Trust Me! Trust Me!! Trust Me!

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Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey
but a walking stick—
no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals
but not a second tunic.
He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Mark 6: 7-13

Gospel Reading for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary time

When I heard this reading at Mass, I seemed to hear a very loud whisper within me.

"Trust Me!  Trust Me! Trust Me!

I took care of my Apostles.

I will take care of you."

As life takes an unwelcome turn in an unwelcome direction, 

"Trust Me."

As the challenges of this new and unwelcome turn happen,

"Trust Me."

The journey is frightening.

The journey's end is not known.

"Trust Me."

The Prayer of Mother Teresa

"Jesus in my heart, I trust in Your Tender Love for me."

The Divine Mercy

"Jesus, I trust in You."

 

 

Pray for Priests This Weekend

Pray for Priests this Weekend

Ending the Week With Thanksgiving and Praise

Life, at best, has been difficult lately.  

Overcoming the urge to melt into a pool of self pity is a challenge given to us by God in the storm. 

With the winds battering us,

with the boat being overloaded with water,

with the high waves,

we have to realize that through it all is the one, unchanging God.

Keeping our eyes on Jesus through the storm, looking only to where He is,

Singing His Praise,

Singing thanksgiving to Him,

Surrendering all we are to Him,

are the graces He infuses in us as we navigate and work to  overcome the challenges of the storm.

Praise 

Thanksgiving

Surrender.

"Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary,
    His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint,
    and to Him who has no might He increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary,
    and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
    they shall walk and not faint."

Isaiah 40: 28-31

So with Praise and Thanksgiving and Surrender to His Holy Will,

1) In this storm we have seen the kindness of the many people who hold us up in prayer.

2) We have seen God work in our lives as we surrender to His Holy Will.

3) In spite of this challenge, there have been fun times, too.

4)  Obstacles seem to disappear with a soft breath from God.

5) We have had many opportunities to unite our sufferings with Jesus.

6) Prayers are whispered often and come from our hearts.

For all of these blessings we Praise God and Thank Him. There are so many more blessings not listed here.  I could fill the blog with those alone.  There are so many hidden blessings that peek around the corner that there is not room to list here.  We see Him work as we surrender leaving it all to Him.

Praise You, Father, Creator.

Praise You, Jesus!

Praise You, Holy Spirit!

 

 

How much Does God Love Us?

God

Loves 

Us.

That's 

How 

Much.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16

 ^"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

Romans 8: 37-39

 "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.  For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Zephaniah 3:17

 

I fell For It, too.....

JMJ

the lie,

I fell for the lie.

After the recent Supreme Court ruling,

I became sad.

I became confused.

Why?

Because I fell for it, too.

What is the lie?

The lie is that the worst is yet to come.

Persecutions are predicted.

Business calamities are predicted.

Natural disasters are predicted, 

all because of the 

Supreme Court ruling.

We could go on and on and on.

I fell for the lie, and I became 

fearful.

My path to God was blocked.

I prayed out of fear.

I spoke out of fear.

I cried out of fear.

Fear of God is a virtue, but I was only fearful of the world.

Then, when the inspiration of the Holy Spirit came to me,

I realized I was doing what I have cautioned many others not to do.

I was giving into the lie that satan had sold me, and I was afraid of what was to come,

and when you think about it,

WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IS TO COME.

We do not have that knowledge,

only God has that knowledge.

Even if we did know what was going to happen,

and we don't,

what good would it be to worry?

Worry blocks us from God.

This is what satan wants.

He wants us to become fearful so that we don't trust God.

He wants our anxieties to overcome our common sense so that we will sin and deny God.

God is the maker of the universe.

God is the creator of all.

He sent His only begotten Son to die for us.

He, the Son, and the Holy Spirit exist as one.

What can satan do? 
He cannot defeat God.

He knows that, so he tries to take away souls from God.

We don't have to be one of those souls.

Fear is a wasted emotion.

God's Will will be done.

If we surrender to His Will, no matter what happens, 

WE WILL BE AT PEACE IN HIS LOVE!

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?  And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin;  yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith?  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.

 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.

Matthew 6: 25-34

This is truth.

Fear is not.  Fear is the lie.  Fear is from satan.

What to do?

1) Pray.  Ask God for His Peace.

2) Confess, at least monthly.

3) Offer sacrifices to God.

4) Praise God, no matter what happens.

5) Ask God to help you Surrender to His Holy Will.

 6) Step aside, and let God be God.

Humility is born out of surrender.

Humility is a gift from God.

Pray.

  

Love is...

Happy 4th of July!!!!

Ending the Week in Praise and Thanksgiving

1) This little oasis is beautiful and unexpected. 

You can't see it from the road,

and 

you have to walk in a bit to find it.

At night,

a male bullfrog croaks 

to the love of his life,

and,

she answers!

Praise to God and I give thanks to Him for the gift of His Glory in this little pond!

2) Even when I thought that it would be impossible to attend Mass this week,

God showed me a way.

It was only once, 

but,

that Mass was precious!

Praise be to God in His Infinite Mercy and Wisdom!

3) This week a simple truth became clear.  Our God is the same God whom Adam and Eve walked with in the Garden.  He is the same God whom Moses saw in the tent.  He is the same God that Abraham sought to obey when he took Issac to be a sacrifice for His God.  Our God is, was, and ever shall be!

Praise to God for everything!

Sometimes, you have to look, but God's consolations are there!

This has been a rough week.

My daughter, who has cancer, is scheduled to have another 

stem cell transplant.

Since we are talking about this,

I would like to ask you for prayers for her.

Prior to the Transplant, she has to have many tests, 

including a bone marrow biopsy,

which is very painful.

Obviously, my mind has been elsewhere.

Yesterday, was a bad day.

With illnesses, such as cancer,

this roller coaster ride presents many difficulties.

Prayer is often difficult.

Faith is often weak.

Fear of loss is rampant.

Getting out of bed can be a challenge.

Yet, God in His loving kindness sends us consolations, but sometimes we have to realize these are gifts.

The days have been wonderful,  not too hot and not too cold.

Friends have been calling with words of support.

You know, those beautiful things that God sends our way.

Yesterday, 

a lousy day, 

God did one better.

While my daughter was undergoing tests,

I heard the announcement that 

"Catholic Mass will be said at 12:30 in the meditation room on the 7th floor of the hospital."

It was 12:15.

The tests my daughter were taking would last over an hour.

I was in the hospital, and not at the clinic in another building where I might not have heard the announcement.

I rushed upstairs.

Mass would start soon.

I was able to receive the Eucharist in the gift of the Mass.

God knew when to have that announcement made.

The small chapel was full.

Jesus walked among us.

"And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." 

Matthew 9: 35-36