Catholic Faith Space
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A few days ago at work, I was really cold and could not stay warm. I was doing some training with one of my co-worker’s whose office space is right next to a window. After a certain point in the day, the sunlight hit the glass. Once I moved closer to her desk, I felt the sun shining through the window. Bright and intense, it warmed me up instantly. It was like I was sitting next to a fire. Moving closer to the sun, the light and warmth changed how I felt. In the same way, when we let the Son into our lives, and move closer to Him, His light and warmth changes us and those around us.
The light and love of Christ changes everything. Before we ever have a real encounter with Him, our faith might be lukewarm and our hearts cold and hard. When we open up our hearts to Him and allow ourselves to be transformed, we will be set ablaze. All it takes is one little spark to ignite in our souls for our faith to turn into a fire. How many Catholics are living mediocre spiritual lives? How many people are in the dark, searching for truth in the world? How many are lost and without hope? How many people have lost the fire that they maybe once had? Once we have experienced the light and love of Jesus, we must reflect that light and love to others. Jesus desires for us to be souls on fire. And every day, we must take action to keep that fire burning. How can we do this? Attending mass and receiving the Eucharist, reading scripture, spending time in adoration and prayer, reading spiritual books, going on retreats, and spending time with others who share our faith are just a few ways that we can build that fire up so that we can share it with all we encounter. It is by our warmth, light, and love that others can be drawn to Christ. The world often seems like a dark place. There is so much violence, hatred, despair, and confusion. But the light is greater than the darkness. People walking down paths of darkness need to be shown love and light. May we all let the Son shine in our lives and work to help light the way. Jesus, you are the light of the world. Without you, there is no hope and the world would seem dark and cold. Give us the desire to move closer to you and help us be a reflection of your light and love to all we meet. Set our hearts and souls on fire with flames that burn so brightly that others might come to know You. Amen.
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“To always be close to Jesus, that is my life plan.” These words are so simple yet so profound. I came across these words from Blessed Carlo Acutis a few days ago and was struck by his wisdom. He really got it right when he gave this response. When we take a few minutes to think about it, this is really the only thing that matters. What is your life plan? Is your main goal and desire in life to stay close to Jesus?
Our culture is obsessed with planning and figuring things out and thinking about the future. For as long as I can remember, I have dreaded the often asked question, “where do you see yourself in five years? Ten years? Etc. When people ask me this question, the one thing I always really want to respond with is, “I’m not really sure…wherever God leads me.” Most of the time, this answer doesn’t seem to cut it for the people who ask. It’s good to make plans, have goals, and hopes and dreams but can we stop putting so much focus on these temporary and inconsequential things? It’s okay to not know what career you want to have, what professional goals you want to accomplish, or when you are going to make a big life change. What truly matters? What should our greatest focus be? Receiving the love of Jesus and allowing Him to work in our lives. Letting our hearts be shaped and transformed to expand our capacity to love. Cultivating a strong interior life so that we can live a life of prayer and be more attuned to His presence in our lives. And ultimately, to always be close to Jesus. Our lives are full of ups and downs, good times, hardships, joys, and challenges. It can become discouraging to look around and see other people who seem like they have everything figured out and as if everything is going according to their plans. But the truth is, no one really knows what they’re doing on their own. The one thing we must figure out is that the only way to live this life is to focus on Jesus, let Him take care of everything, and to remain in His love always. Once we understand that the most important thing we can do is never stray from His path, everything else we need to know will follow. There are a lot of things I don’t have figured out. But one thing I do know is that I want to always be close to Jesus. Jesus, thank you for loving us. Help us to remember that your ways are better than our ways. Give us the desire to always be close to You because that is the greatest life plan we could ever have. May we stay always close to You so that we would be a reflection of your love and light to all those around us. Amen. A few nights ago, someone told me that a retreat that I was part of was on the verge of being cancelled. Whether this decision was already confirmed or not, once I heard this, my motivation to write my talk, which I was supposed to practice at the last team meeting a few days later, went out the window. I figured I better still write the talk anyway because I made a commitment to do so plus I did not really know for sure whether or not the retreat was being cancelled. So I sat down Saturday night and Sunday after the Packer game to write the talk I had said ‘yes’ to doing. Once I arrived at the team meeting Sunday evening, we were all tasked with sharing our opinions through a vote on paper about whether the retreat weekends should proceed. Although I thought it was probably unrealistic for the retreat to take place due to a shortage of people and certain circumstances, I still really wanted the weekend to take place. Maybe this was out of a selfish desire to be able to do what I committed to or the fact that I could really use a retreat right now. When I found out I still had to give my talk at the meeting, when there was a good chance the retreat would not happen, and to a room of only eight other team members, it was a little disheartening. What was the point? As I gave my talk and shortly after, I realized that there was, in fact, a point. Around 10:00 PM Sunday night when I got the anticipated email, there was definitely disappointment. I saw it coming and understood, but still felt disappointed by the news of the retreat cancellation. One point was made in person and in the email that really struck me. The comment made was that there is value in the preparation. The process of preparing and writing a talk is valuable. This helped me realize that it is okay to feel disappointment in the retreat being cancelled, but there is still goodness within. All this is to say, nothing that we do for God and His glory is ever wasted.
