A Silent Moment with Baby Jesus

i was led to write introductions for the carol service we will do tonight....thought they might help someone in experiencing a deeper moment of prayer before a manger this Christmas....go to youtube and look up the songs....enjoy....Blessed, Holy, Life changing Christmas to all!  til next time...

1.  A King is Born, Jesus,  in a small village called Bethlehem...He was The Only One Who could open the doors of Heaven by His Life and Death for a sinner like me....of course the angels came....of course the sound was more marvelous than ever heard on the face of the earth....Heavens' voices worshipping The God of the Universe who became An Infant in a stable...Precious, Lovely, Innocent and Pure as never seen before...what a picture to imagine..what a sound to yearn to hear..That Blessed Night.  "The birthday of a King"

2.  Praises....God inhabits the praises of His People...and the Angels lead in reminding us that to Praise The Living God is a Holy and Righteous  thing.  Sing out everyone Sing out with all your heart and , join the Heavenly Angels in singing "Hark The Herald Angels Sing"

3.  The shepherds instructed by the angel went to adore This Child in a manger....The kings knew that there existed a God far more Greater than they and came to Adore Jesus on bended knee.   Bow ye people...bend your knee to revere and adore The Living God.  Do not be affraid to humble yourself and bow before the God Who holds the sun and moon and stars in His Tiny Hands, Who builds mountains and makes canyons and even oceans obey Him.  Come...let all that has breath adore Jesus in the Manger.  "Gesu Bambino"  

4.  Humility was Jesus' Cloak...and yet all we want is to be honored.  A small town ...Bethlehem by name, a stable with animals all around Him....wrapped in swaddling clothes and in a manger made of hay...Oh the beauty of humility....let us simplify our lives and learn from this Most Holy Scene and example from Our God.  Plz join in singing "O Little Town of Bethlehem" 

5.  The red carpet for Jesus was His Beautiful Pure Mother Mary.  She, ever so young, was picked from all of creation to be the very First Tabernacle to House The One and Only God of the Universe.  Oh what a privilegde for her ..yet she was created from conception to be  extraordinary and very special by God Himself for this very moment.  BLESSED ARE YOU Mary AMONG WOMEN AND BLEST IS THE FRUIT OF THY WOMB JESUS!  One can only imagine the thoughts that went thru her mind as she held Her God in her arms Who also was Her Son!  "Mary did you know"

6.  There is no greater song that can raise the mind and heart of a person to experience in its entirety the Christmas Story than  "O Holy Night".  Sit back, listen and meditate...be raised  to The Throne Room of God in a manger with St. Mary and Good St. Joseph and Baby Jesus to experience for yourself The Divine Night when Christ Our God and Savior was born.  

Blessed, Holy, Life Changing Christmas to you!

This is my last post til after Christmas....i hope the things i have written helped someone get a little closer to God...The intimacy with God we have available to us to the degree we are willing to chase Him.  This week is a perfect time to stop in an empty church...take in the visual Christmas decorations....smell the pine...and hear the Silence thereby allowing ourselves to be with Jesus One on one.  Before all the bells, visitors, hectic time....stop in and be silent....give God a smile and let Him give you His Glance of Love.  Be transformed this Christmas into the "saint in the making"  God created you to be.  And take all your lonliness, sorrow, fear, exhaustion, etc. and bring it to the Only One Who has all the answers!   Jesus Christ!

Music plays such a big part in my spiritual life and i love the fact that it is mentioned so many times in Scripture.  i have a story i would like to share.  There are two people in my choir who are younger yet extremely gifted. ...Brother and sister a few years apart.  They started around 15 and 20 yrs old in my choir.  Both have extraordinary voices.  The  boy is the oldest.  He has a voice that commands attention and he knew it.  He was quite confident with a good heart.  The sister had an equally good voice but being the younger one she was less confident and was a bit shy with her voice but also caring and good hearted. These two journeyed with me for 4 years and i have watched them transform from good to outstanding.  This year when given a solo, the sister was free in gift to improvise and add her color to the song making it her own.  More than that her own prayer life, which obviously gets stronger day by day, she is able to bring her heart and soul into it by meaning every word as she sings praise to her God!  What a beautiful job God does when we chase Him.  He transforms us into works of art!  This young lady used to sing songs....now she prays them and because of this, her marvelous Carnegie Hall voice has the power to heal the broken....to bring people to God in a greater way than ever before. Oh how marvelous a work God is doing in her gifts.

Her brother also did something this year that warrants attention too.  i had a last minute rehearsal for Christmas scheduled and needed him to come to support the tenor section which was weak.  His exams and private life interfered with that not to mention he was under the weather.  i promised him only a 40 min rehearsal.  He put himself second and came.  God allowed me to get it all done in 36 min.  But what was more beautiful was when he sang his solo he had a freedom that was new too.  He sang it as if chains were lifted from his vocal cords and hit notes we have not heard before. God took his generous heart...taking time from his important studies of medicine to support the weaker ones ...and freed him in a new way...he may not have ever tried to expand his potential vocally if he did not given away first.

i am greatly touched by these two younger members of my choir.  The young lady gained over these years a new confidence in her gifts.  She knows Who gave them to her.  She chases God and in that He has brought the spiritual part of her and the gifted part of her together in a new way able to touch hearts and heal.  So proud of her..the freedom and self-confidence and holiness...wow!!  God does great work.  But this kind of work takes time...patience...love and building one brick at a time with one another.  We too often rush people and try to force what is not in God's timing.

