Temptation

“Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life.” James 1:12

The old word for addiction was temptation.

“My temptation is quiet.” (William Butler Yeats)

“I can resist everything except temptation.” (Oscar Wilde)

“Lead us not into temptation.” (Jesus)

You Have to Go to Church

A mother woke her son up on Sunday morning and told him he needed to get ready to go to church. The son replied to his mother that he didn't want to go to church this morning. She told him nonsense he should get up and go to church.

"But mom" he replied, "Everybody hates me, the sermons are boring and none of my friends ever come."

His mother replied, "Now, son...! First, everybody doesn't hate you, there are only a couple of bullies and you just have to stand up to them. Second, the sermons mean a lot to many people. If you listened to them, you'd be surprised at how good they are in helping people. Third, you have lots of friends at church. They are always having you over to their house. And finally, you have to go, because you're the priest!

Grace

Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the empty valley of a meaningless and empty life. It strikes us when, year after year, the longed for perfection of life does not appear, when the old compulsions reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage.

Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks through our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying, “You are accepted. You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you and the name of which you do not know.

Do not ask for the name now, perhaps you will know it later.

Do not try to do anything, perhaps later you will do much.
Do not seek for anything,
Do not perform anything,
Do not intend anything.

Simply accept the fact you are accepted.”

If that happens to us, we experience grace.

Learning

Many of us, when we are young, spend a portion of our lives in learning. Unfortunately, some of us spend this time learning the hard way. When we are young we sometimes think we know everything. Sometimes we do foolish things. As we get a little older, we realize we don't know anything. This is when we become teachable. There is a saying that goes, when the student is ready, the teacher appears. We usually aren't teachable unless we are ready. The Saints are waiting and willing to help. When we are ready, many beautiful teachers start to come into our lives. Then we really start to grow and mature. We are ready for the spiritual lesson.

Prayer for Anxiety & Worry

Dear Loving Lord,

I am feeling stress,

I am worried.

Too many things

Occupy my mind.

Won’t you help me?

Show me, Lord

Your order.

And your plans

Are eternal.

Let me trust

In you alone.

Your word tells me

Where there is love,

Drives out all fear.

Let me be filled

With your love

That tells me

I am not condemned,

But I am saved.

I can do all things

Through you.

You strengthen me.

In Jesus name,

Amen.​

Paid in Full

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry.

He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water.

She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?” “You don’t owe me anything,” she replied, “Mother has taught us never to accept payment for a kindness.”

He said “Then I thank you from my heart.”

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt; stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Years later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.

Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval.

He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally, she looked, and something caught her attention on the side as she read these words: "Paid in full with one glass of milk.”

(Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly.

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: “Thank You, GOD, that Your love has spread abroad through human hearts and hands.”

Silent Tear

 

Never too Late

Katharine Hepburn once said, "Life is hard. After all, it kills you." And it can kill you early if you don't figure out how to change. Let me explain.

The expression "turning over a new leaf" refers to turning pages of a book. Just as the plot of a novel changes from page to page, people, too, can change their lives. Indeed they have to if they are to live well.

I enjoy reading about ancient cultures. And it occurs to me that most of the old civilizations are gone. Some have left little behind except ruins and rubble. What happened? Where are the people, their music and ideas? Why are they nothing more today than a collection of stones visited by tourists and curious historians?

The answer, of course, is not the same the world over. But Arnold Toynbee, in his work The Study of History (1987), says that the great lesson of history is this: civilizations that changed when confronted with challenges thrived. Those that did not change died. In other words, when life got hard, it killed off those who didn't make needed changes. The key to survival is often about "change."

And what about us? What about you and me? It's good to accept ourselves as we are, but when an unhealthy attitude or a destructive behavior gets in the way, when we wish we could change something about ourselves, we had better change. People who embrace change thrive; those who resist it die.

If you have been waiting for a sign to make that needed change, this may be it. I am convinced that it is never too late to be the person you might have been. It's never too late to be happy. It's never too late to do something different or to do something better. It's never too late to change a habit. It's never too late to live.

Begin making that necessary change today. Then tomorrow, and every tomorrow thereafter, can truly be different.

Macree

A veterinarian, had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish wolfhound named Macree. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were very attached to Macree and they were hoping for a miracle.

