Salvation

A Louisiana farmer's favorite mule fell into a well. After studying the situation, the farmer came to the conclusion that he couldn't pull the mule out, so he might as well bury him. It would be the humane thing to do. So he got a truckload of dirt, backed up to the well, and dumped the dirt on top of the mule at the bottom of the well. But when the dirt hit the mule, it started snorting and tramping. As it tramped, it began to work itself up on top of the dirt. So the farmer continued to pour dirt in the well until the mule snorted and tramped its way to the top. It then walked away, a dirtier - but wiser - mule. What was intended to bury it turned out to be its salvation.

Measuring

We are each so much more than what some reduce to measuring.

Our society places great emphasis on how well each person is doing. It makes us judgmental and competitive. As children we may have thought that our real value was measured by the grades we got in school or the scores of our soccer games or baseball games. As grown-ups we continue measuring our worth by things like the size of our wages, the model of the car we drive.

We can't stop the measuring, but we are in a faith that helps us step outside this system. We seek to know and do the will of our Lord and Savior, which is beyond the limitations of such measurements. Submitting our own will to our Lord releases us from the competition and the judgments in these games of measurement. Our loyalties are to values like honesty, respect, peace, and wholeness. Today, let us remember that our value isn't measured on a human-made scale.

Surrender

One of the best ways of understanding surrender is this:

If you’re doing anything that moves you away from God – no matter what it is, no matter  how good it feels, no matter how much you like it – stop it!

If you’re with anyone who moves you away from God – no matter who it is – change the relationship!  Leave if you must.

If you’re in a place that moves you away from God, leave.  Get out of there!

No matter what or who or where or when – whatever moves you away from God, change it!

On the other hand, if something brings you closer to God, it is holy. Do more of it.  If someone brings you closer to God, they are holy.  See more of them.  A place that brings you closer to God is a holy place.  Go there more often.

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today’s gospel, a continuation of Matthew 16 that we began last week, shows Peter falling out of grace before he had any time to settle in. Last Sunday we heard in St. Paul’s letter to the Romans 11:33-36, that God’s judgments are “inscrutable” and God’s ways “unsearchable.” St. Paul asks: “who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor”? In today’s gospel, Jesus rebukes Peter because he is “thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." Of course, none of us can think exactly like God, not even Peter 

Last week Peter was the hero of the gospel. His confession of faith earned him a new name, Rock, the rock on which Jesus planned to build his church. This week Peter is still a rock, however, he is now a stumbling block, an “obstacle” to Jesus and his mission. Like Jeremiah in the first reading, Peter, who received Jesus’ blessing last week, now finds himself heaped with “derision and reproach.” Although Peter recognized Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” he could not comprehend the reality of the cross. He was thinking in terms of a champion King, a triumphant Messiah, not a suffering servant. He did not understand that Jesus’ victory could only come through sacrifice, suffering, death and resurrection. 

Jesus told the disciples repeatedly that there is a cost to discipleship. Just as he had to take up the cross and die in order to fulfill his mission, the disciples had to be willing to deny themselves and take up their crosses in order to follow him. They had to clear away their very human mental and physical stumbling blocks so they could carry on the mission of Jesus and build the Kingdom here. We have to do the same. Jesus reminds us that we will be held accountable, “For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay all according to his conduct.” 

Father, Help us to seek the values 

that will bring us lasting joy in this changing world. 

In our desire for what you promise, 

make us one in mind and heart. 

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, 

One God, forever and ever. 

Amen 

Train Ride

At birth we boarded the train and met our parents, and believed they would always travel at our side. However, at some station our parents will step down from the train, leaving us on this journey alone. As time goes by, other people will board the train; and they will be significant i.e. Our siblings, friends, Children, and even the love of our life.

Many will step down and leave a permanent vacuum. Others will go so unnoticed that we don't realize that they vacated their seats!

This train ride will be full of joy, sorrow, fantasy, expectations, hellos, good-byes, and farewells.

Success consists of having a good relationship with all passengers requiring that we give the best of ourselves. The mystery to everyone is: We do not know at which station we ourselves will step down. So, we must live in the best way - love, forgive, and offer the best of who we are.

It is important to do this because when the time comes for us to step down and leave our seat empty - we should leave behind beautiful memories for those who will continue to travel on the train of life.