What came more than disappointment was the realization that retreat or not, God is still working and the community will still be there. When you remove the retreat, there are still prayers being offered, inspiration from others, and a strong community that is there to pray for you and support you. As I practiced my talk in front of those eight women and listened to their comments and feedback, knowing that it may not be given at the retreat, I was filled with joy, peace, and love that comes only from God. And in those moments and throughout the rest of the evening, those gifts of the Holy Spirit overpowered the feeling of disappointment. I knew that regardless of whether or not the retreat was going to take place, everyone who had a role in the weekend was there because they have a deep love for God and want to share that love with others. All our efforts and preparation were not wasted because they were for God. The retreat may be cancelled but God is not and neither are all of the fruits that come from working to serve Him and make Him known. Community was built, prayers were and still are being said, and each person has, hopefully, grown a few more steps closer to God. Maybe you have experienced something being cancelled. Maybe your plans have changed or things are not going the way you had hoped. Whatever situation you may find yourself in, know that God can and will still use you. You are being called to share His love with others and serve Him each and every day. As long as you work for the glory of God, nothing you do is wasted. God, thank you for always showing up, even when it may look different than planned or expected. Help us to remember that there is value in our preparation and work, especially when it is done for You. Give us the desire to share Your love with others so that they may come to know You. May all that we do be for Your glory and praise. Amen. Last week in my 8th grade religious ed class, we were discussing discipleship and how to grow closer to Christ. The students came up with a fairly good list of the things that are necessary to deepen our faith. The conversation we had led me to one thought. We know exactly what we should be doing to grow closer to Jesus and live as better disciples, yet, why do we so often not do those things?
There are so many distractions in our lives and excuses we make. It’s so easy to attribute lack of prayer time to busyness or being too tired. While these may seem like valid excuses and God still loves us, the truth is, these excuses usually mean that we are not prioritizing well or making good use of our time. This is a process and a journey that takes time. It is easy to become discouraged, but we must not give up. God sees our efforts and knows that becoming a better disciple is something that we need to work on each day. I’ve always wanted to be one of those people who prayed the rosary every day. It was easy for me to admire those people, while at the same time, telling myself that it would take too much effort and dedication. I often told myself that maybe I would start praying the rosary every day, but “not yet” or “maybe later.” A few weeks ago at my Bible study, one of the girls said something that challenged and changed my thoughts. She talked about how she could not make excuses to not pray the rosary because she has a 15 minute drive to work each morning. After sitting with that for a few days, I decided that I too could pray a rosary on the way to or from work each day, as I have a 20+ minute drive. I often do not “feel” like praying or would really rather listen to music or a podcast, but I have taken those first steps. It is a work-in-progress. That is how the spiritual life is. A lot of the excuses we have for not trying to grow closer to Jesus may come down to one thing. When we look below the surface, we will find that it may be laziness, lack of motivation, and overall, that we “just don’t feel like it.” When we work to limit the distractions, prioritize better, and schedule dedicated time for prayer and other activities that help us in our faith, our lives will be much more fulfilling. Many times, we may not feel like praying (or any other thing that we should do to strengthen our faith) and we might want to choose to do other things instead. This is when we need to remind ourselves that being a disciple is not about what we want, but rather, what we need. And that is to know and love Christ deeply and to follow Him wholeheartedly. Jesus, we want to become better disciples. Help us to do the things we need to do in order to grow closer to you. Fill us with the desire to know you more and love you more deeply, even when we don’t feel like it. Give us the dedication and commitment that we need to follow your ways and live a life that is for you alone. Take away the trivial things which are distractions in our lives. Help us focus on you. Amen. |
AuthorStriving to share hope, joy, God's love, and all of the good stuff, one blog post at a time. Categories |
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