2nd Wednesday of Advent, 2016

Uplifted rock formation

Bearing Our Burdens 

"Jesus said to the crowds: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." ~ Matthew 11:28-30

It has been some years now since I first heard an explanation of this Gospel verse from a priest. I struggled with the "take my yoke upon you...for my yoke is easy and my burden is light" portion of the verse for several reasons. The first being that I didn't want to take any one's yoke upon myself, because I was struggling with enough at the time as it already was...I didn't need to add an additional weight of someone's burden to my already over-burdened life, even if it was the Lord who was asking.

How I now shudder to think that I was once so shallow and mean-spirited and selfish. My spiritual director relieved me by asking me if I had ever seen oxen yoked together pulling a heavy weight. Of course, I replied in the affirmative. He went on to explain to me that neither of the oxen could pull such a weight by themselves, but that by pulling together, it made the burden lighter on both of them.
That was something I had never considered, even though I had been married for a number of years and had worked with my spouse to accomplish some things, it never dawned on me that we had been "yoked together" so that we could actually get the job done. Nor had I ever applied it to the Lord, oddly enough.

As I have since learned, when the Lord yokes Himself to me, it is for my benefit and not to make His burden lighter, as I had erroneously thought. He is actually doing me a favor by yoking His Divine Self to my poor and piteous human self and pulling with me through the difficulty. It is an astounding thought...that He would want to...and that I could be so foolish as to not want to be yoked together with the Lord of the Universe. Wow. 

Fortunately, with good spiritual direction, I was able to view that Scripture in the proper light and it opened for me a whole new way of viewing Scripture and the Lord's call in my life.That's the "and learn from me" portion of this Gospel verse. Because I was able to correctly understand this one verse, it opened for me a way to understand better (not something that comes all at once, but a journey of learning) scripture as God meant it to be. And now that I am studying Lectio Divina I understand that God's Word is Him actually speaking to me. To me, personally. Again, Wow. 

 It is still a little intimidating to think that He wants to be yoked to all that burdens me, as I sit and consider all that I have to do and all that is left undone. And that He loves me deeply enough and dearly enough to yoke Himself to me. For me and for my benefit. It's so amazing and I am so in love with you, Lord.

Thank you for all your many blessings and for choosing to yoke yourself to me that I might be able to bear my burdens with ease.

You must learn to accept all that you hear me speaking in the depths of your heart as our Heart to Heart Conversation. Yes, I use my Scripture to begin the conversation, but as we journey along, you must act on the sure knowledge that what you hear in the depths of your heart is actually me speaking to you. It will change your life, as you know from past glimpses of this truth.
My child, I do love you beyond imagining. Fear not. All is well.

Thank you, my Lord! 

First Monday of Advent 2016

Shadow creeps over the mountains as light fades

A New Beginning

"For over all, the Lord's glory will be shelter and protection: shade from the parching heat of day, refuge and cover from storm and rain."~ Isaiah 4:6

The start of Advent, coming as it does in the darkest part of the year, would seem an odd time to think of a new beginning.

At least, for non-Christians. 

Yet, it is the time when hope is brought forth from the darkness to shine brightly in our lives as we prepare for our Lord's coming.

The Lord promises us protection, from the natural elements that threaten us, as well as from evil that stalks around us, seeking our ruin.

How Blessed we are, to have the protection of the Lord of the universe as we journey ever closer to Him, waiting and watchful for the birth of our Savior in the deepest cold of winter's night.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

Advent...A New Beginning

Winter Snow makes the red rocks seem vibrant

"Come and save us, Lord our God; let your face shine upon us, that we may be saved."  ~ Psalm 80:4

When I got around to checking on this blog, I was shocked to see how long it had been since I had last written a post. This blog and the posting on it are what I believe the Lord is calling me to, even if no one else ever reads my musings.
So, when praying about what I should do to prepare the way for Christmas and the Coming of the Lord into my heart again, I was led to review my blog. The Lord definitely wants me to use my skills to write a blog. I don't feel particularly skilled or think that I have things worthwhile to say, but He keeps calling me back to it, so He must see something in me that I have been ignoring. So, here we go again.

