Gospel Thoughts Today: Be Grateful Today

Beware of people who are rude to waiters/servers! The advice I wish I had been given at a much younger age. In my pharmaceutical days as a Medical Liaison, I had a boss who treated servers as if they were idiots. I dreaded going out to eat when together as a group. I always found myself trying to make up for his poor behavior by complementing the server (and, I really didn't want to consume anyone else's spit other than my own!). A former waitress in my high school days, I was treated similarly at times. Well, I won't divulge what ended up in, uh, coffee or a salad. ;-) Terrible on my part but such satisfaction at the time. Maybe that's why I am so grateful for anyone serving me. It's a tough job and we don't walk in any other shoes but our own. What about when we are on the receiving end of the rudeness from a server? Not my monkey, not my circus! I can choose to either be rude back or let it go and remain focused on the joy of being a Christian . . . which requires a lot of forgiveness in certain situations and at a moment's notice. I am not perfect, but the more I see through the eyes of Jesus, the more tolerant I automatically become.

Today's Gospel (Luke 7:1-10) finds Jesus amazed by a man's great faith and love of his servant:

When Jesus had finished all his words to the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die, and he was valuable to him. When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave. They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, "He deserves to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us." And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the crowd following him, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." When the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

In the June 2012 Monthly Message, Jesus lovingly acknowledges His lay apostles' commitment to furthering His Kingdom:

"I am pleased when I see holiness increasing in My friends and this increase in holiness is what gives Me hope for the Church. Yes, I am urging My followers toward sacrifice and service and many of you are answering with your whole hearts. You, listening to My words and allowing them to change you, are giving Me great hope. With this hope I push on into the world, confident, that while some resist change, others embrace it. Yes, change is happening, most especially in the heart of every committed apostle. You are becoming holier. As you are becoming holier, My Church is becoming holier. Apostles, hear this call with all seriousness. I, Jesus, have everything needed to advance the Church into greater unity. And I, Jesus, can do this as quickly as you will allow Me. Find Me in your soul in each moment you are questioning your role in the Kingdom. I will direct you."

Lay apostles, be thankful to those who serve us.  From the waitress serving you coffee to the mechanic fixing your brakes to the dentist filling your tooth.  We all serve in some capacity, don't we?  Serve unconditionally for love of Christ. Every kind gesture made shines His Light in a dark world. What service can you provide in the name of Jesus Christ today?

Thank you, Lord, for changing my perspective of how I view others/situations to more resemble Yours. Please give me a nudge when I am seeing through worldly eyes!

God bless,
Bonnie

Gospel Thoughts Today: Be Grateful to Those Who Serve Us

Beware of people who are rude to waiters/servers! The advice I wish I had been given at a much younger age. In my pharmaceutical days as a Medical Liaison, I had a boss at one time who treated servers as if they were idiots. I dreaded going out to eat when we were together as a group. I found myself always trying to make up for his poor behavior by complementing the server (and, I really didn't want to consume anyone else's spit other than my own!). As a former waitress in my high school days, I was treated similarly at times. Well, I won't go into what ended up in, uh, coffee or a salad? ;-) Terrible on my part but such satisfaction at the time. Maybe that's why I am so grateful for anyone serving me. It's a tough job and we don't walk in any other shoes but our own. What about when we are on the receiving end of the rudeness from a server? Not my monkey, not my circus! I can choose to either be rude back or let it go and remain focused on the joy of being a Christian . . . which requires a lot of forgiveness in certain situations and at a moment's notice. I am not perfect, but the more I see through the eyes of Jesus, the more tolerant I automatically become.

