As the mother of three girls, I tried my best to give them good, honest advice during their teenage years . . . attempting to steer them in the direction of making good choices. I made sure they went to Mass every Sunday and encouraged a love for Jesus. They heard me over and over express: Jesus = good choices. Yes, I recall eyes being rolled at times; being told I didn't understand their situation; or, blank stares (the worst!) realizing they were probably thinking about boys or clothes or friends and just wanted me to finish my preaching quickly! I knew eventually they would come around, thanking me for such wisdom during the tough teenage years. The fact is, it wasn't me at all who deserved the recognition. It was Christ working through me, His vessel to reach my daughters (and all those in my life) on Earth. I was and still am imperfect. Egos are burley monsters difficult to tame at times, aren't they? We must remember we are all His vessels . . . His voice on earth. We can either choose to do His Will or, our own. I guarantee ignoring Christ's will doesn't save souls, especially our own. So the question is, how can we be the voice of Jesus today to spread His love/acceptance/forgiveness? It's easier than you think!
In today's Gospel (Matthew 8:18-22), Jesus teaches us to put Him above all else:
When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other shore. A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.”
In Anne a lay apostle's book Lessons in Love, she inspires us to recognize God's Love is endless:
"There will always be those in our lives who give us the feeling that we are trying to love a cactus plant. If we get too close, we get hurt. Jesus experiences this, too, of course, with each one of us to different degrees at different times in our lives. The Lover, Jesus Christ, feels the pain of His beloved acutely, suffering with us the pains of our humanity. How baffling for Him, humanly speaking, to be rejected, and yet how patiently He awaits acceptance. His whole presence in each relationship could be viewed, among many other things, as a study in patience. We, the beloved ones, entertain so rarely the truth of the constant gaze of love that follows our every breath. This is perhaps a blessing because when the strength of the Lover’s gaze is remotely understood, the beloved one can feel helplessly inadequate in the love equation. How can one return such pure love? How can one measure up, protecting the pristine nature of the exchange? Clearly, without grace, one would simply drift away, such would be the hopelessness of the situation. To protect the relationship, Christ infuses into His beloved puffs of pure love through an action of the Holy Spirit. There is no limit to the amount of growth possible in love, even while we remain on earth."
Lay apostles, the minute you begin to think any good produced by your actions is a pat on your back, stop and thank Jesus for the graces He allowed to flow through you to others. Ego is a difficult beast to tame, but once you acknowledge it and see it for what it is, you will begin to give Jesus the recognition of which He is so deserving.
Thank you, Lord, for keeping my ego in check at all times. Please continue to nudge me in the right direction when it starts to peek its ugly head!
God bless,
Bonnie
In today's Gospel (Matthew 8:18-22), Jesus teaches us to put Him above all else:
When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other shore. A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.”
In Anne a lay apostle's book Lessons in Love, she inspires us to recognize God's Love is endless:
"There will always be those in our lives who give us the feeling that we are trying to love a cactus plant. If we get too close, we get hurt. Jesus experiences this, too, of course, with each one of us to different degrees at different times in our lives. The Lover, Jesus Christ, feels the pain of His beloved acutely, suffering with us the pains of our humanity. How baffling for Him, humanly speaking, to be rejected, and yet how patiently He awaits acceptance. His whole presence in each relationship could be viewed, among many other things, as a study in patience. We, the beloved ones, entertain so rarely the truth of the constant gaze of love that follows our every breath. This is perhaps a blessing because when the strength of the Lover’s gaze is remotely understood, the beloved one can feel helplessly inadequate in the love equation. How can one return such pure love? How can one measure up, protecting the pristine nature of the exchange? Clearly, without grace, one would simply drift away, such would be the hopelessness of the situation. To protect the relationship, Christ infuses into His beloved puffs of pure love through an action of the Holy Spirit. There is no limit to the amount of growth possible in love, even while we remain on earth."
Lay apostles, the minute you begin to think any good produced by your actions is a pat on your back, stop and thank Jesus for the graces He allowed to flow through you to others. Ego is a difficult beast to tame, but once you acknowledge it and see it for what it is, you will begin to give Jesus the recognition of which He is so deserving.
Thank you, Lord, for keeping my ego in check at all times. Please continue to nudge me in the right direction when it starts to peek its ugly head!
God bless,
Bonnie
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