What's in Your Cup?

You're holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you, making you spill your coffee everywhere. Why did you spill your coffee? You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup. Had there been tea in your cup, you would have spilled tea.

The point is whatever is inside the cup, is what will spill out. Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you (which will happen), whatever is inside you will come out. It’s easy to fake it, until you get rattled.

So, we have to ask ourselves, “What’s in my cup?” When life gets tough, what spills out? Joy, gratefulness, peace and humility? Or does anger, bitterness, harsh words and reactions come out? You choose!

Today, let’s work towards filling our cups with gratitude, forgiveness, joy, words of affirmation, kindness, gentleness and love for others.

God's Will

God gives us choices – it's God’s will that we should have free choices. Maybe God doesn’t have the same control issues we do. God’s will for us is to make wise and healthy and loving choices. Abundant Grace accompanies gift of free will. We call that “the power to carry it out”. God still leaves it up to us to accept the Grace and to accept God’s will. The consequence of not accepting the Grace is known as an “unmanageable life.”

Shortcomings

Search out shortcomings and correct them. ~Anonymous

One of the hardest things to do is to look at our own shortcomings when we are angry at someone. It seems impossible to believe at such times that something may be wrong with us. This is the reason we are so often instructed to count to ten. When we find ourselves so out of sorts, so internally disrupted, there is usually something wrong with us.

It is our first obligation to take care of ourselves. It is out of love for ourselves that we withdraw and take a spot check inventory. The spot check inventory does not demean or humiliate us. On the contrary, the purpose is to speak with God briefly, check our vital signs, and clean out our connections.

I always need my connection with God. Nothing works without a clear, clean, strong, conscious contact with my Savior.​

Seeking

We are told that St. Francis used to spend whole nights praying the same prayer: “Who are you, God? And who am I?” Evelyn Underhill claims it’s almost the perfect prayer. The abyss of your own soul and the abyss of the nature of God have opened up, and you are falling into both of them simultaneously. Now you are in a new realm of Mystery and grace, where everything good happens!

Notice how the prayer of Francis is not stating anything but just asking open-ended questions. It is the humble, seeking, endless horizon prayer of the mystic that is offered out of complete trust. You know that such a prayer will be answered, because there has already been a previous answering, a previous epiphany, a previous moment where the ground opened up and you knew you were in touch with infinite mystery and you knew you were yourself infinite mystery. You only ask such grace-filled questions, or any question for that matter, when they have already begun to be answered!

Growing Up

 

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

To describe someone or something as rock solid implies firm, sound, dependable, trustworthy and reliable.  In the Old Testament God is described as “the Rock of Israel (Gen 49:24),” and an “eternal Rock” (Is 26:4). God is “the righteous and faithful rock” (Deut 32:4) and “our rock, in whom there is no wrong" (Ps 92:16). Jesus describes himself as a rock. He is “the stone the builders rejected” that is now the “cornerstone” (Matt 21:42) on which our faith is built. When Jesus pronounces that Simon is now Peter, petros which means rock, he gives Peter the greatest of compliments.

 Peter clearly was not the smartest disciple. His erratic behavior got him in lots of trouble with Jesus and probably everyone else. However, Peter had tremendous faith. His declaration that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” catapulted him into a leadership position he did not seek. This “confession of faith” made Peter the first and founding member of the church that he and the other disciples would build. Peter’s faith earned him the trust and confidence of Jesus. Recognizing Peter’s special strengths, Jesus followed his own advice and “built his house on rock” (Matt. 7:24). 

 St. Peter, himself, tells us that Jesus’ house is built with more than one stone. The church is built of living stones, “chosen and precious in the sight of God” (1 Peter 2:4). We are the living stones “built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).  In his Letter to the Ephesians St. Paul reminds us that Jesus is the cornerstone of the household of God and “through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:21-22). 

God, well-spring of all wisdom, 

and source of every insight, 

you inspired Simon Peter to confess 

that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. 

On this rock of faith, you have built your church. 

Pour out your Spirit in abundance, 

that all may join in this profession, 

and become living stones 

standing firm upon the one foundation, 

which is our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, 

who lives and reigns with you 

in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 

God for ever and ever. 

