Last day of June

With this last day of June most of my community are home or going away and one is in retreat here and we will be having a guest as well as other visits this week and so it will really seem like vacation here. I suspect it is going to be a busy week and it will be fun to celebrate the 4th of July- we will have hot dogs and we can see fireworks from our house.

Now, I have not said anything that lends itself to spiritual reflection unless you want to connect, as I do, vacation time with the rest God wants all to have. Remember the Sabbath is not only to honor God but to keep people healthy - mentally, spiritually, and physically. Everyone needs rest. Scripture makes a point of telling us how God rested after creating the world. I also think of the land lying fallow in the jubilee year. We are always rushing around and some people do not even get to take two weeks of vacation. In Chile, I never thought of such a thing as vacation so it is not something that I was used to having and, now that I am retired, some would think I am always having vacation...I do remember my Dad always took a week at Christmas and then had another week or two in the summer and it was spent doing things as a family. He planned things that his children would enjoy. Later, he went to Scout camp with my brothers when he was old enough to be a grandfather.

Vacation is a gift and we must use it well. Mine is almost always a few days before and after my retreat so that the retreat time is the focus. Still, this year there is all of July with others free to enjoy some of the delights of July in Miami. Hot outside, but great for swimming. Less traffic is also a joy.

Sorry I am not being at all spiritual today but vacation does mean extra time for God.

Feast of Saints Peter and Paul

This Feast honors two of the greatest Church leaders and Apostles. Paul claimed that he was an apostle of Jesus to the Gentiles - all who were not Jews, while Peter concentrated on converting the Jews to believe in Christ and follow Him. Both were faithful to death; the love of Christ made them both great missionaries. I suspect this icon was inspired by the love both had for Jesus, but these men were great souls in spite of many differences.

I think that we live in community with people of different backgrounds, tastes, preferences, etc. but the love of Christ unites us. That is why I love to have community prayer. When we take time to be together with Jesus, a bond is formed among us and that love has a ripple effect when we go out to others. May we know and love Jesus even as Peter and Paul did and so give our lives for love.

Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

Although it is the Feast of Mary, I am again copying the image of the statue of the Sacred Heart: I thought I could get it in the center, but this blog defeats me sometimes. Wow, now it worked! Well, I want to honor Mary and she loves it when I spend the day with her and her Son. I guess I am very grateful for the gift of imagination as I can really be with them both in Nazareth and here in my own room; I am getting used to talking to them more during the day. I think we all talk to Jesus in prayer even when we are silent most of the time.

As you know by now, I like to pray over the Preface for the big feasts and so I am sharing from the Preface of the Sacred Heart today: (although used in yesterday's Liturgy)

It is truly right and just, our duty and salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.

For raised up high on the Cross,
he gave himself up for us with a wonderful love
and poured out blood and water from his pierced side,
the wellspring of the Church's Sacraments,
so that, won over to the open heart of the Savior,
all might draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

And so, with all the Angels and Saints,
we praise you, as without end we acclaim
Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts....

I think Mary likes us to praise and thank for the wonderful love poured out from the pierced side of Christ and this love never ceases to flow out so "all might draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

Feast of the Sacred Heart

 

 

This is one of my favorite pictures of Jesus. 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

 

Today we will have a Mass at Carrollton and all the RSCJs will renew our vows. This is a devotional practice we do all over the world on the Feast of the Sacred Heart. This is our patronal feast and used to be prepared for by a day of fast on the eve of the feast. Now, each one prepares as she is inspired or able and we always have a letter from Our Mother Superior in Rome to pray over. On our provincial website there is an excellent summary of some of the main points in this year's five-page letter and there is also the picture of the statue of the Sacred Heart that was at Kenwood when I was a novice and we prayed before this statue each morning. It is now to be in the new building at Carrollton and one of the faculty took a picture of it for me and framed it so I have it in my room.

