I get such comfort from writing. When something is on my mind it helps when I write it out. These days my writings of feelings are taking not a Dear Diary kind of style as it used to but more of a Dear Jesus or Dear God format. One day try sitting in a Church or other holy place with a notebook and start of Dear God...
Once I visited the blessed sacrament very perturbed with the intention of relating my feelings of anguish to God. But something miraculously happened. I started my letter Dear God and not for the life of me could I remember what it is was that was bothering me so. It was amazing. Since then my memory of whatever it is I was going to write is quite distant and hard to remember so why even bother recalling it. My letter immediately took a different format where I thanked God for the things He has blessed me with and prayed for others.
In a few of my reflection I always tend to focus on sin, because face it, it is the inescapable trap that can kill us if we don't avoid it or escape from it. But today at mass something hit me. I discovered one of Satan's dirty little tricks. You know he actually turns our talents or strengths that God has blessed us with into weaknesses and these many times cause us to sin.
If you have a very strong personality you may be a natural born leader, a manager and solid support system for those friends of yours who may not be so strong. But when you are in a bad mood do you snap at others and speak to them harshly and hurt them ?
You may be a nice person, a people pleaser, often timid, a person who will forget yourself to do something nice for anyone really, who is quite forgiving and compromising just to avoid conflict and keep everyone happy which doesn't bother you much. But you may find yourself in a position where someone may ask you to do something that is wrong, you don't really want to do it but you don't want this person to be displeased and possibly not like you for actually saying no for once.
Or are you the loner who likes to quietly reflect and pray for others silently and when others offer you a friendly hand you act indifferent. Or you maybe the friendly kind who would do anything to be friends with any and anyone literally anything good or bad. Or are you a lover ? You wear your heart on your sleeve and give away so easily and often it comes back broken so you are scared to love again.
Don't allow Satan to turn your sweetness into weakness claim your strength, your niceness, your shyness, your friendliness and your ability to love freely. But pray for discernment to know when your natural instinct needs to be something a little different. Thank Jesus for your unique personality and ask Him to guide to the places where it is most needed in your life and ask him to not lead you into a trap that you cannot avoid because you react in a way that comes natural to you. Pray the Our Father and focus on the section that says lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
Dear God,
I thank you for my strength help me not to make it into my weakness.
Sincerely
Your daughter
Nicole
Amen.
Sunday 8 May 2011
Friday 6 May 2011
Faith vs Persecutors
This week's readings if you follow the daily reading from http://www.usccb.org/nab/ come from the Acts of the Apostles Chapter 5:17-42.
Peter and the other apostles had started preaching to the people about Jesus- His life, His death and resurrection as they had witnessed it first hand. The Sadducees and high priests felt threatened by the influence of the apostles on the masses. The Sadducees felt that they were the teachers of the Law and the authority on all faith and religious matters not these fishermen apostles of the carpenter's son ! The High Priest had even sent them to jail and what happened - they were miraculously set free ! Then they were right back at it preaching in the temple to the people about Jesus - take that Sadducees ! They went right back preaching and teaching and weren't afraid to get imprisoned again. Gamaliel a respected teacher of the law advised the other high priests to leave Peter and the apostles alone. If their activities are of human origin it will destroy itself, if on the other hand it is from God no one will be able to destroy it.
The actions of the apostles show immense signs of faith. How many persons have been persecuted and killed for preaching and teaching Jesus Christ. Has the preaching and teaching of Christ stopped yet ? No.
But alas, there is fear that one day it might as I see dwindling numbers of church goers and increasing numbers of persons just existing not believing in anything much but themselves. Secularism is a new kind of religious persecution where we start our lives living, preaching and teaching Jesus Christ and are persecuted for doing just that and get then get our lives thrown into the jail of sin. How does it get there in the first place ? Why do criminals commit crimes ? Because the crime may seem to attain them something more attractive than what they presently have in their current legit lives.
It is the same thing with sin in general. We see a nice thing in the world that seems so attractive we almost convince ourselves we deserve to have it - one night stands, "getting wasted" (drunk) , stealing, adultery, breaking up marriages and relationships by encouraging and participating in affairs, making excuses for not praying, participating in illegal acts. In attaining these things we chip away our spiritual lives piece by piece until it is eventually thrown into jail. Our spirit sometimes feels captured. But if we continue to give into our human ways we will be destroyed and remain in jail. We are not perfect and it happens to all of us. However if we repent and reform our lives (and in turn our spirit) and come back to God he will set us free. Have faith that He will for what is of God cannot be destroyed. Once we are free we should not be afraid to face the world again but should be brave to go back to doing what Satan is threatened by-teaching and preaching Jesus Christ not only with our words but by the way we live.
That's it for now ! Blessings !
Nicole
PS It's May- Pray the rosary ! I didn't like praying the rosary at all until I started really praying it more often. I realized how powerful a prayer it is. It is like a soothing Mantra which allows you to really focus on the things you need to pray for. If you're not sure how to do it go to youtube and look for a good instructional video. Or pray it with the group on EWTN who pray it at 7:30 am EST every morning.
Peter and the other apostles had started preaching to the people about Jesus- His life, His death and resurrection as they had witnessed it first hand. The Sadducees and high priests felt threatened by the influence of the apostles on the masses. The Sadducees felt that they were the teachers of the Law and the authority on all faith and religious matters not these fishermen apostles of the carpenter's son ! The High Priest had even sent them to jail and what happened - they were miraculously set free ! Then they were right back at it preaching in the temple to the people about Jesus - take that Sadducees ! They went right back preaching and teaching and weren't afraid to get imprisoned again. Gamaliel a respected teacher of the law advised the other high priests to leave Peter and the apostles alone. If their activities are of human origin it will destroy itself, if on the other hand it is from God no one will be able to destroy it.
The actions of the apostles show immense signs of faith. How many persons have been persecuted and killed for preaching and teaching Jesus Christ. Has the preaching and teaching of Christ stopped yet ? No.
But alas, there is fear that one day it might as I see dwindling numbers of church goers and increasing numbers of persons just existing not believing in anything much but themselves. Secularism is a new kind of religious persecution where we start our lives living, preaching and teaching Jesus Christ and are persecuted for doing just that and get then get our lives thrown into the jail of sin. How does it get there in the first place ? Why do criminals commit crimes ? Because the crime may seem to attain them something more attractive than what they presently have in their current legit lives.
It is the same thing with sin in general. We see a nice thing in the world that seems so attractive we almost convince ourselves we deserve to have it - one night stands, "getting wasted" (drunk) , stealing, adultery, breaking up marriages and relationships by encouraging and participating in affairs, making excuses for not praying, participating in illegal acts. In attaining these things we chip away our spiritual lives piece by piece until it is eventually thrown into jail. Our spirit sometimes feels captured. But if we continue to give into our human ways we will be destroyed and remain in jail. We are not perfect and it happens to all of us. However if we repent and reform our lives (and in turn our spirit) and come back to God he will set us free. Have faith that He will for what is of God cannot be destroyed. Once we are free we should not be afraid to face the world again but should be brave to go back to doing what Satan is threatened by-teaching and preaching Jesus Christ not only with our words but by the way we live.
That's it for now ! Blessings !
Nicole
PS It's May- Pray the rosary ! I didn't like praying the rosary at all until I started really praying it more often. I realized how powerful a prayer it is. It is like a soothing Mantra which allows you to really focus on the things you need to pray for. If you're not sure how to do it go to youtube and look for a good instructional video. Or pray it with the group on EWTN who pray it at 7:30 am EST every morning.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)