (Matthew 2:1-12 ) 
How we all long to experience an epiphany with God!
 But are we willing to recognize that it takes time and work? 
In order to find Christ, the Three Kings and the Shepherds had to engage in a journey which involved time, sacrifice, faith and trials. Are we willing, like the Wise men, to sacrifice in order to prepare our hearts for Christ? Like them we have been given a star to guide us; The light of the church is there to guide us to Christ, who is waiting for us in the tabernacle and in the Sacraments. How will we respond to the Good News of Christmas? 
Can we respond with the shepherds, who upon hearing the Good News said: "Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."? 
Do we want instant results when we seek Christ? Are we willing to see that seeking him is often a matter of perseverance as it was with the wise men?
The good news is Jesus is in His Word, the Bible, the Tabernacle and most of all He is in the Eucharist that is 

in our Catholic Churches. Let us go to Eucharistic Adoration and SEE. 2007

The Tree of Life

And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade." Mark 4:26 Today's Gospel
Many years ago in a moment of discouragement I got in the car and drove to a serene and scenic spot where I would often go to rest and contemplate God's goodness. When I arrived the scenery was baron as it was winter. The sunny sky that I had expected to greet me was gray and the trees were baron and lifeless. One tree in particular caught my eye and as it's empty arms stretched towards me I noticed a large hallow in it's trunk. I spoke to the Lord about how it seemed that the tree was so lifeless and how I was discouraged because what I really needed was a sign of hope. I told Him my problems weighed so heavy on me that I felt like the tree looked;
Baron, fruitless,weary....
In that very moment I was called to take a closer look and in doing so I could see a family of birds making their home in the tree's hallow. My heart was filled with joy because what I thought was a symbol of death was really a place filled with life. God was calling me to recall that he brings good out of evil, life from death. In that moment I knew that if I persevered, God would be my help and make use of my difficulties. He did! There was so much more I saw and felt in this moment that it would fill more than one Spirit Byte so I will stop here. But know that God loves you and if you ask He will give you His rest. He was crucified and died on a tree for you. He died to give us life...."Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."Matt 11:28 Thank You Jesus, Come Holy Spirit!

Adore te Devote

“Godhead here in hiding, whom I do adore,

Masked by these bare shadows, shape and nothing more. See, Lord at thy service low lies here a heart,

Lost, all lost in wonder at the God Thou art.” Roman missal Adore te devote by St Thomas Aquinas (13^th Century)

Woman Why are you Weeping? Christ is Risen John chapter 20

Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? 
Whom are you looking for?"She said to them, "They have taken my Lord,
and I don't know where they laid him."....Jesus said to her, "Mary!"
She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni," 
which means Teacher.
Jesus said to her, "Stop holding on to me,
for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
'I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.'"
Mary went and announced to the disciples,
"I have seen the Lord,"
and then reported what he had told her.

Mary mourned  in the deepest way and with such emotion over the death of her Lord Jesus. It was not until she heard Christ speak her name personally that she recognized that he had risen. She was not meant to stay there in her sorrow nor to remain there holding  on to our risen  Lord but instead she was called  to be an apostle to the apostles. She was called to believe and then to go and announce the good news that

                                                        Christ is Risen Alleluia!
                                           Like Mary, can you hear Him calling you by name?

Jesus Heals a Boy Possessed by an Impure Spirit

Mark 9:14-30

¹⁴ When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. ¹⁵ As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

- Imagine that. They were overwhelmed with WONDER and ran to greet Him.

Those people in this scripture  had encountered the living Christ. We have an opportunity to do this at Mass daily but how many of us run there in wonder to greet Him? Not many. I was there today among a few parishioners and I wondered,"Where are the crowds running to greet Him? " and "How can we get the message out that our Lord lives and he is with us in a most profound way in the miracle of the Eucharist? " 

Dear Lord , fill our hearts with everlasting wonder at your presence in the Eucharist. Help us to know, love and see you there. Through the reception of this great gift of your son, let us  be transformed so we can  be united to you more deeply and so transform our world. Thank you for this great gift of Mercy. Thank you for healing me as you greet me there. Amen

Mother Angelica -Pride

“If you want to be holy, if you seek meaning in your life, start looking into your own life and attacking your pride in all of its many forms. God will give you extraordinary light and the ultimate reward of holiness. For your holiness relies not on what you do, but on what you allow God to do through you. Have courage. God will perfect you.” Mother Angelica

Happy Christmastide!

Ant. Tell us, shepherds, what have you seen? Who has appeared on earth? We have seen a newborn infant and a choir of angels praising the Lord, alleluia. (taken from Liturgy of the Hours Morning prayer)

HAPPY FEAST OF SAINT JOSEPH!

Dont Worry Be Happy

New Life

I love butterflies. This one in particular seemed happy to pose for the camera as I took it's picture. For me it was a sacred moment to behold it's beauty. Remembering that it was once a caterpillar gave me pause to thank God for His God's goodness and take consolation in the fact that this Butterfly, without saying a word, speaks of God's power to bring life and light out of death and darkness.