 

I think the most important way for me to prepare for this feast is always to renew my own personal love and commitment to the Heart of Jesus who loves us with an infinite, tender unconditional love! Here is the statue that I copied from our website to show you.

If not centered, click on it, please! 

Feast of Peter and Paul is this coming Sunday

Although I am concentrating on the Feast of the Sacred Heart tomorrow, I do not want to neglect preparing for the Sunday liturgy that honors Peter and Paul. Jesus chose both of these very human and holy men. One led the Jewish Christians to follow the Risen Christ; the other reached out to the Gentiles and both of these saints had great faith and laid down their lives for Jesus.

Tomorrow we look at Jesus who has given His life for us; Jesus' Heart was pierced and out flowed both blood and water. He is the living water that satisfies our thirst for God. We celebrate His Love and His Mercy in this feast; He asks us to learn from Him who is meek and humble of Heart.

Summer Reflection

Miami has had twice as much rain as usual for June; I wish we could give some rain to California. This past week has been full of thunder storms and we have made up for a drier May with over fifteen inches of rain in Miami so far this month.

My thought is how this applies to our interior life. We all have times that we call "dry spells" - we go to pray and God seems to be absent. We just sit there. Ask any spiritual director and they will tell you how many come to find out how to end the dry spell. The truth is, we need to wait until God provides the water. Sometimes it comes as a trickle and we wait for it with thirsty desire; at other times, the water comes in abundance and overflows into all we do. We are suddenly conscious of God at every moment. Now, God was always present, even in the driest moments, but now we are aware of His loving presence in us at all times. Maybe it takes a real thunder storm to flood us with this consciousness, but we are more aware that God is always acting in us and trust His love and His power and His wisdom. I love these days of summer and I am experiencing a new hunger and thirst for the things of God.

Prepare ye the way of the Lord...

I have been reading so many good spiritual things that I find it hard to write anything as my words do not capture what I want to say. I am really caught up into the whole mystery of the indwelling of the Blessed Trinity; and, as we prepare for the Feast of the Sacred Heart this Friday, I am trying to realize what it means for us to dwell in His Heart. And He dwells in ours so that we go out to give His Love to others.
We are also called to prepare the way of the Lord; today being the feast of John the Baptist makes me think of how he went out into the desert and began to preach and baptize but proclaimed that he was not the one who was to come...we are all called to prepare the way, to be missionaries and bring others to know and love God.

Hunger and Thirst

Here is an excerpt from Silvana's blog that I do not want you to miss:

But the hunger for prayer, the thirst for God, are definitely beatitudes, because they impel us to slow down, to reflect, to choose prolonged prayer, spiritual reading, to opt for stillness and time with God instead of more activity. And the hunger for the things of God also means to hunger for authenticity, congruence and the things which enable and increase God's life in us, and our growth into becoming the people God created and longs for us to be.

And a congregation of women who feel a deep longing, yearning need for God is definitely blessed! However busy we may become, however many other possibilities present themselves, may we always, as our Superior General wrote recently, desire to renew the depth of our call to be women of God's heart...

We are all praying over the letter from our Superior General who speaks of the hunger and thirst that each Religious of the Sacred Heart has - I was delighted when she spoke of our thirst and hunger for spiritual conversation and it took me back to some of the great spiritual friends I have had in the Society; these were friends that I could share my deepest ideals, thoughts, aspirations with as well as the weaknesses I found in my own life trying to live united to Jesus. I am grateful that I had several of these good spiritual friends!

Feast of Corpus Christi

This Feast has a beautiful sequence:

Sequence - Lauda Sion

Laud, O Zion, your salvation,
Laud with hymns of exultation,
Christ, your king and shepherd true:

Bring him all the praise you know,
He is more than you bestow.
Never can you reach his due.

Special theme for glad thanksgiving
Is the quick’ning and the living
Bread today before you set:

From his hands of old partaken,
As we know, by faith unshaken,
Where the Twelve at supper met.