And her brother?...i told him "watch how you do on your exams for God will reward you for putting your own needs aside to help others"....God already showed up in his new freedom in song...This is what makes great men...not the fact that he is the best at anything he puts his hands to, but someone who knows there is Someone Higher...and takes time to get to know Him and apply His Principles to his life even at a cost.  And then they soar....

The message in this story is silent waiting....in building in one another... .prayer.... consistency.... humility (for these two voices did not have to limit themselves to be in our simple church choir).....surely a great singing group deserved them.

And so be patient with yourself...with those around you....love, pray...build up....encourage....And note that even the entire choir has grown in many ways.  i love to see the results of God's creative ideas in transforming a life.  It happens one person at a time.  So although the numbers often make people feel good...1,000 in attendence....10,000 people....God's deep life changing interior work happens one person at a time.  So never think that what you do on the small scale has no meaning.  It is only there where true conversion, counsel, reinvention, and rebuilding the edifice one brick at a time can take place.  Let God build/rebuild you....be helpful in building/rebuilding others....

One of my favorite Christian singers is David Phelps from the Gaither Band.  His voice is phenomenal and like the young man and woman in my choir, it commands attention.  But the reason it commands attention is not the musical ability he has by itself.  This man loves Jesus Christ!  He believes deeply in God and his personal prayer life affects everything he does.  And so his music is "annointed" by God! (an expression i use when God pours out on someone)...and so as we prepare silently...for Christmas...let us do so differently than any other year.  let us hush and slow down...cry and laugh....pray and  and like Mary...'.keep all these things, reflectin on them in our hearts!'  Sit back and pray this "O Holy Night" in a quiet room all by yourself with your God and appreciate the musical gifts, but more important the heart of David as he prays this song.  til next time...let's ponder the Scriptures below....be assured of my continued prayers for you....Blessed, Holy, life changing Christmas to all of us!  ang

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElJ0fiD0lkc

Luke 2:19

And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.

Luke 6:38

"Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you" 

Psalm 127:1

                                             Unless the LORD build the house,                                                                                              they labor in vain who build.

t

11. Let's put our Faith into Action!

Was watching a show with my son and everything was fine until the last line....they had to throw in the vulgar, disrespectful line at the end of the show. Turned it off.  This prompted a discussion on the serious condition of our world.  And so....this blog...

We started many years ago with an unhealthy fear of God to the point that many never quite understood His Love for us nor His Mercy.  This was extreme left. Everything was wrong and scrupulosity ( Scrupulous individuals are overly concerned that something they thought or did might be a sin or other violation of religious or moral doctrine.) was suffered by many.  In our efforts to get away from this unhealthy uni-directional approach to Our Father we made a swing to the opposite extreme....we no longer have any fear (respect) for God and have totally lost the sense of sin.  Nothing is wrong today in the eyes of most.  The clear lines between right and wrong no longer exist.  We accept all things and in the name of  love not originating from God we subject ourselves and participate in words, actions, movies, magazines, books, classes, etc. that are totally offensive to God and His Ways.

In the deep spiritual walk with God, there is no confusion.  Clarity comes quickly with His Gift of Wisdom if we just ask for it.  When we learn to listen for That Still Small Voice of Conscience...The Voice of God, we instinctively know when we are crossing a line.  This is why chasing God is so very important....experiencing His Glance so we may be in balance....God's balance ....The Catholic Church has always taught with regard to certain things, " virtus in medio stat" (“virtue lies in the middle”)..This applies in this case.....It is unhealthy to think everything is a sin but just as unhealthy is thinking there is no sin.

You know there is a teaching many Christians believe that faith alone saves a person.  But the Catholic Church always has taught what the Scripture says in James 2: 17  "So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead."  It is time for all of us to look at the words we use,  the reactions we have, the actions we are involved in, the media we subject ourselves/our families to, so to grow and make our Faith and our Actions match.  This is what makes a testimony.  This is what our legacy should be. Being constant...consistent.....We do have a responsibility to God first, ourselves and others to change and grow and evolve.  If we stand still, we go backward!  Let's aim higher...we still have a week til Christmas....below is the entire Scripture from James 2 on Faith and Works.  Read and digest This Holy Word!  Also, check out a friend of mine, Tim Staples, an apologist (Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the theological science or religious discipline of defending or proving the truth of religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse),  from Catholic Answers who is a convert to Catholicism and his explanation of why we Catholics believe in Faith and Works rather than Faith alone.

http://www.catholic.com/blog/tim-staples/are-good-works-necessary-for-salvation

When you go to this site, you may enjoy clicking on Tim's testimony and conversion story from an Assembly of God Minister to Catholicism.   So often we hear people leaving the Catholic Church but there are many who convert to the Catholic Church and it is good to know some of them and why they do so.  Many of Tim's video teachings/testimony and so many other Catholic Apologists, are on Youtube.  Another apologist/convert to Catholicism is Scott Hahn who was a Protestant Presbyterian Pastor.  His conversion story can be heard at the site below and free cds of this can be ordered on this site as well to pass on.

http://www.catholicity.com/cds/hahn.html

Dec. 17th starts the O Antiphons (http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/what-are-the.html).   The week before Christmas they begin and the first Title for the Messiah  is O Wisdom (O Sapientia).  Check out the link to learn more and maybe pray them with us.
i may not get to write again til after Christmas, so enjoy and celebrate the Birthday of Our King...friends, family, great food, of course Mass, Christmas Carols, rest...etc.  Christmas is so important a Holy Day that the Church says it is an Octave.  Christmas is an entire week long.  So celebrate the birth of Our Savior, Jesus Christ as never before! And hopefully these blogs have helped us find Him more deeply during this Advent Season and prepare for His Second Coming.