All this deep introspection has been because of a podcast I listened to on how to determine my apostolate. There were five questions and the first one was "What things do people compliment you on?" So, as I was praying about this and pondering what things I have been complimented on, I was once again brought back to writing and photography. The point of the first question is that if you are good at something...the example used was cooking and that is definitely not one of my skills :-)...then that may be something that the Lord is using as a way to reach people. If, the example goes on, I am good at cooking, then perhaps that skill (question number two, which I will address tomorrow) may be what God wants me to use to reach out to people and evangelize them. I think the point of the podcast is to help us realize that the "E" word (evangelization) doesn't have to be something scary or something that we are reluctant to do. Going door to door to share my faith is not something which would ever come easily to me. However, reaching out by writing is something that has always come easily...more easily than speaking, in fact. It also brings me to my other Advent offering.

An Advent Angel

It has been a custom of our local women's group to anonymously give Advent gifts to someone in our parish family. It's just a way of reaching out to them and letting them know that they are loved and cared for, not only by the "Advent Angel" but by God, who has called a person to give something of themselves to the person(s) of their choice. As a group, we draw names from among those who are attending our meetings, but the group won't meet this year until the third week of Advent, so I felt called to reach out to a couple at the beginning of Advent. The couple the Lord chose for me is a couple a little older than myself and they are facing the challenge of a serious health condition for which there seems to be no remedy. But, as we all know, God has remedies in mind of which the world knows nothing. So, it is my hope and prayer that my reaching out to this couple will enable them to accept God's will and that God will also bless them with a miracle of His choosing. This week, I have sent them a card with some simple bookmarks enclosed. Each week in Advent, I will give them something until Christmas. The ultimate gift, of course, is Christ and as He gives Himself for the Life of the World, perhaps I can give them Christ in the Eucharist by giving as the final present a gift of Masses for them.

Gifts for the Lord, Advent, 2010

Inside looking out at the snow

Lift up your heads and see; your redemption is near at hand.--The responsorial Psalm from Today's readings

Last night I was upset because of the "lack of quality gifts" that we received from one of my sons. It's a very unChrist-like response to this season of loving and giving, I know.
For some reason, this son and his family always seem to take but never to give...at least as generously as I think they should. So when I received the package of small gifts from his family, I was upset. They spend a lot of money on themselves and on their wants, but never seem to have any left over to share with their parents or siblings on my son's side of the family. I suspect the gifts given to his wife's side of the family are much better. So, I am feeling like not a lot of preparation went into their gift giving for our family.
It's not all about the gifts, I know that, and I was having so much trouble with this.I guess I still am having trouble with this, even though in the depths of my angst over this, the Lord gave me a very eye-opening and humbling view of my own paltry gifts to the Christ child.

At the beginning of Advent, I had told the Lord that I would make an effort to write daily, spending time in reflection and preparation of His coming. Well, I have obviously failed spectacularly at this and so my own gift to the Lord is as paltry and skimpy as the gifts given to us by our son and his family. There is a wonderful lesson in there for me, I know. I want to have the generosity of heart to accept the spirit of the gifts given by my son's family. The problem is that I don't think there was much spirit in it at all. I can say the same of my gift to the Lord, however. I am hoping against hope that the paltry offering I have for Him will somehow be transformed by Love into something wondrous and grand for Him, but before that can happen I need to find the gift of the spirit in my reaction to the gifts given by my son's family.
Yesterday, as I sat with my prayer partner in the church, I saw the Lord "scrubbing clean the dark places of my heart and soul in preparation for the coming of the Lord." That was before I opened the box of gifts from my son. Now I feel like I need another scrubbing.
Lord God, my King and my Savior, please forgive me these selfish feelings and bring me to the place where you want me to be...unselfish and giving and totally appreciative of all that You have done for us in sending Your beloved Son into the world that we might have life and have it to the full.
Lord, I just about blew it and sent my son a nasty email. Your angel stayed my hand, however, and encouraged me to send a more positive message instead. Thank you for that.
Also, please accept my paltry gift and grant me the grace to strive to give you my time in writing and reflection each day of the coming Christmas season, for starters. I'll try to make it better.
Lord, I do love you. Help me to love you more and more...as much as you love me. Also, please bless my son and his family with the true spirit of Christmas.