AMEN

God Bless You!

It was said that during the plague of AD 590, Pope Gregory ordered unceasing prayer for divine intercession.

Part of his command was that anyone sneezing be blessed immediately, God bless you, since sneezing was often the first sign that someone was falling ill with the plague.

By AD 750, it became customary to say God bless you as a response to one sneezing. 

And may God Bless you this day. 

Amen.​

Never Grow Weary

In the Second Letter to the Thessalonians, Paul ends a long, challenging admonition by stating: You must never grow weary of doing what is right.

All of us experience tension in our lives: tension in our families, tension in our friendships, tension in our places of work, tension in our churches, tension in our communities, and tension within our conversations around other people, politics, and current events. And, being good-hearted people, we carry that tension with patience, respect, graciousness, and forbearance – for a while!

Then, at a certain point we feel ourselves stretched to the limit, grow weary of doing what is right, feel something snap inside of us, and hear some inner-voice say: Enough! I’ve put up with this too long! I won’t tolerate this anymore!

And we let go. We let go of patience, respect, graciousness, and forbearance, either by venting and giving back in kind or simply by fleeing the situation with an attitude of good riddance. Either way, we refuse to carry the tension any longer.

Mature parents put up with a lot of tension in raising their children. Mature teachers put up with a lot of tension in trying to open the minds and hearts of their students. Mature friends absorb a lot of tension in remaining faithful to each other.

Men and women are noble of character precisely when they can walk with patience, respect, graciousness, and forbearance amid crushing and unfair tensions, when they never grow weary of doing what is right.

But all of this will not be easy. It’s the way of long loneliness, with many temptations to let go and slip away. But, if we persevere and never grown weary of doing what is right, at our funeral, those who knew us will be blessed and grateful that we continued to believe in them even when for a time they had stopped believing in themselve​s.

Mahatma Gandhi

 

Ability

 

It's Okay

Some of us have been through an awful lot. We have endured pain and hopelessness. Now we have some choices to make. We can allow our pasts to make us feel badly about ourselves or we can sing after the storm. We can feel proud that we are not giving up, we are not willing to be destroyed.

The past won't change, and the bad things won't magically go away. But we can learn to move forward.

We can put the past where it belongs, close enough so we'll never forget, and far enough away so we don't give it all of our attention. The sun doesn't just make rainbows for other people; they're for us too.

Today let me tell myself that it's okay to feel good about myself.​

A Christian Prayer in Union with Creation

Father, we praise you with all your creatures.
They came forth from your all-powerful hand;
they are yours, filled with your presence and your tender love.
Praise be to you!

Son of God, Jesus,
through you all things were made.
You were formed in the womb of Mary our Mother,
you became part of this earth,
and you gazed upon this world with human eyes.
Today you are alive in every creature
in your risen glory.
Praise be to you!

Holy Spirit, by your light
you guide this world towards the Father’s love
and accompany creation as it groans in travail.
You also dwell in our hearts
and you inspire us to do what is good.
Praise be to you!

Triune Lord, wondrous community of infinite love,
teach us to contemplate you
in the beauty of the universe,
for all things speak of you.
Awaken our praise and thankfulness
for every being that you have made.
Give us the grace to feel profoundly joined
to everything that is.

God of love, show us our place in this world
as channels of your love
for all the creatures of this earth,
for not one of them is forgotten in your sight.
Enlighten those who possess power and money
that they may avoid the sin of indifference,
that they may love the common good, advance the weak,
and care for this world in which we live.

The poor and the earth are crying out.
O Lord, seize us with your power and light,
help us to protect all life,
to prepare for a better future,
for the coming of your Kingdom
of justice, peace, love and beauty.
Praise be to you!

Amen​

by Pope Francis

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today I want to write about two women of great courage and faith, the Canaanite woman we read about in today's gospel from Matthew 15:21-28 and our Blessed Mother who we honored yesterday, August 15, in the Solemnity of the Assumption.  These two dramatically different women demonstrated an astounding courage that defied social mores, rigid class structures and intolerance.  By their acts of faith, both women serve as prophetic role models for us.  Their humble faith affirms that God's abundant mercy and love extends to "all people who join themselves to the LORD, ministering to him, Loving the name of the LORD, and becoming his servants..."(Isaiah 56:6).