She examined Macree and found he was dying of cancer. She told the family there were no miracles left for Macree, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. As they made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told the doctor they thought it would be good for the four-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, the doctor felt that familiar catch in her throat as Macree’s family surrounded her. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that she wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Macree slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Macree's transition without any difficulty or confusion.

As they sat together for a while after Macree's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."

Startled, they all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned them. They had never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The four-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply, Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

3rd Sunday of Lent

For the next three Sundays the Gospel readings focus on three of the major themes of Lent: repentance (today), reconciliation (4th Sunday of Lent) and forgiveness (5th Sunday of Lent). The call to repentance, a recurring subject in Jesus’ preaching, appears throughout the Gospels: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel"(Mark 1: 15). And when Jesus talks about repentance he means absolute and total conversion.

In today’s Gospel, Luke 13: 1-9, Jesus confronts the question, why do bad things happen to people? Why did Pilate kill and desecrate Jews from Galilee? Jesus counters with the question “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans?” What about “the eighteen people who died when the tower Siloam fell on them”? He tells his questioners “if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did”! At first reading Jesus’ response seems very harsh. All of us are going to die. Does Jesus mean that if we do not repent that some calamity will happen to us?

No, Jesus reminds us through these two tragic examples and the parable of the fig tree that God does not judge us on how we die. Rather, God judges us on how we live. A barren fig tree is useless in God’s eyes. However, under the care of a good gardener and with cultivation and fertilizer it has the potential to bear fruit. God wants us to weed out our sinfulness, prune away our bad behavior and free ourselves from anything that might strangle the roots that help us grow in his love. God call us to repent so that we can become productive citizens of the Kingdom. All of us are sinners. Our only hope is repentance, total conversion to new life, through the good news of salvation offered to us by the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And the reason we have to repent now is, as St. Matthew reminds us " you do not know on which day your Lord will come…. be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” (Matt. 24: 42, 44). Lord, help us realize that the cost of being your disciple is big, but the cost of not being one is bigger still.

Patient God, we are reluctant and slow to make the change of heart we need. 

 Give us the time to understand the extent of your mercy and your love, 

 which your Son Jesus showed us in its fullness in his suffering and death. 

 Recognize your own Son in us and accept us in our poverty. 

 Raise us up, and change us, so we may proclaim your persistent love, 

 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

 Amen.

Favorite Prayers

Here are some favorite prayers:

Help.
Please.
Show me.
Guide me.
Change me.
Are you there?
Thank you.

Today, I will tell God what I want to tell God, and listen for God’s answer. I will remember that I can trust God.

St. Joseph, Our Patron of a Happy Death

Man’s necessities and sufferings on earth are many and manifold. One such trial is the lot of all. We all belong to the confraternity of death, just as we all are subject to sin. Death is the sad penalty of sin; no one escapes it.

Death is a hard and bitter lot for our poor nature. Above all it is the end of our corporal, physical life. The intimate union of soul and body that conditions and constitutes our earthly life is dissolved by death. The separation is violent and painful because the body, through weakness and dissolution, abandons the soul and forces it to leave its crumbling dwelling place.

The separation is furthermore a humiliating one because it is a punishment of sin, a sort of execution that separates body and soul, the two guilty associates in sin. The soul is handed over to eternity, the body to the earth, where by degrees it crumbles to dust and becomes something without a name. Death, then, is a bitter trial, a profound humiliation, the most stubborn of struggles, and the keenest of sufferings.

Death, moreover, is not only the end of our earthly life but also the beginning of the life beyond, the entrance into eternity and the commencement of our everlasting, unchangeable destiny, of the nature, greatness, and immensity of which, as regards punishments as well as rewards, we have no adequate concept. Death, finally, is the occasion of our meeting with God, before whom we must appear to be judged, punished or rewarded, justly, strictly, irrevocably, for all eternity.

In a word, to die is a lonely, helpless, and joyless thing. No one of our loved ones can help us. No human hand can penetrate into the inner sanctuary where the last, desperate struggle is being waged. We are alone, all alone. Only Heaven can come to our assistance.

Need For a Patron

At such an hour it is truly an important matter to have a kind patron who will aid and console us, and who can furnish us the means to die a good, edifying, peaceful, and holy death. Hardly a better patron than Saint Joseph could be found, for what deathbed was ever as beautiful as his must have been? All the conditions necessary to render his departure from earth a most happy and consoling one were united there.

