GO! GO! GO!

I'm training for a half marathon. I'm crazy, I know, this has been established. Actually, I really enjoy running. However, I tend to be injury prone. Sprained ankles, stress fractures, and the like. We were supposed to run 6 miles today...I didn't finish my 6 miles. This was really hard for me. I was running, chugging along at my own little pace, and pain started shooting through my leg. I tried to push through, but couldn't, I knew I was injured. 


So - I had a 2 mile walk back to my car...and I had to walk slow. Thus I took time to contemplate.(I was actually really annoyed at first because it was just another thing to add to the list of bad things happening)


The trail we run is alongside a river. I began to contemplate this and came to the realization that God's grace is like the river, it's slow, steady constant. When there's a disruption (sin, distraction) the river flows differently, and seemingly faster. I applied this to God's grace -when we are struggling God's grace is poured out more fervently. 


This struck me in a profound way because the past two days have been filled with suffering for me, and I was beginning to feel frustrated and overwhelmed. Then I realized - God is with me, in this moment, in this trial His grace is being poured in great abundance unto my soul, and he is strengthening me.


 After realizing this, it started snowing. This was a wet, cold snow. It caused my sweatshirt to be damp. But I ended up looking at the snow as God's grace. The snow was a literal, physical, tangible (metaphorically) representation of God's grace. 
In the time of suffering I was gifted today, I was able to grow by contemplating God's grace. If I hadn't been forced to stop, I never would have taken the time to think about God's grace in my life. 


As a college student my life is a constant go, go, go. Work. Class. Homework. Meeting. Social event. Coffee date. Home. Prayer. Mass. go. go. go. There's little time to stop. There's little time to contemplate. It's easy to overlook the little blessings in day to day life. 


As I reflected on my time being forced to stop and slow down, I am thankful.
In addition, I realized how we need to stop more in our lives. Life is filled with little blessings. Will we keep overlooking them or will we stop to notice the way God's grace is a constant presence in our life? Will we stop so we can find the grace to remain joyful?


God speaks to us in the silence of our hearts. May seek quiet moments in our lives, so we may contemplate God's grace. 


Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you remember Christ crucified and be silent. 
-St. John of the Cross


What we need most in order to make progress is to be silent before this great God with our appetite and with our tongue, for the language he best hears is silent love. 
-St John of the Cross

“We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.”

-Mother Teresa

Lifted From the Dead

Lifted from the dead

She remembers where she came from

She recalls:

Sleepless nights, tears unending

Their hopes and dreams

The letters. The bear.

The chocolate. The necklace

The hugs.

How wonderful it all was.

She recalls:

The day her world flipped

Her life-blood…Gone.

Dead inside,

She doesn’t know how to go on.

She thought:

Never shall I love again

Lo and behold

Here she stands,

Love again

Raised from the dead

A love far greater than before lifted her up

The Lord: King and conqueror led her

He raised her up

He brought her life

He showed her love

God of Love; God of Mercy

My dear brothers & sisters in Christ,

The Lord has been speaking, at great length, to my heart, how he is a God of love.

In this time, it is easy to view our God as judgmental, for we know that on the last day, we will face the judgment of God. However, the judgment which we will experience will not be what we expect.When we view our God as "the judge" it becomes harder to view him as he truly is. It is easy to see God as a "kill-joy" because we feel we can't participate in the things of this world. It's not a good thing to go party. We, who desire to live our faith as radical Christians cannot live a "normal" life. This often a struggle for me.

However, there is hope! Our God is a relentless God. He never gives up on us. He is continually with us, reigning in our hearts, directly us to complete his will. There will be bumps in the road. There will be challenges, but the good Lord will be by our side the entire journey, pouring his love & mercy into our hearts.