Full and clear ring out your chanting,
Joy nor sweetest grace be wanting,
From your heart let praises burst:

For today the feast is holden,
When the institution olden
Of that supper was rehearsed.

Here the new law’s new oblation,
By the new king’s revelation,
Ends the form of ancient rite:

Now the new the old effaces,
Truth away the shadow chases,
Light dispels the gloom of night.

What he did at supper seated,
Christ ordained to be repeated,
His memorial ne’er to cease:

And his rule for guidance taking,
Bread and wine we hallow, making
Thus our sacrifice of peace.

This the truth each Christian learns,
Bread into his flesh he turns,
To his precious blood the wine:

Sight has fail’d, nor thought conceives,
But a dauntless faith believes,
Resting on a pow’r divine.

Here beneath these signs are hidden
Priceless things to sense forbidden;
Signs, not things are all we see:

Blood is poured and flesh is broken,
Yet in either wondrous token
Christ entire we know to be.

Whoso of this food partakes,
Does not rend the Lord nor breaks;
Christ is whole to all that taste:

Thousands are, as one, receivers,
One, as thousands of believers,
Eats of him who cannot waste.

Bad and good the feast are sharing,
Of what divers dooms preparing,
Endless death, or endless life.

Life to these, to those damnation,
See how like participation
Is with unlike issues rife.

When the sacrament is broken,
Doubt not, but believe ‘tis spoken,
That each sever’d outward token
doth the very whole contain.

Nought the precious gift divides,
Breaking but the sign betides
Jesus still the same abides,
still unbroken does remain.

The shorter form of the sequence begins here.

Lo! the angel’s food is given
To the pilgrim who has striven;
see the children’s bread from heaven,
which on dogs may not be spent.

Truth the ancient types fulfilling,
Isaac bound, a victim willing,
Paschal lamb, its lifeblood spilling,
manna to the fathers sent.

Very bread, good shepherd, tend us,
Jesu, of your love befriend us,
You refresh us, you defend us,
Your eternal goodness send us
In the land of life to see.

You who all things can and know,
Who on earth such food bestow,
Grant us with your saints, though lowest,
Where the heav’nly feast you show,
Fellow heirs and guests to be. Amen. Alleluia.

Tomorrow we celebrate the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ

This feast used to be celebrated on Thursday but now we have it on Sunday and in some countries there are beautiful processions to honor the Body and Blood of Christ. The gift Jesus gave us of Himself in the Eucharist is such a tremendous gift; it is also one that we believe but cannot fully understand. It is a gift to be grateful for and to make use of daily, when we are able. I know that Jesus waits for me in the Eucharist. I sometimes go to Mass with little enthusiasm, but once there I feel the presence of the Lord and also feel that I am where I belong. It is hard to put into words and no one probably is as distracted as I usually seem to be at the Eucharist, but still I know that Jesus is there and wants me to come and be with Him.

This Feast is closely connected to the Feast of the Sacred Heart which is the next Friday (used to be the Friday after the octave of the feast). We have just received a beautiful letter from our Mother General to help us prepare for the Feast of the Sacred Heart, but I promised something from Kasper's book on "Mercy" that struck me so here it is  - Kasper is really quoting Augustine here:

"Augustine interpreted the opening of Jesus' Heart in the following was: "There the door to life was opened, from which the sacraments of the church flowed, without which one cannot attain the life that is true living,." 

Books and Bridges

Books and bridges fascinate me as they take us places we could not go without them. I remember wanting to get to the other side of a stream and having to wander on my side of the woods until I found a bridge - then I felt so joyful as I could just skip across; books are like bridges in the sense that they take us across centuries and continents, enable us to cross over into the lives of others and find so many exciting experiences just by opening the book and reading.
Spiritual books are a bridge that take us into another world; the Heart of Jesus opens us to God.

I have just read some great thoughts in Walter Kasper's book on "Mercy" and will try to share some tomorrow. This is just a reflection on the run this morning.

