Suffering

According to an old saying, suffering can make you better or bitter. It is, indeed, a double-edged sword. On the one hand, suffering can bring us closer to God, but on the other hand, it can move us further away from Him. It all depends on what we do with the suffering that comes our way.

Pray for Patience

Today’s readings: Isaiah 26:1-6; Matthew 7:21, 24-27

The next time you become impatient during a wait, perhaps in traffic or the grocery store, think of people in developing countries who wait all day for a bus that never comes, and return the next day to wait again. Spend the rest of your wait praying for that kind of patience.

Lead Me to Peace

Lead me from death to life,
from falsehood to truth.
Lead me from despair to hope,
from fear to trust.
Lead me from hate to love,
from war to peace.
Let peace fill our hearts,
our world, our universe,
Peace, Peace, Peace.

God’s Language

The Magi were pagans from the mysterious and faraway “east.” Legend says they sought God through the study of the stars. So God spoke to them in the language of their own religion. He sent them a star. He does the same for us. He speaks to us through whatever signs, symbols, events, persons or experiences we are able to receive.

Traces of Jesus

Since Jesus has gone to heaven, I can follow him only by the traces he has left. But how radiant and how fragrant these traces are! I have only to glance at the holy gospels and at once I breathe the fragrance of his life.

Potent Weapons

Prayer and sacrifice are my invincible weapons, and I know, by experience, that they can soften the heart much better than words.

Space for Silence

Modern life leaves little space for silence. But silence gives us space for receptivity; it allows us to hear the speechless language of God and to respond with our hearts.

The Inner Path

The cave has always been a symbol of the unconscious and a place for encounters with God. If you follow the inner path, you eventually come to the cave of your heart, where you will encounter the wilderness and darkness of isolation, shut off from thoughts, feelings and ideas, in order to be open to a visit from God. Everything must be left behind, including the ego, before entering the cave if we hope to emerge transformed.

Seeing God

If we have a pure heart, then we can see God. If we cannot see God then we must ask: Is there something between us and our Lord? Sometimes there is a darkness that brings us closer to God, troubles and trials through which we must persevere. But sometimes there is a darkness that is dividing our love for God.

Forgive and Forget

You must forgive and forget all the difficult things of yesterday for yesterday has gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. But you have today to love Jesus as he loves you, with a deep personal love.

The Way to Peace

The path to peace means undergoing conversion in the deepest core of one’s self and finding one’s true self in God. It is a path of relationship with God that is centered on the Word made flesh, the person of Jesus Christ.

Divine Power

Truly living as a Christian is not some sort of righteousness that we slip on like an overcoat, nor some ideal we arrive at by means of our own efforts. The life of Christ is a vibrant, powerful, inner force that bubbles up out of the very depths of our being and enables us to do otherwise impossible things, blessed things. This divine grace gradually helps us to overcome sin, temptations, weaknesses. We are able to rise above our human limitations and receive a glimpse of our heavenly inheritance.

Shaping Our Souls

Our commitments—the truths we choose to believe, the ideals we choose to embrace, the directions we choose to take, the goals we choose to pursue, the hopes we choose to live by—these are the enduring choices that shape our souls, make us the persons we are and determine the true meaning of our names. Jesus Christ invites us to create ourselves, to shape our souls, by the response we make to him.

Lord, Make Me Real

Lord, make me real.
Create in me the person I was born to be, free of falsehood and self-deception.
Show me—gently, if you please—what is counterfeit within my being.
Uproot what is not of you so that seeds of faith may be nurtured within me
and I may become really, really real. Amen.

Evening Prayer

Thank you, Jesus, for another day
I hope I’ve pretty much kept on your way.
But if somehow I’ve caused you sorrow,
I’ll try to do much better tomorrow.

Do Not Be Afraid

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 7:10-14; Luke 1:26-38

Please pray for me that I may have the courage to complete my Sacrifice as He has given me the inspiration and Grace to begin…I have very little courage—but I trust Him blindly, in spite of all feelings. —Mother Teresa

The media were shocked at the revelations of Mother Teresa’s insecurities. All Christians have insecurities, though, but we trust God. How little we see God’s plan in our lives; how fearful we are that things may not work out after all! Pray for courage in the area of your life where you most need it.

Take Time