Born to serve

Even though Jonah was trying with all his might to get away from God, God had other plans. Swallowed by a great fish and held for 40 days, this bleached out and wrinkled man is set ashore at Niniveh to prompt the people to repent, needless to say, it worked wonderfully. Just another example of how God can use us to reach his lost children. Chance after chance he offered Jonah the opportunity to be a part of his message of salvation, and even though Jonah waited till the last minute, Jonah's "yes" allowed the people to grow in love with God once again.
Is God calling you? Do you hear that faint whisper or that gentle tap on your shoulder? Our loving Father invites us to share in his joy each and every day, knowing that our happiness lies in our participation with his holy will. Like the Apostles of old, may we find the courage to venture from our comfort zone, trusting in God's protection and love, and find ourselves as faithful servants ready to bring our brothers and sisters home to our Father in heaven.

God bless you today and every day.

Here I am, you called me.

How busy do we allow ourselves to be? Are we so concerned with what's going on around us, almost afraid we'll miss out on something, that we fail to just embrace the quiet? Recent Old Testament stories at Mass have shown that one of the most utilized times in which God speaks to us is in the quiet. Remember as Elijah waited in the cave for God to pass by, that God wasn't in the roaring fire or the heavy winds but rather in the whisper of a breeze. In the story of Samuel and his first encounter with God, God spoke to him in the silence of the night. Soft whispers with words of love, that's how God speaks to us. I suppose the only problem with that is that in order to hear, we need to listen. And with all of the noise and distractions in our lives we need to make some time for listening each day. We all have things we want to accomplish or achieve but the struggle begins when we fail to set our priorities correctly, remembering that without God nothing else really matters.
Quiet is a rare and precious commodity. It is an opportunity to connect with our Father in heaven and to listen. Let us make time for God in our busy lives and prepare ourselves that we may be good servants. May we seek the quiet, open our hearts and when He calls to us may we joyfully answer, "Speak Lord, your servant is listening."

Be prepared

If the last few months of political debates and personal attacks have taught us nothing else, the least we should come away way with is the message to be prepared at all times. It really doesn't matter which political party you affiliate yourself with or with which candidate you find yourself most in line with, we have seen that no matter how a person may profess to be at this moment their past deeds are always waiting there, in the wings, to be brought forward into the light. That practice should give all of us pause to contemplate how what we choose can effect our ability to witness to others in times of moral uncertainty. Because when we feel the need to put ourselves out there in controversial issues, and stand for what we believe is right, we risk having our failures brought to the forefront and exposed.
Have we safeguarded our good name and reputation or have we sacrificed our ability to speak or witness, for a brief moment of instant gratification or because doing the right thing was just too hard? Make no mistake, evil in our world is alive and well, and it flourishes in our silence. We know that it's wrong for a man and woman to live together like they are married when they are not, yet do we allow our adult children to act immorally by our silence when we should be seizing the moment to teach them? Have we ourselves been silenced by our past? E are called to proclaim the Gospel to all people and not just when it seems safe for us to do so. We are called not to pass judgement but to teach what our Lord Jesus has taught to us, no matter the cost to us. When we let embarrassment restrain us from the will of God, we allow evil to grow in strength and affect more people.
May we find the courage to witness to the truth and live our lives in such a way that our witness may be heard. May we love those around us enough to care for their spiritual welfare as well as their material needs, and may God, in his wisdom give us the words to speak, the courage to speak them and the mercy to forgive those around us as well as ourselves so that we might not be restrained in our efforts to further his kingdom here on earth.
God bless you today.

As you increase, may I decrease

The walk can be difficult sometimes and the signs confusing. It becomes a trial in and of itself to recognize what God is asking as it is mixed in with my own desires and needs. It is at these times that I find my prayer life at the root of it all. At the root because the lack of prayer is what leads me to the confusion in the first place, and it is through that time, reclaimed and better utilized in conversation with my Father, that I find my direction. As I seek guidance, my own interpretations need to be set aside and my own need to feel in control along with it. Because how am I supposed to hear the voice of God when I won't be quiet and listen? And how can I know His guiding hand when I feel the need to lead?
And so again I pray for the humility of a worthless servant who has done no more than has been asked of me. I pray for the wisdom to discern the task laid before me from all the things that I would choose to do, and the courage, and trust to complete the task at hand.
Almighty Father hear my prayer and grant that I may seek only to do your will, and that my joy may be found in knowing that I do your will. As you increase, may I decrease until the only memory be not of me but that the will of the Father was done.

A new beginning

Another new year has arrived, full of the hopes and promises that didn't quite make it through last year yet are given breath to try again. With each new year we seek some sort of change don't we? My prayer for each of my fellow travelers is that God would grant us the insight to recognize the things that we need to change, or at least pay a little more attention to, and the strength to carry out those changes. And may we also embrace the reality that we will never reach the perfection we desire but rather understand that we are in a constant state of change, developing into the person that our Father created us to be. May we also come to appreciate that this growth is destined to be directed and utilized by God as we submit our wills to the glorious wisdom and Will of Him who created us.
God bless you with this coming year. May almighty God pour his blessings upon you to heal your brokenness and give you peace. May he give you comfort in distress, wisdom in uncertainty, and faith in times of doubt. And may God bless you, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.