Count your blessings

Some days I feel almost overwhelmed with gratitude. I am sure you also have days when you keep remembering how good others have been, or maybe you are just having a day full of smiles and everything seems to be going your way. Maybe I am especially grateful for these kinds of days as I do not always feel overwhelmed with gratitude. That makes the day special when we can count our blessings and this is something that all of us can do. I find that little things make me feel grateful: the washer and dryer in our garage that allows us to have clean sheets and towels as well as clean clothes.
(After washing everything by hand in Chile in cold water that had to be sort of separated from the mud and was always a funny color in Coquimbo, I really appreciate the fact that I can throw towels and sheets into a washer, push some buttons and end up with them actually looking white!)

Yesterday was a really good day and I am sure today will be, too. I do nothing exciting: go to the gym, then to Mass, home for lunch, get the mail and pass it out, maybe write a few notes or play Words with Friends, swim and exercise in the pool, and then have time for afternoon prayer. We take tuns cooking dinner and then I just spend the time reading. A lovely day and I am so grateful that I am enjoying retirement so much!! But, I was grateful when working, too.

Life is what happens when God breathes in and out...

Have you ever felt that God is closer to you than your own breath? Merton says that every breath we draw is gift....every moment of  existence is a grace. Hildegard, in speaking to God, says "O what a miracle to be awake inside your breathing." I guess I am using breathing for my reflection today and must confess it is because I received the little newsletter of "Friends of Silence for June and it is full of quotes about breathing. It also says that "breath of life", the Latin word "spiritus", is the root of the word spirituality. As Religious of the Sacred Heart, we realize that we breathe in God's love and then breathe out His love to others.

Paying attention to our breathing is helpful for entering into deeper contemplation. I often think of the Holy Spirit breathing in me.
Can the act of being conscious of our breathing, or rather just breathing consciously, be prayer? It certainly leads me into an intimate relationship with the Trinity so I consider it both prayer and an invitation to rest in God. We  cannot help but breathe from the moment of our exiting our mother's womb until we cease to have life; breathing is something we all have in common. Well, I leave these thoughts for your own reflection.

Summer Retreats

For me, our annual retreat is the most important time of the year. I always look forward to mine, pray for others I know are in retreat, and urge everyone to plan their retreats first and the rest of the summer around the retreat. My retreat will be from August 4-13 and I am again going to the retreat house on the ocean of the Sisters of the Holy Names in Santa Cruz. I love being on the ocean and love the sound of the surf. It is a sacred place for me and I think the deep peace I find there lasts all year.

Now, another quote from The Joy of the Gospel:

 When we live out a spirituality of drawing nearer to others and seeking their welfare, our hearts are opened wide to the Lord’s greatest and most beautiful gifts. Whenever we encounter another person in love, we learn something new about God. Whenever our eyes are opened to acknowledge the other, we grow in the light of faith and knowledge of God. If we want to advance in the spiritual life, then, we must constantly be missionaries. The work of evangelization enriches the mind and the heart; it opens up spiritual horizons; it makes us more and more sensitive to the workings of the Holy Spirit, and it takes us beyond our limited spiritual constructs. A committed missionary knows the joy of being a spring which spills over and refreshes others. Only the person who feels happiness in seeking the good of others, in desiring their happiness, can be a missionary. This openness of the heart is a source of joy, since "it is more blessed to give than to receive"

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Trinity Sunday

What a mystery to contemplate again this Sunday! The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - in relationship with each other and with us - trying to love us into eternity. We bow down in adoration and are filled with gratitude that we are linked by Baptism to each Person in the Blessed Trinity.

I was struck by this prayer of the Concord Pastor during the week:

Today, Lord,

let nothing keep me from your love,
nothing shake my trust and faith,
nothing take away my hope,
nothing shade me from your light,
nothing still your voice within me,
nothing steer me from your path,
nothing curb my will to serve you,
nothing hold me back from prayer,
nothing lead me from your mercy,
nothing close my heart to others,
nothing dampen my soul's joy,
nothing hide me from your presence,  
nothing shield me from your grace,
nothing hinder me in any way
from knowing, loving and serving you,
my God.