The woman in today's gospel was a Gentile and as a Canaanite, she was an ancestral enemy of the Jews. Observant Jews regarded Canaanites as idolaters and ritually unclean. Of course, being a woman didn't help matters.  She had no business approaching Jesus about anything.  But she did because she recognized that there was something extraordinary about Jesus.  Her great love for her sick daughter gave her courage and compelled her to approach Jesus even when she knew he might reject her.  Not only did Jesus reject her, he insulted her, calling her a dog.  However, the power of her love, her quick wit, humility, persistence and great faith carried the day.  Jesus responded to her plea and healed her daughter.

Our Blessed Mother presents another example of courage and faith that inspires and challenges us.  On the Feast of the Assumption, we celebrate the faith of a woman who accepted the challenge God put before her.  She is an example of what human life can achieve when touched by the grace of God.  Like many mothers, she gave a child to the world while remaining unaware of the details of God’s plan.  We should not think that because The Blessed Virgin Mary was free from sin her life was without struggles.  She was subject to the same suffering, doubt and anguish that we all face.  Like her son, she shared all our problems and difficulties showing us the value of patience amidst our own trials, by turning sorrow and trouble into hope and joy.

What God willed for Mary; God wills for all of us.  In sending his Son into our world and by making us his adopted sons and daughters God wanted to share the very best of Himself with us.  Like our Blessed Mother, God calls each of us to welcome Jesus and to make room for him in our lives.  She teaches us what it means to abandon ourselves completely to God’s will and to be fully at God's disposal.  We are fortunate to call Mary our mother and to claim her as a model of faith to imitate to the best of our ability. 

Lord our God, 

you took Mary up into heaven

with her body as well as with her soul, 

to share in the definitive triumph over death

of Jesus, your Son, 

because on earth she humbly served your plans

as the first of those who believe.

Grant us her attitude

of trusting openness to your will, 

that you may overcome evil and death in us

and lead us safely with Mary

into your everlasting joy.

We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Amen

 

Six Short Stories

{1} Once all villagers decided to pray for rain, on the day of prayer all the people gathered, but only one boy came with an umbrella.
That's FAITH

{2} When you throw a baby in the air, she laughs because she knows you will catch her.
That's TRUST

{3} Every night we go to bed, without any assurance of being alive the next morning but still we set the alarms to wake up.
That's HOPE

{4} We plan big things for tomorrow in spite of zero knowledge of the future.
That's CONFIDENCE

{5} We see the world suffering, but still we get married and have children.
That's LOVE

{6} On an old man's shirt was written a sentence “I am not 91 years old ... I am sweet 16 with 75 years’ experience.”
That's ATTITUDE

Have a great day and may you live your life like the six short stories! May our Lord watch over you and may you always have love to share, health to spare & friends who care!​

Grace

A story is told about Fiorello LaGuardia, who, when he was mayor of New York City during the worst days of the Depression and all of World War 2, was called by adoring New Yorkers, "the Little Flower" because he was only five foot four and always wore a carnation in his lapel. He was a colorful character who used to ride the NY City fire trucks, raid speakeasies with the police department, take entire orphanages to baseball games, and whenever the NY newspapers were on strike, he would go on the radio and read the Sunday funnies to the kids.

One bitterly cold night in January of 1935, the mayor turned up at a night court that served the poorest ward of the city. LaGuardia dismissed the judge for the evening and took over the bench himself. Within a few minutes, a tattered old woman was brought before him, charged with stealing a loaf of bread. She told LaGuardia that her daughter's husband had deserted her, her daughter was sick, and her two grandchildren were starving. But the shopkeeper from whom the bread was stolen, refused to drop the charges. "It's a bad neighborhood, your Honor," the man told the mayor. "She's got to be punished to teach other people around here a lesson."

LaGuardia sighed. He turned to the woman and said, "I've got to punish you. The law makes no exceptions--ten dollars or ten days in jail." But even as he pronounced sentence, the mayor was already reaching into his pocket. He extracted a bill and tossed it into his famous sombrero saying: "Here is the ten dollar fine which I now remit; and furthermore I am going to fine everyone in this courtroom fifty cents for living in a town where a person has to steal bread so that her grandchildren can eat. Mr Bailiff, collect the fines and give them to the defendant."