Sweet Child,

We do love you so very much. That is one reason why we showed you how your gifts stacked up in comparison to your son's gifts. It is the spirit of giving that matters...not what is given. You did not have the right spirit until you sent the P.S. to your son. We will use that simple message to bless you and your son and his family with such love that your heart will be scrubbed clean and you will receive the Lord in your heart this Christmas. Go in peace, my love, and continue your preparations for Christmas. We love you.

Preparing for the Lord, Day 2 of Advent 2010

Snow covered hills

"Lord our God, help us to prepare for the coming of Christ your son."  --from the opening prayer for today's Mass

I struggled today about saying "yes" to the Lord when he asked me to wake from my slumber and write. I do not know why...I do love the Lord with all my heart and soul and mind.
But an examination of my conscience tells me that while I profess to love him so, my actions and deeds speak of another love...self love and doing what I want to do, not what the Lord wants me to do.
Yet, how can I do this? How can I not want to love the Lord with my whole being...He who has given me everything and loves me so very much that He has taken my sins upon himself? 
I long to be more like Mary, who immediately answered yes to her Lord, in the face of not knowing how His will would be accomplished or where His will would take her...she still answered yes. Inconvenience? It didn't matter as much as doing her Lord's will. What a remarkable woman Mary was then and remains to this day.

"Am I loving and serving God with my whole heart , mind and strength? Where can I do better? Am I waiting and watching for the Lord through daily prayer?" 

Am I watching and waiting for the Lord through daily prayer? Sadly, no. My prayer life lately has been short and a series of orders I seem to give our Lord. Can you imagine the hubris of such an action? Why would I do such a thing? I have really gotten away from my prayer habits. It seemed to be so rote and without sincerity of late...although that is not the Lord's fault, but my own. How can I make it more meaningful? By simply sitting in the Lord's presence for a time and soaking in his loving care of me! What a beautiful way to prepare for his Coming.

Lord, please help me to better love you with all my strength and to rejoice in my daily preparations for your Coming amongst us. Help me to truly show my love for you by better obedience to your commands, by not choosing to "do it later" a bad habit that I have developed lately.

Lord, I do love you. Help me to know how to live in that love on a daily basis.

My Child,

Long have I waited  for your coming unto Me, in simplicity and sincerity as you have done this day...after I prodded you. You can be so much and do so much in, with and through me. Try to be more like Mary, my Mother and your Mother, who didn't worry about the details of saying Yes. She knew the details would be handled by Me, if she chose to accept the role I gave her. So must you learn that the details are not for you to work out...I have already worked them out. You must prepare your Heart,  first of all, to receive me fully. Then you will have no more concern about how the details will be worked out. Sweet one, I love you and do have a plan for you...believe it and rejoice in it. It is a most wonderful Christmas gift. Prepare your Heart.

 

Advent, 2010

A new beginning. That is what this Advent brings this year. A year of new hopes and new struggles, but hope filled as I continue my journey towards the Lord.
I am grateful for the blessings of this past year and hope to make progress, sadly lacking in so many areas of my life. But, with the dawn of a new Christian year and a new time of beginning, I hope to overcome the faults within myself and strive ever more to become the person God would have me be.
Thank you, Lord for the opportunities you have given me to serve you. Please continue to bless my efforts with your love, forgiveness and guidance as we go forth into this new year.