Til next time....keep praying .....be assured of my prayers for you..."MARY CHRIST MASS!  ang

Faith and Works.
14
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
15
If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day,
16
and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?
17
So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

18
Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.
19
You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble.
20
Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless?
21
Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar?
22
You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works.
23
Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called “the friend of God.”
24
See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
25
And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route?
26
For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

10. Listen for the Still, Small Voice of God!

People who don't really know God fully often coast thru in life spiritually.  They often talk a big talk about Him, but are empty when it comes to prayer, spending time with Him, learning to hear His Still Small Voice that prompts us forward to do extraordinary things in every day life that appear insignificant to others.  The world will only change when i start with me!  Something happened the other day and i will share it for the value of the lesson.  i had a meeting, bought some groceries and got in my car.  i then saw a woman in a eskimo jacket pushing a 90 yr old woman in a wheelchair.  She was well dressed but appeared heavy hearted and serious.  A thought entered my mind, "angie, go and greet this woman!"  For a second i fought with the idea hearing the thoughts of so many in my life who always tried to stop me from being me.  Teachers, parents, siblings, friends....lots of people who would say "You don't even know them", "Who do you think you are?", "Don't do that", "What are you crazy?", "What will you say?"..etc.  Oh how i used to be affected by these ignorant statements.  Thank God i have outgrown the need to please another and approval....So although i was tired and  was on a schedule i thought about it.   After that thought , i said, "OK God i will act on this...it is nice, kind ....and any good and wholesome thing always is an inspiration from You!"  i did know they could reject me, but it did not stop me from proceeding to greet them.  So i shut the car off, got out and went over to them.  i asked the lady pushing the wheelchair if it would be okay to greet the elderly woman.  She said surely.  i then asked this elder how she was, and she started to weep.  She was Turkish so the young woman translated for me....Here's what i said,"You are special...i respect you ....courage...God hasn't made a mistake having you here.....Your life has meaning and the world counts on your prayers...and your example and passing on to us your values of old."....i hugged her...and she wept.  The woman caretaking for her was her daughter and she asked me if i could hug her too.  i did and whispered in her ear,"You are extraordinary.  What you do in caring for your Mom is the most important work on the face of the earth!"  How she wept....and the elder touched my heart and said to her daughter in Turkish,"This heart was given to her by God!  Get her phone number."  What a compliment!  But the compliment is God's and His Alone for any good thing we do comes only from The Source, God Himself!  The funny thing is i spoke English and she spoke Turkish but we communicated in the Spirit soul to soul.  i left changed again.  Every time i reach out and do what that still small voice tells me, i am changed and experience the Living God Alive and Well in my life and the life of others.  They took my phone number, we promised each other prayers and went on our different ways.  i met two sisters that day i did not know i had and they are Muslim and i am Catholic.  A meeting of hearts scheduled by God Himself.

Why do i share this?...surely not to bring any attention to me....but to God Who speaks things to us on a daily basis.  If we will only chase Him to experience His Glance of Love, things in our lives will shift.  It is a foreign way to live, no one teaches us these things, but they are learned at the Feet of the Living God.  At every thought, stop for just a second and in that pause question yourself, is this holy, good, kind...something that will be helpful?....If so, God may be speaking to you and you have nothing to lose and much to gain in going forward with it.  Bring out the child in you this Christmas Season...forget the lists....forget the haste...forget the stress....find Jesus. for the first time...or find Him again....Conversion is a life long process....it is constant and ongoing....Listen for His Still Small Voice....Listen and you will hear as the First Reading at Mass today says..(see it below)....So, offer to sit and eat with a homeless person you see at Dunkin Donuts, pick up garbage on your street even though you did not put it there, help an elder having trouble carrying groceries, leave a cart that requires a quarter out in the parking lot for someone else to be able to use for free, spend time with the least in your family especially the mentally ill and those limited in abilities, find ways to enjoy weekly visits with your parents and grandparents, and great grandparents accepting and loving them just as they are, find a widow/divorcee who could use some company, a parent who has lost a child who needs some kindness, or the fatherless who ache from the rejection or loss of either parent, say hello to those you run in to even if you do not know them, and greet the children in the store or on the street with a kind smile and happy word...GO AND MAKE YOUR IMPACT ON YOUR WORLD!!!....And if this blog speaks to you in any way, pass it forward.  Send the link out to all your email and phone contacts.  Who knows?  Someone in that list may be desperate for God's Glance and something as simple as a blog may bring them healing.  It is the purpose for which it was started.  ....Blessed Third Week in Advent to all....Fruitful Advent to all of us (may we be changed by our Advent practices)....Until next time...Is 35:3-6a

Strengthen the hands that are feeble,
make firm the knees that are weak,
say to those whose hearts are frightened:
Be strong, fear not!
Here is your God,
he comes with vindication;
with divine recompense
he comes to save you.
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened,
the ears of the deaf be cleared;
then will the lame leap like a stag,
then the tongue of the mute will sing.

ps:  in order to be able to write more often as requested, i will not proof my writings so forgive any grammatical errors....i don't have the time at this moment in my life to devote to perfecting everything i write...God bless!

9. Be Teachable!

The reading in morning prayer today was from Sirach 18:8-9,11-14

"What are mortals?  What are they worth?  What is good in them, and what is evil?  The number of their days seems great, if it reaches a hundred years.  That is why The Lord is patient with them and pours out His Mercy on them.  He sees and understands that their death is wretched, and so He forgives them all the more.  Their compassion is for their neighbor, but The Lord' Compassion reaches all flesh.  Reproving, Admonishing, Teaching, and Turning them back, as a shepherd his flock.  He has compassion on those who accept His Discipline, who are eager for His Precepts."