Amen.

"I had to take time to pray"

I received a book for my birthday, "Sacred Fire" by Ronald Rolheiser and have been wanting to share a poem from Grace Naessens that is at the beginning of the section "Drawing Strength from Prayer" - the name of the poem is The Difference:

I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day;
I has so much to accomplish, I didn't have time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me and grew heavier with each task;
Why doesn't God help me, I wondered; He answered, "You didn't ask."

I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on, gray and bleak;
I wondered why God didn't show me--He said, "But you didn't ask."

I tried to come into God's presence; I used all my keys at the lock;
God gently and lovingly chided, "My child, you didn't knock."

I woke up early this morning and paused before entering the day;
I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray."

We are God's people...

We are God's people and we are also all missionaries to God's people. Read the following excerpt from Pope Francis:

"The word of God also invites us to recognize that we are a people: "Once you were no people but now you are God’s people" (1 Pet 2:10). To be evangelizers of souls, we need to develop a spiritual taste for being close to people’s lives and to discover that this is itself a source of greater joy. Mission is at once a passion for Jesus and a passion for his people. When we stand before Jesus crucified, we see the depth of his love which exalts and sustains us, but at the same time, unless we are blind, we begin to realize that Jesus’ gaze, burning with love, expands to embrace all his people. We realize once more that he wants to make use of us to draw closer to his beloved people. He takes us from the midst of his people and he sends us to his people; without this sense of belonging we cannot understand our deepest identity." The Joy of the Gospel

We seek what Jesus seeks...

Here is something from the Joy of the Gospel that is helping me now to look forward to preparing for the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

In union with Jesus, we seek what he seeks and we love what he loves. In the end, what we are seeking is the glory of the Father; we live and act "for the praise of his glorious grace" (Eph 1:6). If we wish to commit ourselves fully and perseveringly, we need to leave behind every other motivation. This is our definitive, deepest and greatest motivation, the ultimate reason and meaning behind all we do: the glory of the Father which Jesus sought at every moment of his life. As the Son, he rejoices eternally to be "close to the Father’s heart" (Jn 1:18).

Just Show Up1

What is the most important thing to remember about your prayer life? Just show up! God is waiting for you and will take over if you give Him the opportunity. Why is it so hard to just show up for our time with God? I guess we all have different reasons to be tempted to miss time for prayer: we need to sleep, the workmen are coming early so no time for prayer; or I need to get this in the mail today or, for busy mothers, the children need me now, etc. We have many reasons to give ourselves for lack of time for prayer, but we all have twenty-four hours every day; we have all the time there is! We just need to prioritize - the most important thing is just to show up and prayer takes place because God and you meet for this time together and then all the rest of the day goes well.

In Chile I once lived with a Sister who had a temper; she made a holy hour every night. One of the community was critical of this saying that it had not improved her temper, but who knows what she would have done when angry if she did not have that hour of prayer each night. And I wonder how many times she was able to keep her temper because she had that hour of prayer.

I am praying for so many who are in retreat this week after Pentecost.

Pray as You Can, not as you Can't!

It seems to me that the way we pray best is the best way for us to pray. My experience in giving spiritual direction now for over forty years tells me this is true. I am afraid that my morning hour of prayer is often such a hodge-podge - but, if it works, I am happy. I also feel blessed because I wake up with the desire to pray each morning. Sometimes I begin with reflecting on the previous day as I write my Gratitude Journal (sometimes I have done this the night before); then, I almost always look at the readings of the day and may stay with one line or thought from them and that may lead to Centering Prayer for the next half hour or I may find myself going back to something I have read the day before, or reading the Pope's homily or just sitting in the Presence of the Lord and letting my mind and heart be still. I spend a short time in praying for peace and for those who have asked my prayers or need prayer. Then I see that more than an hour has passed and I am usually feeling reluctant to finish this lovely hour or more that I have each morning. Now, I think this was different when I had to leave for the University each morning, but not very different as I just rose earlier. I think the difference in my prayer is that I spend much more time in silence.
Well, I do not know why I have written all this today, but I guess I have been thinking how each one prays according to their own personality, circumstances, etc. There is no one way to pray!
Let me end with a quote from Thomas Merton: "How does an apple ripen? It just sits in the sun." I think of that often and then hear the words. "Be still and know that I am God."