You are worth It !

"Have patience with all things but first with yourself. Never confuse your mistakes with your value as a human being. You are perfectly valuable, creative, a worthwhile person simply because you exist. And no amount of triumphs or tribulations can ever change that."

- St Francis de Sales

Patience is a Virtue

I received this quote in an email from Woman of Grace.

"The Lord was understanding towards His disciples. He had patience with their defects and their less than perfect ways. He did not give up on them. In the years to come these same men would be the pillars of His Church."
-Francis Fernandez

Patience is something I struggle with, that is patience with myself and all my defects. I always expect too much from myself and others.
I often wonder how it is that our Lord could be so patient with me and with our world. This quote helps me to put things in perspective and it gives me joy to think of how the very imperfections that I see as stumbling blocks on my journey, God plans to use as stepping stones to Holiness. God is a great optimist. We should be too.

Heaven is Real

3/21/14Recently someone shared with me how a friend wanted to have a personal relationship with Jesus and the thought came to me; "Is it enough to have a personal relationship with Jesus in order to be saved?" Judas did that and Judas still betrayed Him.

By a seeming coincidence, A few days later I was listening to the radio and a story was told of a Priest who was approached by a protestant sister who accused him of not having a personal relationship with Jesus because he was Catholic. She said to him that Catholics are not saved. He replied that he didn’t need a personal relationship with Jesus to be saved and that what he wanted and what he and all of us are called to, is much more than just a personal relationship with Christ. He said what we are all called to is “Union with Christ”. He said “I don’t just want to have a relationship with Him I want to be like him and to be Him for others."
His response was clever and it made sense, after all Jesus did say in Matthew 7:2121 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many [a]miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
It should give us pause to think that we can deceive ourselves into thinking we are doing the work of Christ, we can call him Lord, and even cast out demons without being known by Christ. Obedience to Christ and His will is more evidence of our love for him then pious acts or the practice of our charismatic gifts.
Obedience has its rewards.

“If anyone loves me he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make our home with him” (John 14:24). Now that's heaven!

A great site to read More on union and obedience can be found at the website below.
Read more: http://rcspiritualdirection.com/blog/2010/02/01/does-christ-suffer-with-me-when-i-suffer#ixzz2wevL

Wise Men Still Seek Him

In the book of Matthew, we read about the journey of the Magi , the three kings who were seeking to find Jesus.
It wasn't enough for them to know that Jesus was King and messiah. They wanted to meet him personally and the Wise men left everything and risked everything, including their lives to find Jesus. They must have known He is worth it. Matthew 2


Or As our priest suggested , are we more like Herod, who said to the wise men “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”  I guess he is saying most Christians , Catholics included  are All talk and no action, expecting others to seek and find Christ while  waiting on the sidelines.

The Snowman -Come Lord Jesus , Come

I built this snowman today. I knew I was too tired to make it well but I did it anyway.
I am not sure what inspired me but it was great fun. As I was rolling it's body in the pure white snow I noticed that bits of leaves and grass were sticking to it and ruining it's pure white coat, but I kept rolling anyway.
Here is a picture of him. As you can see it is less than perfect. In fact,when my brother saw it, he kidded with me that I was sculpturally challenged. I agree.
But it was still a joy to make the snowman and I knew I would enjoy him no matter how imperfect. Now that I look at him he reminds me of how imperfect we all are and yet God still delights in us.
In the background of this photo you may notice there is a nativity scene. Both the nativity and the snowman are reminders to me of how God embraces us in all our imperfections. The stable was a mess. This snowman is a mess. We are a mess.
The world demands perfection but God desired to enter into our imperfection. Often times I think of my heart as that messy and imperfect stable and I pray,
Dear Jesus, come into our mess.
Sometimes in life the world will judge us for our imperfections but we just have to keep rolling, trusting in the only thing that is perfect in this world;that is God's perfect love for us. Jeanne Dandrow

The Fall

The season of Fall is so beautiful. The leafs show their true beauty and color just before they die. Slowly they fall to the ground, slowly being transformed by the cold of winter they become nutrients for next years new growth. In due season they come back to life.
A paradox that shows Christ can bring beauty and new life even from sin and death.
On days like today, when I fall over and over, it is nice to remember that God came for sinners, not for the perfect. Today I will trust in the mercy of God to lift me up out of my weakness and carry me safely through this day. I will remember that people and things do not have to be perfect to be wonderful. I can unite it all to Jesus Christ.
Should I fall, I will rise up in faith that Christ still loves me and will show me the way. That's good news!
Amen

Faith

"Faith is born of an encounter with the living God who calls us and reveals his love, a love which precedes us and upon which we can lean for security and for building our lives. Transformed by this love, we gain fresh vision, new eyes to see; we realize that it contains a great promise of fulfillment, and that a vision of the future opens up before us. Faith, received from God as a supernatural gift, becomes a light for our way, guiding our journey through time." Pope Francis, Lumen Fidei