When i read this i knew it should be part of this blog.  What Love The Father has for us!  He always gives us many chances over and over again.  Let's look at the words used here:

Reprove:  to criticize or correct, especially gently

Admonish:  to caution, advise, or counsel against something. 2. to reprove or scold, especially in a mild and good-willed manner: 

Teach:  . to impart knowledge or skill; give instruction

Turn someone back:  to persuade (a person) to change or reorder the course of his or her life.

Following this list He says we have to "accept His Discipline".  We don't like discipline in today's world....we don't like to obey....yet this is key to growth...being eager for what God wants to teach us...eager for His Lessons, Rules, Ways of doing things.  My son had sent one of his pieces of art to a Famous Contemporary Christian Artist whose work is extremely deep and motivating.  He wrote back and gave this instruction to my son many years ago and i adopted it.  He said,"Be teachable!..Always be teachable!"  This line is so necessary in all aspects of life but especially with our relationship with God.  He surely knows what is best and so we can truly trust Him!   

Mary DeTurris Poust wrote this paragraph and i do not think i can change, add or subtract a thing.  It pulls together all that i have wanted to share in these past blogs.  i hope it feeds you the way it has fed me:

"Each time you light the candles on your advent wreath this season...day by day, week by week....may it be a reminder to step outside the frenetic pace of the world and set your life to a slower rhythm, a sacred cadence that gives you room to breath in God's Goodness, to revel in the waiting, to look into the darkness all around you and find The Light that can never be extinguished!"

i pray This Holy Season we all find more of That Light!  Keep chasing Him.  i promise you it is well worth the effort.  And remember....BE TEACHABLE!

(Plz note i use lower case i and a small a in angie when referring to me and all things in any way associated with God are capitalized.  This may not be grammatically correct, but i was inspired to do this many years ago.  So note it is intentional.  Just thought you should know.)

til next time...For those of you who never heard of the book of Sirach in the Bible, here is an article that explains why some Bibles have a book called Sirach and others do not.

http://www.calledtocommunion.com/2010/11/sirach-about-a-biblical-book-rejected-by-the-reformation/

ps:  Comments are welcome.....

8. What are we listening to...

The second sense i want to cover is our hearing...what a great gift from God our hearing is.  For some reason we allow ourselves to be subjected to foul language and poor conversation, programs and shows with themes that are negative and destroying and music that brings on depression.  Our prayer space....our homes....our workplace...our car need to be places of Light...with audio that is beautiful and uplifting to help us maintain our prayer connection with God.  Music is one of my ministries and the songs and lyrics we listen to affect who we are.  There are two Christian radio stations in our area that are marvelous.  Their music is safe for the little ones in us and continue to be uplifting and elevating to the heart and mind.  They are Klove 96.7 FM and Star 99.1FM both of these numbers are for the NYC area.  You can look them up online.  The music is modern and very positive.  Put this on wherever you are and after a while you will know all the songs and start to sing along.  Their shows are aimed at inspiring belief  in God and His Power and Love.  We must fight day to day to support the Joy of the Lord and the reality of His Existence.  Remember "THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH!"  Why shouldn't we surround ourselves with great audio...This goes for our TV shows, movies, plays, and people we spend time with....."Oh be careful little ears what you hear..."  We use our computers and phones for everything except finding the alternative to what the society continues to try and push as 'norm'.  Some great Christian musicians i like are Michael W. Smith Worship albums, Matthew West, Matt Maher, Gaithers Band  David Phelps, Larnelle Harris, Israel and the New Breed....etc.  Look some up on YouTube...rejoice in your God!  Dance and sing unto Him as the Psalms encourage us to.  And find people who you can call your 'tribe'.  Those who have similar beliefs like you have and talk...sit around a table and share the goodness of God!  Those who are saved by the Blood of Jesus...and sometimes a few might be your blood relatives too.

And don't forget that hearing means listening means we need silence too.  i went to a monastery just this past Thursday and the silence in that chapel was 'delicious'.  We have noise all the time around us fighting for our attention and burdening our brain causing stress upon stress.  Get time alone with God in silence to rest the senses and 'hear' from Him in a way that exceeds what the senses can handle but we must quiet ourselves to reach a higher plain in our spiritual journeys.  People often say they wish they had some of the spiritual experiences i have encountered but refuse to work at it and be creative in finding their God.  The media continues to demand our attention.....fight hard to resist and quiet yourselves.  You will then hear 'sounds' and see 'things' you can't imagine or experience in this natural world.  These extraordinary experiences  are not aimed at a small select group.  It is available to all of us if we continue to "CHASE HIM".

Remember i am praying for you always.  God wants you and i to flourish.  And as we find more of Him and change our approach in the littlest ways, we will find ourselves more peaceful, happier, more stable,...able to better our relationships and become "The best version of ourselves".

Remember JESUS is the Only Reason for this season....He is the One who deserves presents, so simplify this Holy Season.  Turn all your efforts toward Him and show those around you how these Holy Seasons should be lived ....with God as the Center of it all!   May He be Praised, Adored, and Loved by all ....The only 'decoration' we need for Christmas is Him!!!

We will cover the sense of touch next time to complete this topic....All eyes and ears on Him.... and find time for silence....til next time....1Kings 19 The Lord speaking to Elijah

11 Then the LORD said: Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will pass by. There was a strong and violent wind rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD—but the LORD was not in the wind; after the wind, an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake;12after the earthquake, fire—but the LORD was not in the fire; after the fire, a light silent sound. (often referred to as a whisper)

13When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.A voice said to him, Why are you here, Elijah?"

