Prayer for Peace of Mind

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ,
Guide me today.
Be my light in shadows,
Be my strength in doubt.
When worry threatens my peace of mind,
Let me consider the sorrow you took upon yourself.
Let me consider the birds of the air and the beasts of the field that you have care for.

By the anointing of Your Most Precious Blood,
Allow the grace to flow as such, upon my person.
In all of my error and weakness,
Fill me with your capacity to love more.
When pressure comes upon my breast,
Bear the burden with me.
Continue to walk beside me, carrying me as necessary.

And as the thunder rolls through
And the sharp cracks of lightening strike my inner self,
Let me always seek you and trust you.
This is passing.

Faith and Hope

Faith is a combination of perseverance and perspective. To persevere or not to persevere?  That is not really a question we can ask, when surely humanity will persevere.  But what about the individual? What about the You?

The world is awash with delights for the senses, but the cries from the soul of the unhappy heart are calling to the mercy of the Father.   If you can stop what you are doing and listen, the Father will speak.

As I looked on a plant that is hanging outside on my porch, I saw God in it.  It has been up to 99 degrees this week and this plant is able to cope.  Its every function is glorious and full of splendor.  It perseveres.

The people we meet are full of dark and light, sorrow and joy.  The heart beating within their person is God in his wondrous work. The people persevere.

The Earth spins and seasons sweep storms and sunshine across our globe.  What an amazing creation we reside upon.  It perseveres.

So faith, like all, perseveres.  I don't think it ever goes away.  You can lose faith, but your neighbor may have faith for you, with you and in you. It is the matter of which our intelligence permeates into our being.

Your individual worth is more than anything you can imagine because the Son of God came to Earth to sacrifice his life for you.  Sometimes it will be so hard even to breath or desire to eat.  But your worth is glorious and stunning.  That is You, that the sun is rising up to meet.  That is You, that the crowd of Saints in heaven is cheering on.  That is You, that I am writing this to because someone does LOVE you and thinks of you every moment of every day.

Hope.

On Being Different

Growing up, I always felt different from the other girls in my neighborhood. They had pop star crushes and always found out what their Christmas presents were before they got them. I always took long walks and liked to build things.

Thank goodness for being different. If it weren't for differences then we wouldn't have had one such as the Immaculate Virgin Mary.  A priest told me recently as part of a penance, to compare myself with her. I often do this and the Grand Canyon exists between us as far as similarities go. But it was in the context of how to be better and more Christlike.

True faith, I think, is trusting in the will of God for my life. So seeking to be more DIFFERENT, as in different from the world and more like Christ is the true way.

There are lots of ways to be different. I think one sure way is to recognize your failings in 'loving thy neighbor as thyself'. But once you do that to also look at the ways Christ is using your differences to his divine plan.

Be prepared to be attacked though. The world is rejoicing when you fail your conscience. It is his full intention and glee that you become mediocre in faith and apathetic to sin.  I think striving to do your best, but with the devotion to scripture and prayer is the way in which the Holy Ghost can most give you the grace to overcome temptation.  Be different please!  Define your different by the sincerity of living in and through Jesus Christ.

Christ Centered Path

1 Cor 15:33 Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals."

I love the way Jesus Christ loves us.  He is always considering what is best for us.  Sometimes though, you think you are marking out a good path and Jesus has a way of blowing leaves over it and getting you on the right path.

In the story of Job, he loses all his possessions and family.  God has a plan for Job's life to show great works through him.  God shows himself through the faith of Job.

The Christ centered path is the very best path made for his followers.  There are no promises that it will be easy.  There are promises that it will be hard and difficult.

Jesus Christ is more than hardships and difficulty.  In the case of our journey, His love is a light that will guide us to be strong and make it to the Kingdom of God.

Prayer for 2015

Just felt inspired to write a prayer for thankfulness.

Thank you, Lord, for this day.
Jesus, you have shown mercy on me as you watch me stumble from the right path.
Jesus, you have loved me beyond my faults.
Jesus, you are greater than my failures.
Thank you Jesus, for the small ways you show yourself to me.
Thank you Jesus, for the people you surround me with to teach me.
Thank you Jesus, for building my conscience to know when I am wrong and when to stand strong.
Jesus, I am thankful for the wonderful love you bestow on me.
Jesus, I am thankful for the healing power your name has in my life.
Jesus, I am thankful for the strength you give everyday to overcome things that are not as important as living your Word.
Thank you, Lord, for this day.