So the following day the NY City newspapers reported that $47.50 was turned over to a bewildered old lady who had stolen a loaf of bread to feed her starving grandchildren, fifty cents of that amount being contributed by the red-faced grocery store owner, while some seventy petty criminals, people with traffic violations, and NY City policemen, each of whom had just paid fifty cents for the privilege of doing so, gave the mayor a standing ovation.

What an extraordinary moment of grace for anyone present in that courtroom!​

Margaret Mead

Paradox of Surrender

Perhaps the greatest paradox in the story of spirituality is the mystical insight that we are able to experience release only if we ourselves let go. This is the paradox of surrender. Surrender begins with the acceptance that we are not in control of the matter at hand—in fact, we are not in absolute control of anything. Thus the experience of surrender involves the “letting in” of reality that becomes possible when we are ready to let go of our illusions and pretensions.

If surrender is the act of “letting go,” the experience of conversion can be understood as the hinge on which that act swings—it is the turning point, the turning from “denial” as a way of seeing things to acceptance of the reality revealed in surrender.

The experiencing of release most frequently comes at the point of exhaustion, at the moment when we “give up” our efforts and thus permit ourselves to just be.

What blocks Release more than anything else is the refusal to “let go” that comes from the demand for security, for certainty, for assured results. Release, like spirituality itself, requires risk​.

Guide My Path

Being Overconfident.  

The Smarter a man is, the more he needs God to protect him from thinking he know everything.  ~George Webb, PIMA

A spiritual person needs to be careful. The more confident we are, the more likely our egos will get us into trouble. It's relatively easy to become self-righteous. We start to think we are teachers and others are students. We start to judge others. We start, very subtly at first, to play God. After a while we really get good at it. This is very dangerous. We need to remind ourselves, we are here to do God's will. We need to pray every morning. Each day we need to check in with God to see what He would have us do. At night we need to spend time with God and review our day. By doing these things, we will stay on track.

Lord Jesus, guide my path and show me how to correct my life.

~ Elder's Meditation of the Day

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God reveals himself to us in many different ways. Some people recognize God in nature; others find God in art or music. Some people find God through prayer, while others find God through scripture and sacrament. Occasionally God reveals his presence to us through our encounters with other people. Our faith teaches us that God is omnipresent. God always is with us. However, in the hustle and bustle of our lives, we often lose sight of God or we forget God is here. In today's readings from 1 Kings 19:9a,11-13a and Matthew 14:22-33 we hear how Elijah, Peter and the disciples found God in moments of fear and crisis.

Elijah was on Mt. Horeb to escape the wrath of Queen Jezebel who wanted to kill him. He first escaped into the desert where he became so despondent that he cried out "this is enough, O LORD! Take my life…” (1 King 19:4). An angel rescued him and sent him on his way. Elijah walked forty days and nights to Mt. Horeb where he hid in a cave. God called Elijah saying, "Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.” Elijah left the cave. But he did not find God in a burning bush like Moses did when he stood on the same mountain. He did not find God in “a strong and heavy wind,” or “crushing rocks,” or “an earthquake.” Elijah encountered God in “a tiny whispering sound.”

In today's gospel Peter and the disciples finally begin to recognize the divine nature of Jesus when they are caught in a violent storm while crossing the Sea of Galilee. In the midst of the storm, the disciples saw Jesus coming "toward them walking on the sea" and they were terrified. They were not afraid of the sea, after all many of them were experienced fisherman. They were afraid of Jesus; they thought he was a ghost. For a reality check, Peter said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water” (Matt. 14:28). Jesus said, “Come,” and Peter jumped into the water, had a moment of doubt, panicked and sank. Jesus rescued him, and pulled him in the boat. Then the wind died down and the sea became calm. The disciples were astounded and "did him homage, saying, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God’” (Matt. 14:33).

Where we find God is not important. What is important is that we find God, that we recognize God, that we acknowledge the presence of God in our lives and that we live our lives knowing that God is with us in every moment of every day. If we can live like this, we have no cause for fear or worry and we can fulfill our mission to build the Kingdom.

God our Father,

we believe in you, in your love and in your care.

But you know our faith is often tried

by doubt, uncertainty and fear.