7. Advent...what is this?

Yesterday began the beautiful season of Advent.  The Church in her Wisdom recognizes that the human person needs reminders to wake up  in their walk with God....to ignite a New Fire of The Holy Spirit to support a better life...a life filled with more giving, loving, kindness and as my Pastor Fr. Carlo spoke at Masses yesterday,  a life with "less grumbling" and growth spiritually.  Even Joel Olsteen, who i do not think celebrates an Advent Season, was inspired to speak of "holding the tongue" from James 1 and changing.  Advent is the sister of Lent.  Both are a serious season of growing, converting either for the first time or a revert back to God's Road.  Enter into this season in a spiritual way and Christmas will have much more meaning than giving gifts, food and pressure. Take time to fast, pray more, go to confession, get back to Mass/Church on Sunday and each day work on things to improve in your life and your relationship with God.  There are many great Catholic resources to assist you in this.  Here are a few sites you can look at and maybe subscribe to that have daily morning prayer and evening prayer, Mass readings for the day, and saints' stories.  Dynamic Catholic has a great day to day video, music and stories, etc to help us celebrate Advent in a new way.

http://dynamiccatholic.com/best-advent-ever/?mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiWkRaaU1qVXpaREJpT1RjeiIsInQiOiJtYmJVVWpWOERwY1JnU01UOEcyNW9YU1h5V2h3YXZyWTRGNTZ2OUJMWFhNMHRkSks2QmZYcUxpc0UrVGZLcVVvV1JsbkpBQ0c0ODBWTlgxQ21mTXg0cmdkXC9oV0VsemNZdGtiSDRScmtxU0k9In0%3D

http://us7.campaign-archive2.com/?u=88e1e53d7262719bee7f23be0&id=b47167b346&e=4838735909

http://www.ucatholic.com/

This is a time for preparations for 3 things....first, to celebrate and rejoice that Jesus was born because without Him we would not be saved and Heaven would never be accessible to us remembering that this is past, second to have Jesus born in our hearts in a new way..to kind of cushion a manger in our hearts for Him to make His dwelling..this is now....and finally to prepare for His Final Coming when He will come as Judge...future.  The most important for today is the second, for if we prepare ourselves to meet God each and every day by our Beliefs and practicing those Truths we will surely be ready, as the Mass prayer the priest says each and every time we are at Mass:

"Deliver us Lord from every evil and grant us peace in our day.  In Your Mercy keep us free from sin and protect us from all anxiety,  AS WE WAIT IN JOYFUL HOPE FOR THE COMING OF OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!"

Maranatha, come Lord Jesus!  If you do not know what Maranatha means, look it up...we need to start to use our computers more to look up spiritual things ....we live at a great time in history...so many great resources to support our journey toward God.  Happy searching....a fruitful Advent to all of us!  til next time....psalm 122:1

"I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”

6. A Walk into Church

Yesterday in the afternoon i wanted to see if the church was open. i wanted to have some prayer time with God alone.  How excited i was when my own parish was open for private prayer even on Thanksgiving.  As i entered the main church, all lights were out except those on the Main Altar and no one else was there.  The visual beauty was immediately conducive to a deep and beautiful prayer experience.  Let me explain...first there are 5 small stained glass windows depicting 5 scenes from the Bible:  Jesus' birth, Melchizedek from the Old Testament, the Crucifixion, The Last Supper, and The Resurrection.  Each one gave me a long length of time to pray meditating on these stories....these Truths from our faith. Then there is a main Icon above the Altar of Our Lady of Perpetual Help...St. Mary holding the Savior (her Son).  Each and every Icon has so many deep and meaningful parts to it that go way beyond the art itself.  An Icon is prayed and then created and there are many little secrets hidden in each of them.  One is suppose to pray an Icon and so look up Icons on your computer and research them.  Check out:

http://www.loyolapress.com/our-catholic-faith/family/catholic-teens/religious-art/icons-as-religious-art

Look up Our Lady of Perpetual Help and learn the meaning behind so many things depicted in this particular famous piece of art.

https://www.redemptorists.net/icon.cfm
https://www.catholiccompany.com/content/our-lady-perpetual-help-icon-meaning.cfm

And so i got to pray with the Icon's help, if you will, raising again my mind and heart to God in prayer reflecting on the Truths depicted there.  Then there were 5-6  paintings of great Saints and i could meditate on their lives and how they chased God and made Jesus the Center of their lives.....St. John Paul II, St Clare of Assisi, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. John Neumann....just beautiful..These are our brothers and sisters who made it to the end of the race. They succeeded in life because of their faith and therefore were successes in death and their legacy still goes on today.  Another beautiful thing to help me meditate on these heroes i love.  The Main Altar had the last supper below the Altar, the Gold Tabernacle where the Consecrated Hosts we believe are Jesus Himself are stored for prayer and to bring to the sick, and the red candle similar to the one our Jewish Friends have by The Torah in Synagogue as a sign that God is here...sometimes called the Perpetual Light.   On the Altar itself here were very small paintings of Seraphic Angels with 6 wings as spoken in Scripture and St. Peter and St. Paul.  The gold adornment just reminded me of what the Bible says about God's Altar in Heaven....absolutely beautiful!

How beautiful to have at my disposal these visual aides to help me enter into a dialogue with my God.  This is what i am referring to when i speak of surrounding yourself with beauty and how it can aid us in our prayer life.  They can be springboards into deeper waters.  Different images and things feed different people, so make your prayer space and home personal in what can assist you visually to lift your eyes to Him.  Follow your heart and recognize that they change over the years.  What speaks to you today, may be different in a yr, or more...so be flexible to what feeds you and helps you enter deeply into prayer and cooperate with that Godly inspiration.

next time....we will cover the other senses...for now i have opened this up to comments that i will view privately in case you want to share something or contact me...click comments below.......in the meantime, a Scripture for our meditation....Jeremiah 29:12-13  til next time...

