Unethical people never cease to amaze me. They used to anger me . . . now I see them as an opportunity for holiness. Jay and I are reading from Anne a lay apostle's book Climbing the Mountain. The page we read a few mornings ago profoundly affected our entire day . . . let alone how we will always look at any given situation. Here are the insightful words from Anne:
Jesus said to his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
Lay apostles, have you read Climbing the Mountain yet? I am on my third time reading through this eye-opening book. And I learn more and more each time I read it. There are so many pearls like the quote above. This is profound stuff! The next time you are too angry to pray, remember the words of Jesus, "Fine. Walk with My enemy instead."
Thank you, Lord, for getting to the point very quickly when I face the world and not You. But most importantly, thank you for loving me enough to send this apostolate into my life!
God bless,
Bonnie
"One day I felt the cup of bitterness overflowing. I
was saturated with bitterness and this resulted in anger. Knowing that I
needed to be alone, I obtained a precious period of time and set out for a long,
pounding walk. I passed the Adoration Chapel, trying to move quickly as the
last thing I wanted to do was pray. To be honest, I was angry at Jesus
because I was convinced that heaven was unreasonable in its expectations. I
wanted to walk hard and deal with all that was hurting me. Jesus said, “Come
to Me, Anne.” I said, “No, Lord. Trust me. You do not want me in this condition.
I am too mad.” He replied, “Fine. Walk with My enemy instead.” I made the
sharpest turn you can imagine. I understood that the enemy was gleeful at my
condition and was more than willing to entertain me with all of the wrongs that
had been sent my way and all of the injustices present in the work Jesus had
willed for me. It was the enemy who had whipped me into this condition. My
friends, the enemy had set me up. I went into Adoration and sat down hard
and began to complain. I complained and I complained. I left nothing out. And
Jesus listened. And He listened some more. At the end of thirty minutes of
complaining, I glanced at Him in the Host. He was so pure, so kind, and so
tolerant that my heart melted. He had let me get it all off my chest. What
healed me was His perfect love and charity for me. My love for Him gushed
out of my soul. I was a different person at the end of that hour than I would
have been after a walk with the enemy who wished to encourage me in
rebellion. I left Jesus like a lamb, willing to be hurt in service to Him for the sake of others. We must never underestimate what Jesus can do for us and
we should understand that Jesus will take us in any condition."
Wow, right? How many of us have chosen not to pray because we are too upset or too mad? My hand is raised . . . is yours? Quiet humility, my friends. Once we become quiet in prayer, He can heal the deepest of wounds.
In todays Gospel (Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18), Jesus is asking us to serve Him in humility, without looking for praise in our works:
Wow, right? How many of us have chosen not to pray because we are too upset or too mad? My hand is raised . . . is yours? Quiet humility, my friends. Once we become quiet in prayer, He can heal the deepest of wounds.
In todays Gospel (Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18), Jesus is asking us to serve Him in humility, without looking for praise in our works:
Jesus said to his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
“When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”
Lay apostles, have you read Climbing the Mountain yet? I am on my third time reading through this eye-opening book. And I learn more and more each time I read it. There are so many pearls like the quote above. This is profound stuff! The next time you are too angry to pray, remember the words of Jesus, "Fine. Walk with My enemy instead."
Thank you, Lord, for getting to the point very quickly when I face the world and not You. But most importantly, thank you for loving me enough to send this apostolate into my life!
God bless,
Bonnie
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