The past showed the saint a life of innocence and purity; a life of the most genuine and sublime virtue; a life of untold merit in the service of Jesus, of Mary, of the Church, and of the whole of mankind; a life of labor, fatigue, and suffering, borne in the spirit of patience, of faith, and with the noblest love. This retrospect gave him no cause for regret or fear, but all was full of hope. We learn from his life what his death was. Does not everything combine to render his death not only good, but consoling and even joyful?

Joseph died in the arms of Jesus, his Son and God, and in the arms of Mary; both, especially at that moment, compensated all his endeavors for them with unheard of graces. They were helpers and consolers who not only supported his frail body, but who with powerful, soothing graces refreshed and rejoiced the heart and soul of the dying saint, while the Holy Spirit replenished him with a Heaven of consolation and joy.

The glimpse into the future reveals to our saint his happy meeting with his gloriously risen Son after a short stay in the quiet abode of Limbo, where the saintly souls of the Old Testament awaited their transfiguration; he sees the kingdom of eternal joy, where the Heavenly Father receives his worthy representative and faithful administrator, ministers to him, and sets him over all His treasures (Luke 12:37).

There was something extraordinarily grand and majestic in his departure from life, like the quiet effulgence of the setting sun, which at the end of a day’s work gazes back with rapturous joy on all it has accomplished and quietly sinks to rest in the bosom of God. There exists no more precious masterpiece of grace, no incense more fragrant before the Lord, than the death of a saint (Ps. 115:15).

Seeing Death Anew

Saint Joseph’s death is also a touching and desirable example for us. He can help us to make our death similarly beautiful, and that in a threefold way. First, the example of his passing encourages us not to fear a death in Christ and with Christ, full of faith, hope, and love of Him. The holy protecting powers that hovered near the saint’s deathbed and consoled him are at our command also in the means of grace given us by Mother Church, among these being Christ Himself in holy Viaticum. It was in the shadow of death that Christ had His Cross erected, and now He Himself comes to assist us mightily in our last struggle. With Him and in Him we are to make the last, hard sacrifices. He accepts them mercifully and unites them to His.

Secondly, Saint Joseph helps us to prepare for a good and consoling death by the example of his holy life, which teaches us the proper preparation for dying happily. The last act of our lives must be prepared just as carefully as any other work. Nothing is more certain than death and nothing more important, since at that moment our eternity is decided. Hence it must be prepared for in life and by means of our lives.

Death is not merely the end of life, but the echo of life. Indeed we should not only prepare for death, but should be always in a state of preparation; for death comes soon, quickly, and unexpectedly, and only once. The beautiful life of our saint, his freedom from sin; his pious, devout life; his constant, meritorious self-denial, filled with love for Jesus and Mary, teaches us in what this preparation consists.

Thirdly, Saint Joseph obtains for us a happy, trustful, consoling death by our devotion to him. These pious practices in his honor are so many compacts formed, indeed, in life, but having their efficacious reward and blessing at the hour of death.

Hence, it is well for us frequently to recommend our last hour to Saint Joseph. He will not be wanting in his clients on that important occasion. How happy we shall be to have Saint Joseph close our eyes in death (see Gen. 46:4)!

This article is from a chapter in The Truth About Saint Joseph by Fr. Maurice Meschler

2nd Sunday of Lent

Our Lenten journey together towards hope continues as we leave the desert, temptation and the devil behind and climb a mountain with Jesus, Peter, James and John. Jesus "went up the mountain to pray" (Luke 9:28). While praying, his “face changed in appearance and his clothing became dazzling white” (Luke 9:29). Then Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus and St. Luke implies that they confirmed Jesus’ earlier prediction about his Passion, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised” (Luke 9:22). This is the "exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem"(Luke 9:31). The Transfiguration gave Peter, James and John a glimpse of Jesus’ glory after His passion and resurrection. They actually heard the voice of God say, "This is my chosen Son; listen to him" (Luke 9:35).

For us, reading about the Transfiguration 2000 years after the event, is old news. It is something we take for granted. For Peter, James and John, the Transfiguration was an astounding revelation, one they could not begin to understand. They found the experience so overwhelming that they could not "tell anyone what they had seen" (Luke 9:36). It was only after the death and resurrection of Jesus and the experience of Pentecost that they began to comprehend what took place.