12"When you call me, and come and pray to me, I will listen to you.13When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart."
,

5. Don't lose focus...

As Thanksgiving closes in, let's not lose focus.  This day is not a day to have anxiety or stressors about anything especially food.  Save your high stress for when someone is bleeding or on their way to the hospital or someone is dying.  Those are the big deals in life and yet even then we can remain in peace if we continue to evolve and journey with God.  We can learn to take these issues/people in this world with "a side glance".  My Spiritual Director was Fr. James Carroll for many many years til he moved far away and that was his phrase. 'Take everything with a side glance in life with eyes focused on God Front and Center. Only flinch if you offend Him.' How lovely and truthful a perspective like this is.

This day is about thanking the One and Only Who is there 24/7, Who loves you and i in a way no one in this world will ever.   Even if we add up all those who love us that does not come close to God's Love for us.

You know as i spoke earlier about using beautiful things for our eyes to see in our homes, cars, work and prayer spaces, i got to spend some time praying in front of a Life Sized Crucifix.  That is a Cross with the Body of Jesus on it.  What a help to meditate looking at or holding a crucifix.  It is one of my favorite ways to pray.   This has two reminders for me.  One, it reminds me of The Great Suffering Jesus underwent for me!  This musters up sincere love and gratitude for so Great a God Who would pay my debt and take my place which is also why we as Catholics like the Stations of the Cross too which depict Jesus' Walk to Calvary in 14 images.  We pray at each one thanking Him for all He did to save us.  The second thing i am reminded of as i behold Him on the Cross is, i beg Him ,"Jesus,please teach me to love like that!"  You see, in and of ourselves we have no clue how to love another.  But as the Word so beautifully puts it, "No Greater Love hath any Man than to lay down His Life for a friend!"  "I will not be able to do anything unless You teach me how to love like that Lord!".   Add a Crucifix to your prayer collection,home,car and work, along with candles, flowers, pictures, statues, a pet, all good and holy things that can raise your mind to God when you see them.   And ask Jesus to teach you to Love how He Loves.  To be willing to "die" for another to help them thru.  The rewards of learning how to do this are 'out of this world!"  It is a painful and most difficult thing to work on but surely it is so worth it.  i promise you that!

Remember, the doors of Heaven were shut.  No one could enter because nothing that is not perfect and pure can be in front of the Almighty.  So God sent His Only Son to die for all our sins.  He paid our price so that the doors of Heaven were blast open so you and i have the opportunity to enter if we believe, Love and Trust Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  i tell kids that a debt is like going to Toys r Us and filling three baskets full of stuff and when we go to pay, a man steps in front of us and says i will pay this bill for you.  'How do you feel about this man who paid your debt?'..."We love him and are very grateful and thank him."....that's what we feel about Jesus paying a much bigger debt for us.   Just like the children's song says, "OH HOW I LOVE JESUS, OH HOW I LOVE JESUS, OH HOW I LOVE JESUS BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED ME!"   til next time....i thank God for you and your gifts and your faith.  Go Higher...and let's meditate on a verse that is very well known and treasured by believers in John 3:16:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have Eternal Life."

4. Thanksgiving reminder

Reminder for all of us....it is easy to reach for the multitudes...easy to give to the poor, go out and worship as i do for many at churches and homes, go to a soup kitchen and feed the great numbers for Thanksgiving, assist at a food pantry....these are all good and holy things, but never should we do these things at the cost of ignoring our own who are in need.  The elderly and disabled in our families, friends and neighborhoods are pushed aside and we think a visit 3 times a year (if that much) satisfies.  Oh the loneliness and sorrow of those confined to home and we neglect them.  Not even calls in good and holy circles of families and friends to these, the least!  They often will say, people wait for when i will die to show up and then it is too late.

And beyond this small category is everyone else...in every choir or group i have ever served there is brokenness in each and every member..They all come to confide in me asking for help and counsel..illness, PTSD, loneliness and isolation for those who are different, parents with ill and disabled children, the widow, the single parent, the caretakers, the one who is great at everything and expected to be super person , the mentally ill, the list goes on and on.  Everyone is hurting and there are many opportunities in our circles, family, friends and neighbors where we find those in need of a hug and our time.   People in need of our creativity in how we can spend time with them and bring joy sometimes in the silliest of ways.

This season, rather every day of our lives, let us remember the least in our circle of family and friends, in our tribe.  How easy it is to make a call in 2016 with cell phones and yet there is more separation today than many years ago.  i grew up in a home where we visited my grandma daily.  As we got older we contacted her on our own and visited constantly because that is what our parents taught us to do.  That way of life is gone.  How cautious we parents must be in how we reach for our own elders because we will shortly be in their position and sadly our children will do to us as they saw we did to our own.