Taking Time for Prayer

We cannot afford not to pray. We need God! And God wants to be in relationship with each of us. We grow in a relationship only when we spend quality time with each other. I remember years ago speaking about a directee in my peer supervision group who was a Religious but who told me that she was not finding time for prayer in her busy day and was too tired at night. I pushed her to find ways to solve this, suggesting some but being very firm about her need to build some prayer time into her day. She stopped coming to me for Spiritual Direction and I thought perhaps I had been too insisting with her. One of my supervision group immediately said: "It is no use moving the furniture if there is no floor!"

I have never forgotten that as it is so true. Now that we are into summer with longer days and vacation for some, let us take care of our personal prayer life. I am fortunate to have plenty of time for prayer but often find that I am distracted, daydreaming, or just finding it difficult to focus on anything. I turn back to God and feel that He is waiting for me and understands my weakness.

Now, since we are in the octave of Pentecost, I am repeating often, "Come Holy Spirit" and find this very helpful.

Pentecost

What a grace it was for the disciples who were waiting in prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and others for the coming of the Holy Spirit! Their lives were changed. Those fearful Apostles now went out and preached and Luke tells us in the Acts of the Apostles how they somehow managed to baptize 3,000 that same day! The Spirit allowed each to hear them speaking in his own language! It seems that the Spirit was more visible in the early Church - or this is my impression when reading Acts and the Letters of Paul. Paul was prevented from going somewhere by the Spirit and other times he seems to have been pushed by the Spirit to move on and keep spreading the Good News.

I think the Spirit is still trying to push us into new ways of spreading the Good News. Now, it is easier to contact so many by means of technology that seems to almost be taking over our lives. However, I do think that we need to open ourselves to the action of the Spirit each day. He sometimes whispers to us and we need to be alert to hear the gentle voice that speaks so often without words but just inspires us to do this or avoid that - let us thank the Spirit for his active presence in us and promise to be more attentive.
Happy Feast!

Eve of Pentecost

"The Holy Spirit works as he wills, when he wills and where he wills; we entrust ourselves without pretending to see striking results. We know only that our commitment is necessary. Let us learn to rest in the tenderness of the arms or the Father amid our creative and generous commitment." This is the quote I wanted from Pope Francis in The Joy of the Gospel. He continues to say that we need trust in the Holy Spirit to keep our missionary fervor alive.

I have felt the inspiration of the Holy Spirit all week and I urge all of us to keep trying to form the habit of invoking the Holy Spirit.
I was reading about how one needs to hear "I love you" from both family and friends and that God needs to hear the same. How often do we consciously state our love for the Holy Spirit? And for God the Father? And for Jesus?

St. Paul

St. Paul is a fascinating saint and we know much about him from the Acts of the Apostles and from his letters. I am always finding something new to ponder when I read Paul. I never think of him as old as he was so dynamic and he must also been charismatic the way he attracted others to Christ. He was full of the Holy Spirit and let the Spirit free to act in him.

I am feeling like a beginner in the spiritual life; I have studied and read much, but how united and conformed am I to the Heart of Jesus? That is the question that is important. However, I feel so grateful and joyful that I think the Spirit is acting in me in spite of my many failings.

Come, Holy Spirit

I find it very helpful to keep repeating, "Come, Holy Spirit" as we prepare for the Feast of Pentecost this coming Sunday. Knowing that we have the Spirit in us makes calling "Come" seem strange, but I need the Spirit to come with all the gifts and fruits that make me wise, strong, kind, and full of love, peace, and joy.