Peter, James and John had a valid excuse for not acting immediately on what they saw and heard. They did not know what was to come. We have the advantage of history. We know the end of the story. We know that Jesus was crucified and we know that three days later he was resurrected in glory and that he joined his Father in Heaven. We also know that by becoming human and by freely suffering death and resurrection, Jesus assured us freedom from sin, the possibility of sanctification and finally, eternal life (Romans 6:22). The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that " the Transfiguration 'is the sacrament of the second regeneration': our own Resurrection. From now on we share in the Lord's Resurrection through the Spirit who acts in the sacraments of the Body of Christ" (CCC 556). St. Paul tells us in today's second reading from Philippians 3:17-4:1, “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” This is a message of hope. Pope Francis tells us in his 2025 Lenten Message for Lent, “sisters and brothers, thanks to God’s love in Jesus Christ, we are sustained in the hope that does not disappoint.”

Great and faithful God,

your presence fills us with awe;

your word gives us unshakable hope.

Fix in our hearts

the image of your Son in glory,

that, sustained on the path of discipleship,

we may pass over with him to newness of life.

Grant this through Christ, our deliverance and hope,

who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God for ever and ever.

AMEN

A Man Walks into a Monastery ...

A man walks into a monastery and says “I want to be monk.”

The abbot replies “Great! But you realize we are not allowed to talk except every ten years.”

The man replies “Fine.”

Ten years go by and the man goes into the abbot’s office. The abbot asks, “Well my son what have you to say.

The man replies “Bed’s hard.”

The abbot remarks, “Is that it?”

The man says, “Yes”.

Another ten years go by and the man goes into the abbot’s office and says, “Food stinks!”

The abbot asks, “Is that it?”

And the man says “Yes.”

Another ten years goes by and the man goes into the abbot’s office and says “Water’s cold. I quit!”

And the abbot replies, “Figures! You’ve been complaining ever since you got here!"

Ask and You Shall Receive

"Ask and you shall receive"- John 16:24

Somewhere in our past life, we may have picked up the idea that it's not all right to ask for help, that asking for help would be a sign of weakness. Spirituality calls for some basic changes in our thinking, when we feel vulnerable that is the best time to reach out and ask for help from the God of Love, from our Church community, and from our friends. It may be hard for us, at first. We may be afraid of rejection, or of being laughed at for not knowing all the answers. But once we've taken the risk and openly asked for help, we realize our fears are a part of the past, and we can leave them behind us.

In asking for help, we acknowledge that we can't do it all by ourselves. We surrender once again to powerlessness. And we give others the joy and satisfaction of helping us. Today if we feel we are on a solo-fight, let us ask God to help us to reach out and find support. “God will put his angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go.” Psalm 91:11

Essential Knowledge

An emperor summoned a man who was thought to be the wisest man in the world. He asked him to write a book of all essential knowledge.

The learned man set to work and twelve years later he offered the emperor a series of books. “It is too much.” said the emperor. “Assemble all essential knowledge into one book.”

The man obeyed and returned four years later with one book. “It is still too much,” said the emperor. “I need to run my empire and I am a very busy man. Write on several pages what you think is really important and then come back to me.’

Again the scholar set to work. After two years he had summarized the essence of his knowledge onto several pages. He gave them to the monarch, who was extremely busy that day and he gave the man a final request: all on one sheet of paper.

The man needed several years to put what he regarded as essential knowledge onto one just sheet of paper. “It is still too much,” the emperor said. ‘I want to make you a proposal: stop writing. Try to concentrate the essence of your knowledge into one word and come and tell me that word. I will pay you well.’

The man retired to an isolated place and thought deeply. When he eventually found the word that represented the essence of all his knowledge, experience, and wisdom, he asked for an audience with the emperor, now an old man. “Have you got the word?” the emperor asked the scholar. “Yes, Majesty. I have found it.” “Come and whisper it into my ear.” said the emperor.

Do you know the secret?

Do you know the Word?