6:30 pm the other night i took a walk on a main street.  There was an elderly woman walking with bags too heavy for her severely arthritic hands and limited strength.  She would walk a few steps and have to stop.  She was well dressed and beautiful but she was struggling.  No one offered to help her as many young ones passed her by.  i was ministering on the phone to someone and told them i would call back because i had something important to do.  i thought for sure she would not accept my help because that often happens for people are afraid today to be vulnerable and let someone help them because our world is often unsafe.  But to my great surprise she said yes.  The bags were so heavy my arms still hurt days later.  i offered my arm for her to hold because she needed the support to be able to walk. We shared as we walked to her home 2-3 blocks away.  She said no one ever has helped her before. We talked about the real Love of God and how we all are related, brother and sisters in Christ.  i got her to her home safe and we parted after she invited me back for coffee someday.  i left different.  It is funny how God works.  We give and He then gives to us treasures not measured by anything in this world.  The next day when i was with my Mom  we were close to this woman's home.  i told my Mom the story and she reminded me about her shopping cart.  My Mom always called her large shopping cart her Cadillac since she never drove.  She used it always for all of the years she was able to get out and shop by herself and that was well into her 80s.  i never thought of this idea, and so i listened to what Mom said.  i stopped by to visit this lady and found out she had two big carts that were too heavy and bulky for her to handle, so i went and bought her a light small red shopping cart.  Oh how she loved it especially the color. She invited me in to see her lovely decorated home sadly filled with the smell of urine.  i then found out she nurses her disabled daughter still who gets picked up and brought back from care daily.  She lost her husband many years ago.  i met Jesus in her and i received much more than she did in our encounter.

i have a purpose in telling you this story.  Stories like this are ordinary in my life and i am not looking for medals for doing what Our Lord inspires me to do.  i am telling you this because as a strong woman who is alone who cares for a disabled son and elderly mother and is in ministry full time reaching to many often on a one to one basis daily, i am tired and weary at times like everyone else. Very rarely does anyone ask how i am or offer me a cup of coffee.  But you see in my sorrow, pain, joys, elation, in all the different places i can be on a daily basis good or bad, i continue to give and bring Jesus to others as i am called because when no one asks me how i am or serves me offering a hand of help, Jesus then comes and ministers to me Himself as i reach for the least.  Imagine, i am so very rich, not monetarily but in things beyond our comprehension when i give from my lack.  And so, do not wait until things look perfect or you are stronger, or when things are better.  If God inspires you to do something beautiful for another, do it with all your heart and do it Now and what you will get in return will be extraordinary from His Own Hands!

Please know  i am praying for you....remember your value as a daughter or son of God....chase Him and as a great Catholic Author from dynamiccatholic.com  i met early in his career Matthew Kelly states, "become the very best version of yourself!"  Be different...be kind....be extraordinarily loving....be holy and follow the promptings of the Living God.  As each of us goes higher, the world becomes more and more the place He created it to be.  til next time my friends....let's meditate on this Scripture verse Luke 6:38  and apply it to our lives:

"Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”

3. Saturate the Senses

To make our visit with God reach new heights, it is so helpful when we "Saturate the Senses".  Our eyes see, ears hear, mouths taste, hands touch... we are an experiential species.  So what we see, hear, taste and touch make things come alive in our mind, body, soul and spirit experiences in this life.  And so let us go one by one to see how we can apply this in our relationship with God to help deepen our prayer life.

Eyes:  let's surround ourselves with good, beautiful and holy images.  These help us to lift our minds and hearts to God throughout our day without effort.  They are holy reminders to do as the Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, "Pray without ceasing".  These things help us to refrain from sin, from hurting someone else, help us hold our tongue and be kind.   They help us make better decisions.  They remind us of our higher selves. And they are pretty.   In our place of prayer at home or on our altar, it can really make a prayer experience elevate to "out of this world" when we add things of beauty:   flowers, candles, plaques, pictures, statues, etc.

In the Catholic Church we are very aware of this because the aesthetic beauty is very important to a worship space/church.  Of course the main reason for the beauty is to Honor God, but in that honoring, we people are given images to help us elevate our hearts and mind to Him.  There is an interesting question many non-Catholics ask me.  Why do you have statues and stained glass windows?  The stained glass windows came at a time when there was one or two Bibles in a country if you were lucky because a Bible took a lifetime to hand copy.  There were no printing presses or stores to make or buy a Bible.  And so the church in her wisdom started to build the churches with stained glass depictions of Bible stories that revolved around the salvation story.  Why?  So if i came to church on Monday and heard a reading of the birth of Jesus and i brought a friend in on Tuesday i could point to the coinciding window and share the Bible story and therefore keep the gospel alive and passing on. There was no formal Bible in the early church.  Tradition and Scriptures from the Torah and oral sharing of the stories was the way to evangelize and share the Gospel.  And so, these stained glass windows started as a means of sharing the Word of God.  Today, we can still use them especially with children to tell a Bible Story, but it is something for the eyes to behold and in seeing that beauty and being reminded of the Scriptures behind them, our souls are helped to elevate higher into a time of deep prayer and contemplation.

The statues are our heroes.  In the Capital they have a hall of Presidents with busts of each of our Leaders since Washington.  We know these are not gods, but rather reminders of great ones, like ourselves, who answered the call and are heroes to look up to and encourage others to follow in their desire to help our country.  For us Catholics, the statues are those human beings, who became known because of their preaching, healing, example, wisdom, miracles, intimacy with God, counsel, etc., The only reason they are known is because they chased God and found Him for themselves.  They were sinners, just like us, in need of a Savior.   This reminds us that their success can be ours too.  We can aspire to great things if Jesus is the Center of our lives.  And we believe that after death, the Church Triumphant in Heaven has the ability to continue to pray for us and bring our petitions to God asking for His help on our behalf.  They are not gods and would never want that association.  They were great and extraordinary only because of Him. i often think of a stage where the saints are on the side wings with Jesus in Front and Center.  All of them would point to Him saying, "don't focus on us...look to the One Who died and saved all.  Any Good we accomplished, only came from One Source, The Living and True God!"