I am thanking the Holy Spirit for His gifts and want to deepen them in this time of the year when nature is showing new life. The flowers are blooming, the grass is green, and it is time to look to the gardens of our hearts and ask the Holy Spirit to weed out what is not to be there. I read in the "Joy of the Gospel" today that the Spirit does what He wills, when He wills, and where He wills  I will need to look up that quote. Look for it tomorrow.

How do you get in touch with the Holy Spirit?

 

Sometimes when I sit down to write this blog a question just pops into my mind. Today it is "How do I get in touch with the Holy Spirit?" Of course, the Holy Spirit dwells in me and is always there inspiring me to do good, but I need to reflect on how I am in touch - I guess the question comes from my reflection on how to deepen my relationship with the Holy Spirit.

This week I am making a real effort to pray, "Come, Holy Spirit" as I go about the daily tasks and I seem to feel that this is pleasing to the Spirit and I am feeling the presence of the Holy Spirit in a new way so I am sharing this as a suggestion and preparation for the Feast of Pentecost that we will celebrate this coming Sunday.

Our world is good

Sometimes, especially after reading the morning newspaper, I feel so helpless with all the evil that seems to be around in our world. People killing one another, children being mistreated, fathers being deported and leaving families behind, or the elderly being left alone, etc. Yet God made the world and is present in it and there is so much goodness around us, if we have eyes to see it. I think that asking the Holy Spirit to show us the goodness in all is one of the ways to prepare this week for Pentecost.

At the gym this morning, I was struck again by the joy of one of the members in my Exercise Class. She is Asian and always beaming and spreads joy just by entering the gym. I told her so and she said that she responds to the joy she sees in me - that made my day!
Joy is contagious and the Pope says it is the mark of a Christian.
Let us be overwhelmed by Paschal Joy today and everyday!

Walking with God

Do we realize that every step we take is with God? This week I am reflecting on the excitement of having the Blessed Trinity living in me. It is certainly a reason for joy, but also takes concentration to remember to be attentive to their presence. I am renewing my own relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and invite you to do the same. It will soon convince you that our interior life is of more interest than our exterior life. I guess the trick is to combine them in such a way that we act always under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

What Path Will I Walk this Week?

Every Monday can be exciting if we think we have a whole new week to explore our inner life! I am convinced that having an interior life is much more fun than just a rather humdrum exterior life, at least at my age. I know the schedule I keep and it is very predictable - prayer, breakfast, writing my blog, going to the gym, noon Mass, home for lunch and time to read, swim, pray, and play in the afternoon. (My play is mostly Words with Friends or Scrabble on my I-pad). The only variation I see for these summer days is a break from routine when having someone for spiritual direction or inviting friends over for lunch or dinner or meeting someone for lunch, etc. I am not complaining about this wonderful exterior life but just pointing out that the interior life can be more exciting. Imagine, we have the Blessed Trinity dwelling within us!
God works in mysterious ways so I never know what might happen when I stop to listen, to become aware of His action. He is a God of surprises!

This week has a good friend coming for dinner and then I will be meeting him again on Thursday - I also hope to get back to working on the book I want to write as the summer is a quieter time, perhaps, and maybe I will have the courage to start work again. I think this is one of the inspirations of the Holy Spirit as I did not sit down to write this.

Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord

The Ascension of the Lord cannot be separated from His Resurrection and the Church celebrates this Feast with joy! Jesus has revealed His Father's love; He has shown us how great His love is for us that He laid down His life for us, and He has promised to send the Holy Spirit. Now we celebrate His return to His Father.

I am always grateful for the forty days after Easter, but more so this year, I guess, partly because I am keeping my gratitude journal each day and also because I was able to celebrate my 83rd birthday with the Mass of the Ascension on Saturday evening here in my community. That was a joy for me. May this year see us all growing in love.