Today's Gospel (Luke 7:1-10) finds Jesus amazed by a man's great faith and love of his servant:

When Jesus had finished all his words to the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die, and he was valuable to him. When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave. They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, "He deserves to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us." And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the crowd following him, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." When the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

In the June 2012 Monthly Message, Jesus lovingly acknowledges His lay apostles' commitment to furthering His Kingdom:

"I am pleased when I see holiness increasing in My friends and this increase in holiness is what gives Me hope for the Church. Yes, I am urging My followers toward sacrifice and service and many of you are answering with your whole hearts. You, listening to My words and allowing them to change you, are giving Me great hope. With this hope I push on into the world, confident, that while some resist change, others embrace it. Yes, change is happening, most especially in the heart of every committed apostle. You are becoming holier. As you are becoming holier, My Church is becoming holier. Apostles, hear this call with all seriousness. I, Jesus, have everything needed to advance the Church into greater unity. And I, Jesus, can do this as quickly as you will allow Me. Find Me in your soul in each moment you are questioning your role in the Kingdom. I will direct you."

Lay apostles, be thankful to those who serve us.  From the waitress serving you coffee to the mechanic fixing your brakes to the dentist filling your tooth.  We all serve in some capacity, don't we?  Serve unconditionally for love of Christ. Every kind gesture made shines His Light on a dark world. What can you do today to serve another? 

Thank you, Lord, for changing my perspective to more and more resemble Yours. Give me a nudge when I am seeing through worldly eyes!

God bless,
Bonnie

A Solid Foundation

Time with my grandson Colton is very precious to me . . . especially since I don't watch him during the week anymore (his baby sister was born in September!). A few nights ago I got this bundle of love for a few hours while mommy, daddy and baby sister did some running around. We decided to take his wagon out for a lap around the neighborhood. I loaded him into the wagon (along with around 5 of his favorite toy cars) and off we went. He is putting sentences together so well now, we actually had a conversation! As we strolled along, we discussed the yellow car, blue car, and black truck in the driveways we passed. He wanted to go out on the dock which stretches over a small lake in our neighborhood to see if we could find any alligators, fish, ducks, or birds. As I knelt down next to him while we peered through the wood planks of the dock trying to spot a fish, I saw this baby boy holding on to me and began thanking Our Lord for an opportunity of experiencing this little piece of heaven on earth. My heart was overflowing with love and gratefulness for the solid foundation God has instilled in me over the years. I vowed to make sure my little bubba (and our other three precious gifts from God) have the same solidity with Him, too. 

Todays Gospel (Matthew 7: 21, 24-27) is plain and simple . . . don't just say you are a Christian, act like one:

Jesus said to his disciples: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.  The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house.  But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.  And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand.  The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house.  And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

In Volume Two, Jesus reminds us how we must work and serve in union with Him:

"My children, I would like you to become dependable friends to Me. I want to rely on you. You are wondering what that means so I will tell you. It is true, I am walking with you. I am sharing your life and worries. Your business is My business and I help you with everything. No detail is too small for you to share with Me and seek assistance. You find
Me there, always. You know I never leave you. You are only being wise to have this confidence in Me, My child, because it is a confidence that rests on the rock of truth. I am that rock and I am that truth. In the same way, with every allowance made for both your frail humanity and your earthly duties, I want you to walk with Me. I would like to know that you will come to Me every day in prayer. We begin a journey together and then you disappear from Me. I remain with you, of course. I am your God and will not leave you. But We must finish the work We begin. Do not be haphazard about your time with Me. You are busy and I understand because it is often I who have given you your duties. But if you do not have time to pray to Me, there is something amiss in your life and I want it sorted out immediately. I need you. You are My friend and I need My friends to be faithful right now. So do not come and go anymore. Please, stay united to Me so that We can work together on the tasks left undone by others. My child, you must understand that when you come to Me in prayer, if only for a moment, I am consoled. My
heart is comforted, which allows Me to give you untold graces, of course, but also, your prayer allows Me to soften My justice toward others who never seek Me. When you meet Me face to face, you will see clearly every happiness you have caused Me. I need you and so appreciate any fidelity offered to Me."

Lay apostles, what does your faith foundation look like? Is it solid like a rock, just a sandy mess, or somewhere in between? It's never too late to begin building a strong, solid relationship with Christ. Jesus gives perfect directions in the quote above from Volume Two. Go to Him in prayer . . . bring comfort to Our Savior and He will shower you with graces galore!

Thank you, Lord, for the solid foundation You have developed within me through this apostolate. I pray my faith brings Your Precious Heart at least a little comfort!

God bless,
Bonnie