Make our faith strong enough to believe

that your Son Jesus is with us always.

Give us the courage to come across the water with him

to commit ourselves to you and to others.

Even though we do not see his hand 

reaching out to us and holding us,

give us enough trusting faith to be certain 

that with him we shall overcome.

Build up your kingdom among us,

until Jesus leads us across to you,

our God for ever and ever.

Amen

You Can't be All Things to All People

You can't be all things to all people.
You can't do all things at once.
You can't do all things equally well.
You can't do all things better than everyone else.
Your humanity is showing just like everyone else's.

SO ...
You have to find out who you are, and be that.
You have to decide what comes first, and do that.
You have to discover your strengths, and use them.
You have to learn not to compete with others,
Because no one else is in the contest of "being you."

THEN ...
You will have learned to accept your own uniqueness.
You will have learned to set priorities and make decisions.
You will have learned to live with your limitations.
You will have learned to give yourself the respect that is due,
And you'll be a most vital mortal.

DARE TO BELIEVE ...
That you are a wonderful, unique person.
That you are a once-in-all-history event.
That it's more than a right, it's your duty, to be who you are.
That life is not a problem to solve, but a gift to cherish.
And you'll be able to stay one up on what used to get you down​.

Four Things

Feast of St. John Vianney

St. John Vianney pray for us!

In July 2016 in France, a priest was murdered by Islamic terrorists during Mass. Fr. Jacques Hamel was 86 years old; a thin, small man with white, wispy hair, hollow cheeks and hooded eyes. It is thought-provoking to compare this French priest’s appearance to another French priest who lived and died nearly 160 years ago; one who also had a diminutive frame, shrunken face, deep-set eyes, silvery hair—and a holy death. Four years after the passing of this parish priest as he celebrated Mass, the Church celebrates the passing of the patron saint of parish priests, Jean Baptiste Marie Vianney. St. Jean Vianney knew the storms of evil that beset man, and combatted them valiantly and victoriously despite their terrors. Considering present times and present terrors, the Curé of Ars stands out as a saint whose patronage is as needed today all over the world as it was in his own day in his little village of Ars to show the way to heaven​.

Courage

Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is that little voice at the end of the day that says: “I'll try again tomorrow.”

~ Anne Hunninghake

A key quality that distinguishes a successful athlete, or a top-notch performer in any field, is the way he responds to his bad days. Everyone has good days and bad days, and the good ones are certainly easier to handle. But do we allow the bad ones to throw us off our course? Are we so shaken by our mistakes or troubles that we lose our focus on our goals?

Adult development is a process; it's never an end goal that we reach and hold. Our healing and recovery includes preparing ourselves to respond well to the bad days. We can do that by keeping our eye on the big picture, knowing that however bad things may seem at the moment, they will change. We learn to reach deep into our spiritual center for the courage to stay focused in the midst of our hardest days. We don't have to do it alone. We have the spiritual support of our Higher Power and the companionship of our friends to keep us on the path.

Today I will stay in touch with my spiritual center to find the courage for another day.

God's Watching You

We’ve all heard the ominous warning, “God’s watching you.”

Maybe that’s true, but not in the way you were taught. God really can’t take His eyes off of you – He loves you that much. You’re that precious.

God never loves you less – no matter what.
God doesn’t love you as you should be, could be, ought to be.
God just loves you as you are.
It’s easier to focus on rules, to focus on “earning” God’s love.

Everything we do is in response to God’s love – not to earn it.
God sees in you a reflection of His own Love. A reflection that’s different than anyone else who’s ever lived.

When we look at our reflection, we see the blemishes – 
All the things we aren’t.
That’s not what God sees!
He can see the blemishes, too, But that’s not what He looks at. 
He sees his beautiful child that He loves.

We don’t want to be a lot of things we’ve become, but we are.

We need Compassion – for owning our own humanness and loving others who are human too.

Humility

Humility has nothing to do with depreciating ourselves and our gifts in ways we know to be untrue. Even humble attitudes can be masks for pride.

Humility is that freedom from our self which enables us to be in positions in which we have neither recognition nor importance, neither power nor validity, and even experience deprivation and yet have joy and delight.

It is the freedom of knowing that we are not at the center of our universe, not even in the center of our own private universe.