I want to share with you a time where I intimately experienced God's love. It occurred about a year ago. We were in adoration, at the start of a mission trip, and leading up to the trip I had really been struggling with loneliness. It had been a rough couple months, and I felt totally alone, in a place where I was surrounded by people. I took this all to prayer. I laid it before God, and placed it all on his alter. In doing so I was compelled to simply sit in silence before our Lord. Normally, this was a hard thing for me to do. I had to be praying my rosary or writing in my journal, but in that moment the Lord was calling me to be still; to be silent. During this silence he began to heal my heart. He began to open my eyes, to the love I was missing - his love. I was blessed with a vision of the Lord. He stood with arms open, welcoming me into his most Sacred Heart. What I distinctly recall is the image Jesus had. He was in white, in his glory, and his Sacred Heart was visible, but instead of one hand touching his heart, both were open to welcome me, to welcome me home. In this time, I was fully united to our Lord, and we were dancing. It was a beautiful moment in my life, that I would never forget - prominently because of the way the Lord lavished his love on me, and the way he revealed his love for me to me.

I know the Lord loves each of his children in this same way. Because of this, my dear brothers & sisters, I encourage you to look at God as a God of love and a God of mercy. See him as a God who is forgiving, who is relentless, who is all love, and only desires you well-being.

Seek out this God of love. Seek out his mercy. Allow him to lavish you in his love.

May God bless you.

There is a God who Loves you Just the Same

Today's Gospel: Matthew 21:28-32
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
"What is your opinion? 
A man had two sons. 
He came to the first and said,
'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.' 
The son said in reply, 'I will not,'
but afterwards he changed his mind and went. 
The man came to the other son and gave the same order. 
He said in reply, 'Yes, sir,' but did not go. 
Which of the two did his father's will?" 
They answered, "The first." 
Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you,
tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the Kingdom of God before you. 
When John came to you in the way of righteousness,
you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did. 
Yet even when you saw that,
you did not later change your minds and believe him.


As humans, with free will, it is easy for us to say no to God's will and choose what we want to do over what God has planned for us. Luckily, our God is patient, and merciful. Luckily, our God can work with our decisions, and do His best to make the best out of every situation. 

Sometimes we will make choice, and upon re-evaluation, make a change, just as the son in today's Gospel. Being a young adult, college student, this something that is often done. I've successfully completed my first semester of college. There are girls in my dorm who are transferring to other schools, majors are being changed, decisions were made - and now, with re-evaluation changes are being made. Often times, it is scary to do this. Making decisions are scary. Choosing to take a year off school and to serve is scary. Choosing a college is scary. Choosing a major is scaring. Choosing to do declare yourself single for a season is scary. Choosing to enter into a relationship is scary. Becoming engaged is scary. Getting married is scary. Having your first child is scary. Sending your first child to kindergarten is scary. Sending your children off to college is scary.

 Life is all about making decisions. Things rarely turn out as you expect. But it's all a part of growing up. It's all a part of living. And being 18, and a freshman in college, living on your own for the first time, away from parents, is the perfect time to learn. You make mistakes, and learn from those mistakes. Just remember, there is a God who loves you despite every good or bad decision you may make - You will be loved just the same.

May the Lord guide us and lead us to make prudent decisions. May we humbly follow the son in today's Gospel, and not be afraid to change. May we seek to choose God always.  Amen. 

God Knows...

I was talking to a friend tonight and she was telling me how she was currently able to truly trust in the Lord, in this time when she feels blind and unsure of what's going on. And I was talking to her about moving into college and adjusting, yet still finding time for prayer and the like.

My friend told me " I know he's got everything taken care of now.  I have this natural trust to the cross" Which I then told her this was what she needed right now and God knew that this was what she needed. He was providing for her by giving her the graces she needed to trust in his love and mercy.

And I realized how God is working in my life, within my personal relationship with him. Right now, I need to learn to lean more on him. I've always leaned on my friends, and youth group, but I need to learn to rely more on my God for my strength and my support. Obviously, I need my friends because Jesus doesn't ask us to live this life on our own, but to live it with others, all striving to reach holiness together; however, there are times in our lives when we must learn and grow on our own. God has given me a deep desire for prayer, to deepen my relationship with Christ, to love him, and come to know him more fully. Even more so, he has given me time and opportunity to pray and to spend time with him.

Therefore, I want to remind my readers - God knows. He knows what we're going through. He knows what we need. He knows how to provide exactly what we need of him.

May we always trust in the Lord and remember that he knows exactly what we need and how to provide for us.

As we adjust to new school schedules, and falling back into the rhythm of craziness and life - may our lives and hearts be focused on seeking to know the Lord more intimately.

God bless.