The same principle applies to our homes,vehicles and workplaces.  Pictures, statues, candles, Bibles, Scripture Plaques all visual things are displayed to encourage us to always try to choose the good and to help us "Pray without ceasing".  We, as Catholics call these things sacramentals and we get them blessed by our Catholic Priest who prays over them asking God to bless them and all those who look upon them and use them and the places where they are displayed.

Our eyes....protect what you see....look for only beautiful things that are pure and innocent....display these things all around you always being reminded of God and His Ever Deep Abiding Love for you and me. And as for the TV, computer and phone?   caution....use them with intense caution to guard your soul.  The young child's hymn puts it very well:

"Oh be careful little eyes what you see, oh be careful little eyes what you see, for The Father up above is looking down in Love, Oh be careful little eyes what you see!"

Do know there does come a time when one can eventually pray and elevate to God without need of these extras and some never need them at all, but for now make an effort to make your prayer time beautiful to the eye...Honoring of God... so that your prayer space helps you to deepen your experience and your home reminds you of Him constantly in a variety of ways.  If you have any trouble understanding the Catholic principles i have shared, feel free to look up Catholic apologetics and search out the answers.  They will be able to answer more deeply any questions you have.   We, as Catholics, have a reason for everything we believe and do...everything.   Allow yourself the opportunity to at least hear those reasons from us before ever misjudging us or leaving us.

til next time....let's practice this verse...and we will cover hearing in the next blog...

 Philippians 4:8 calls us to

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

2. No Favorites

Our God has no favorites.  St. Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Harriet Tubman, Maimonides, these all were ordinary human beings like you and i.  The difference is they chased God.  This too is available to us to the degree we want to find Him.  Maimonides, a 12th century Jewish Philosopher, wrote many things about God of which it takes silence and lots of time to be able  to understand.  He was greatly loved and read by many great Catholic Saints.  But the line he wrote that i was most fortunate to come across in my journey was, "The more you chase God, the more you catch Him!"...'The more you chase God, the more you catch Him!"  That means the degree to which i could find God was in my hands, in what i decided to do, think, read, pray, and the people i chose to surround myself with.   The Grace was His, the Invite His, the free will was His, even my choice to chase is His, but the degree to which i find Him lies in my willingness to enter the race and discipline myself to train well.  We put all our time into study, houses, cars, relationships, becoming successful and all these are good, but they cannot be the top priority if we want to find God for ourselves and really really experience Him.  He has to be Number One!  If we put a fourth of the effort into finding God for ourselves as we put into buying a new car, wow, we all would know God pretty well.

Do you ever look at someone who is holy and wish you had what they had?  Start chasing....The Greatness of the four random names i listed above did not come from them....It came from the God Who allows the earth to spin perfectly and the sun to stay in its place.  The only thing these greats would do if we asked them how to become great, how to find peace, how to be healed, how to cope, how to have endless joy, how to grow...etc is point to the Only One Who gives these things and gets all the credit, Our Marvelous God.

Our God created everyone to become a saint, not the same as another, but the saint we were made to be.  And the only way you and i can do this is by chasing God...by making Him the Top Priority...by obeying His Laws,  by praying each and every day...eventually leading to praying unceasingly as Scripture tells us.  Make time for Him!  Make time to be silent and just rest in His Arms.  It is the Only Place that satisfies a human being utterly and completely.  Tell Him you want to find Him for yourself, not only because you were raised in a religion or told to believe.  Give these things a try and He will show up in a big way!  Our God desires nothing more than to have a deep, loving relationship with His children.  

Don't be discouraged as you read these blogs if you are just beginning your journey.  God brings each of us along in His Perfect Time, at His Perfect Pace.  Be patient with the process...be patient with yourself and ignore every voice that might discourage your new quest or returning quest.  Many who are very wrapped up in the world's ways are often sadly used to try to bring down, make fun of, ridicule and try to silence the Spirit of the Living God.  Ignore all of them and run...run ...and become  a "God Chaser", a phrase i found first in the book "The God Chaser" by Tommy Tenney.

Let's meditate on the Scriptures that speaks of a race....The Word of God has Power...It is the Breath of God that is why we memorize it so in times of trouble we can muster up faith in ourselves by repeating and bringing a Verse to mind...til next time...be assured of my prayers ....

Ecclesiastes 1

17 I have applied myself to understanding philosophy and science, stupidity and folly, and I now realize that all this too is chasing after the wind.

2Timothy 4

7 I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith;

1. Let's begin...

My name is angie.  i am a Roman Catholic, and so my blog will come from this origin but is opened to people of all faiths.   Many have asked me over the years to write a book because i have been privileged to spiritually accompany many on their road to finding God.  It is only now that i sense it might be the time God is calling me to this in a very simple way.  i do not want people to write back for time does not allow for this and i will not be responding to any comments. So please respect that. but i will share again and again, when time allows, in the hope that it might bring Light to someone.  i am a simple woman who loves God ever so deeply and has had the privilege of experiencing "His Glance"!  In my joys and times of desperation in my life, i have had a Grace that kept me chasing Him.  And in that chasing, one always finds!  To all those who have nurtured me through the years to go higher, thank you and i keep you deep in my daily prayers .  To all who might read this, my prayer is that God Himself will make Himself known to you.  No matter where you are or what you are going through, no matter how many in your life have called you "less than" especially in families, no matter what the circumstances, God loves you...He cares...He is faithful...and awaits for your invitation to let Him in the door of your heart. Praised be His Holy Name!  Til next time.....let's meditate on One of the Many Scripture Verses i love and hold so dear from Zephaniah 3:17-18

17The LORD, your God, is in your midst,

a mighty savior,

Who will rejoice over you with gladness,

and renew you in his love,

Who will sing joyfully because of you,

18as on festival days.