Thanking God

• I want to thank you, God, for what you have done for me. I’m not going to wait to see the results I want or to receive rewards I’d like. I’m thanking you right now.
• I’m not going to wait until I feel better or until things look better. I’m thanking you right now.
• I’m not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop doing what they’re doing. I’m thanking you right now.
• I’m not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears. I’m thanking you right now.
• I’m not waiting until my financial situation is better. I’m thanking you right now.
• I’m not going to wait until my world is quiet and peaceful. I’m thanking you right now.
• I’m not going to wait until I get the job I want or the promotion I’d like. I’m thanking you right now.
• I’m not going to wait until I understand every situation and experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief. I’m going to thank you right now.
• I’m not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed. I’m thanking you right now.
• I’m thanking you because I’m alive.
• I’m thanking you because I made it through another day.
• I’m thanking you because I have walked around difficult obstacles.
• I’m thanking you because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and to do better.
• I’m thanking you because you have not given up on me.
• God is so good – in so many ways – all the time.

It's You!

Make the best use of what is in your power and take the rest as it happens. ~ Epictetus

The one you’ve been waiting for to tell you what to do—it’s you.

You’re the only one who knows what’s right for you in this moment.

The one you’ve been waiting for to fix your problems—it’s you.

You’re the only one who has the power to change what isn’t working.

The one you’ve been waiting for to make the pain go away—it’s you.

Whatever you’re holding onto, only you can let it go.

The one you’ve been waiting for to give you permission—it’s you.

You’re the only one who can decide whether you’ll try or hold yourself back.

The one you’ve been waiting for to love you—it’s you.

You’re the only one who can make you feel beautiful and worthy.

The one you’ve been waiting for to provide something that’s missing—it’s you.

You’re the only one who can create and recognize what’s enough for your happiness.

The one who makes a difference in so many people’s lives—it’s you.

Remember that even when you struggle with some of these things, the world is a better place for having you in it.​

Self Love

"Self-love, my liege, is not so vile a sin as self-neglect."  ~William Shakespeare

We will never achieve a feeling of true safety by seeing our self-image in terms of our character defects. To give our shortcomings such power is to ensure that we will never have enough faith or strength to go forward: we are either condemned to live in the past, trying to change it, or to the future, trying to control it.

The only safety is in the present, affirming the positive qualities we possess. Even if we're in deep sorrow this moment, we can feel safe by appreciating that we have the ability to grieve, which takes courage and passion for life. Appreciating our many good points is a way to counteract the fear that eats away at our security.

There are a number of ways we can affirm our worth. We can write affirmations, ask others for positive support, list our good qualities, and include our progress in recovery in our daily inventory. We deserve to have the freedom that comes from feeling safe within ourselves.

What am I saying to myself right now

"You're a failure" or "You're wonderful, and I love you"?

1st Sunday of Lent

Every year the Holy Father prepares a message for Lent that is extended to all of us for prayer and reflection. And, every year the message has a special theme. For this year, 2025, Pope Francis chose as our Lenten theme, Let us journey together in hope, which is tied to the theme of this Jubilee Year, Pilgrims of Hope. As pilgrims of hope we are on a journey of hope. This is not a journey we take alone. The Holy Father reminds us that, “The church is called to walk together…. Christians are called to walk at the side of others, and never as lone travelers.” The Holy Father is calling us to have faith in “the hope that does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5).

A journey together in hope is a call to conversion. Pope Francis reminds us that “we are all pilgrims in this life.” We are “wayfarers.” He asks us to ask ourselves, “Am I really on a journey, or am I standing still, not moving, either immobilized by fear and hopelessness or reluctant to move out of my comfort zone? Am I seeking ways to leave behind the occasions of sin and situations that degrade my dignity?

When we journey together, we are, “consolidating the unity grounded in our common dignity as children of God (Gal 3:26-28). It means walking side-by-side, without shoving or stepping on others, without envy or hypocrisy, without letting anyone be left behind or excluded. Let us all walk in the same direction, tending towards the same goal, attentive to one another in love and patience.

Finally, during this Lent of 2025 Pope Francis asks us to focus on “a call to hope, to trust in God and his great promise of eternal life. Let us ask ourselves: Am I convinced that the Lord forgives my sins? Or do I act as if I can save myself? Do I long for salvation and call upon God’s help to attain it? Do I concretely experience the hope that enables me to interpret the events of history and inspires in me a commitment to justice and fraternity, to care for our common home and in such a way that no one feels excluded?”

As we begin our 2025 journey through Lent, may we all keep ourselves focused on “the hope that does not disappoint.”

God, you want to be near to us,

you lead us with your Son Jesus

to the desert of questions and temptations

that you may speak to our hearts

and bring us back to you in loving trust.

Open our eyes, our minds and our hearts

to discard all that leads us astray

and to look for you and for the plans you have

for us and for the world. 

 Nourished by the bread of your word

and strengthened by your Spirit, 

 may we overcome every temptation of the Evil One.

Help us seek your will in all we do

and serve you in our brothers and sisters.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Amen

Lent

Many think about Lent in terms of giving up something. Usually we think of something we would be better off without anyway – like sugar, nicotine, caffeine, etc. Kind of like a New Year’s Resolution – only for 40 days and not a whole year. (Maybe that should tell us something!) Fasting may be a good place to start. I don’t know if Lent is really about our taste buds, though. Sometimes instead of giving up something, we add more to our already busy schedule – more exercise, more cleaning, more letters written, etc. That might not be the best way to enter Lent either.

Redemption, in modern terms, is perhaps about wholeness and health of body, mind and spirit. Perhaps it would be good to focus on those during Lent. How are we caring for the body God gave us? Most of us need some improvement in that area – not just during Lent, but as part of a longer journey. Sometimes we invite and entertain irrational thoughts and expectations of ourselves and of others. So, what’s going on in our heads? Those attitudes and thinking habits can probably stand some work. Spiritually, perhaps it would help to just be still and listen for a while – focusing on God’s Love. God lives in our hearts. Perhaps it would be good to move from our heads (words and rituals) to our hearts during this time of community retreat.

Perhaps there is no better time than Lent to look at the gift of Our Lives and to see where we have come from and where we are going. How have we received the gift and grace of life? What are we doing, or not doing, to cherish this gift? How are we sharing the gift? What would strengthen us?

In the end, maybe the most important thing we can do for Lent is to just let God love us! For many of us, finding ways to let God love us would make this the best Lent we have ever experienced. “Be still and know….”

Return to Dust

Teach me, God

Teach me, God, so that I might know
The way to change and the way to grow.
Give me the words to ask You how
To handle the here and live in the now.

Tempt me not with the valleys of death,
Give me freedom from fear in every breath.
And though mistakes I make in my daily life,
Deliver me from aiding strife.

Understand me, God, as I am now
And show me the furrows I need to plow.
To reach my goal as a ripening food,
So I might feed others all that is good.

Fill me with energy from your Mighty Power,
Until I come to rest at the midnight hour.

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.

Thoughts on the Serenity Prayer

The Serenity Prayer is well known in most circles. You can find it printed on coffee mugs, plaques, tapestries, cards, etc. I’m sure you’re all familiar with it. “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference”. I cannot begin to count the times I have prayed this prayer. Many times it is part of my morning devotions. I ask God to give me peace for the day to accept the things I cannot change. On more than one occasion I have prayed this prayer under my breath and quickly! When someone was in my face I wanted God to give me peace to accept what I obviously wasn’t going to be able to change.

To accept things that we cannot change is hard for us humans. We have conquered the wildest of rivers with our great dams. We have harnessed the power of the atom. We have found cures and vaccines for many diseases and continue to make great strides in every field. The idea of asking God for peace to accept those things we cannot change is alien to us. Yet there are things I cannot change. I cannot change people. As much as I would like to I simply cannot make people love God and turn to him for help. I can show the way. I can preach the way. I can offer to go with them on the way but I cannot make them change. I cannot change history either. What has happened is done. Not even God rewrites history. It stands as a record of the successes and failures of each of us for all to see. Whether it is people or history or other circumstances, God is able to give us peace in the midst of the situation.

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference”.

Failure Doesn't Mean

Failure doesn't mean - "You are a failure,"
It means - You have not succeeded yet.

Failure doesn't mean - "You accomplished nothing,"
It means - You have learned something.

Failure doesn't mean - "You have been a fool,"
It means - You had a lot of faith.

Failure doesn't mean - "You don't have it,"
It means - You were willing to try.

Failure doesn't mean - "You are inferior,"
It means - You are not perfect.

Failure doesn't mean - "You've wasted your life,"
It means - You have a reason to start afresh.

Failure doesn't mean - "You should give up,"
It means - "You must try harder.

Failure doesn't mean - "You'll never make it,"
It means - It will take a little longer.

Failure doesn't mean - "God has abandoned you,"
It means - God has a better way for you.


R Whitby