Its hard to believe its already been a week since TEC 129 started! As I reflect back on the amazingness of TEC 129 I want to share with y'all a few of the wonderous things that God revealed to me. Without further ado, here are some pearls of wisdom from the Most High Himself (and the people He spoke through on TEC):
"God will take you as deep as you want to go...but don't cry out that you don't know how to swim when the water reaches your nose" - Cory
As the deep cries out to deep, we sing, come Lord Jesus, come...
"So faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love...because God is love. The greatest of these is God, He always remains" - Deacon Steve
Because Jesus was God, Jesus' death was infinitely harder. He didn't have to do it, He could have walked away, flown out of the Garden of Gethsemane. How sad Jesus must have been to see and watch His friend, Judas, betray Him, to watch Peter deny Him. His agonies make His death that much more difficult, and therefore infinitely full of love.
How many miracles have come from the love of Jesus? And when did they come? AFTER His horrific death. Joy, miracles, conversions, love, peace come...after deaths, after we die to the things that keep us from Him. Let us die with joy, if only for the hope of rising to Easter morning.
Jesus, Lord of Heaven, Your love has no bounds, Your love has NO bounds.
Heaven starts NOW, not after we die. After we die we will have the fullness of heaven, but we get glimpses of heaven while we are on earth...they motivate us and give us reason to live for eternal life with Jesus.
"Forgive and forget isn't Christian" - Father...the scars are there. Forgive? Yes. Forget? No. Move on, but don't forget, those scars make us who we are, they unite us with Christ's suffering, they make us beautiful. When Jesus rose from the dead His scars remained with Him. Thomas doubted and believed because he saw Jesus' scars; may our scars bring others to believe in Christ. May the survival of our scars witness to His love. Unite your scars to His, His brought life, mercy, peace, miracles. May ours do the same.
Jesus was stripped of all that He had, stripped of His garments so that He would leave this world the same way that Adam came into it: out of love alone.
Holy Trinity, draw my heart to You. Love's not easy, but its worth it. Love won't let you hide...God is love, God won't let you hide.
Jesus, You're all this heart is living for. Open the flood gates of Heaven, You are all I'm living for. Let it rain, You are all this heart is living for.
Catholics are in the process of being saved...it is a process that involves sacrifice. Jesus did it to show us how.
Your blood runs in my veins, my heart burns with Your grace. I'm alive in You and You live in me, hope of glory.
"God made you first, He's totally got dibbs" - Josh
The Bible = infinite notifications, which are way better than facebook notifications.
In God's professional opinion, you are worth dying for.
Jesus, You're all this heart is living for. Lord, take my heart, absorb it into Yours, make Your love my love, Your words my words. Everything I am is for Your glory. AMEN.
Go on TEC. TEC hasn't just changed my life, it changes my life, every moment of every day. http://www.rockymountaintec.net/
Friday, July 29, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
back to You
Alright, at first glance this song really isn't about waiting. Perhaps even at a second glance it isn't about waiting, but what it is about is true Love, so without further ado, the song of the week:
Artist: John Mayer (I've been a little stuck on him lately, if you couldn't tell!)
Song: Back to You
Lyrics:
Back to you
It always comes around
Back to you
I tried to forget you
I tried to stay away
But it's too late
Over you
I'm never over
Over you
Theres something about you
It's just the way you move
The way you move me
Yeah, I'm so good at forgetting
And I quit every game I play
But forgive me, love
I can't turn and walk away
This way
Back to you
It always comes around
Back to you
I walk with your shadow
I'm sleeping in my bed
With your silhouette
Yeah, should have smiled in that picture
If it's the last that I'll see of you
It's the least that you
Could not do
Oh, I will
Leave the light on,
I'll never give up on you,
Leave the light on,
For me too, for me too
Yeah...
Back to me
I know that it comes
Back to me
Doesn't it scare you
Your will is not as strong
As it used to be
I used to think this song was about always coming back to the one you love, and in a lot of ways it is. When we are waiting we often find ourselves with no one to come back to. Or so we think. What about coming back to Him? I always capitalize the last word of my blog titles and this one works SO perfectly, back to You. So when we find ourselves waiting for love, waiting for that fully human person to come back to, why not always come back to Jesus?
The verses: It always comes around to You, I may try and pursue some other love, but it always comes back to God. Its the beauty of the universe. I may try and forget God or stay away from God but He always comes for my heart. There have even been times I've tried to pretend that I'm over God, that I don't need Him (that decision has been both spoken and unspoken in my life), but I always come back to Him, I need Him. As the psalms say, I thirst for Him like a dry, parched land.
There is always something about God, about the way He moves me, the way He loves me (see my last blog for more on how beautifully He loves).
Lord, leave the light on. You know that I'll never give up on You, on Your will, on Your love in my life. Leave the light of Your love always burning in my heart.
And after I come back to God, it comes back to me. How am I going to love Him more?
So as we wait, let us turn our hearts always back to God, who leaves the light of His love burning brightly in our hearts. AMEN.
Artist: John Mayer (I've been a little stuck on him lately, if you couldn't tell!)
Song: Back to You
Lyrics:
Back to you
It always comes around
Back to you
I tried to forget you
I tried to stay away
But it's too late
Over you
I'm never over
Over you
Theres something about you
It's just the way you move
The way you move me
Yeah, I'm so good at forgetting
And I quit every game I play
But forgive me, love
I can't turn and walk away
This way
Back to you
It always comes around
Back to you
I walk with your shadow
I'm sleeping in my bed
With your silhouette
Yeah, should have smiled in that picture
If it's the last that I'll see of you
It's the least that you
Could not do
Oh, I will
Leave the light on,
I'll never give up on you,
Leave the light on,
For me too, for me too
Yeah...
Back to me
I know that it comes
Back to me
Doesn't it scare you
Your will is not as strong
As it used to be
I used to think this song was about always coming back to the one you love, and in a lot of ways it is. When we are waiting we often find ourselves with no one to come back to. Or so we think. What about coming back to Him? I always capitalize the last word of my blog titles and this one works SO perfectly, back to You. So when we find ourselves waiting for love, waiting for that fully human person to come back to, why not always come back to Jesus?
The verses: It always comes around to You, I may try and pursue some other love, but it always comes back to God. Its the beauty of the universe. I may try and forget God or stay away from God but He always comes for my heart. There have even been times I've tried to pretend that I'm over God, that I don't need Him (that decision has been both spoken and unspoken in my life), but I always come back to Him, I need Him. As the psalms say, I thirst for Him like a dry, parched land.
There is always something about God, about the way He moves me, the way He loves me (see my last blog for more on how beautifully He loves).
Lord, leave the light on. You know that I'll never give up on You, on Your will, on Your love in my life. Leave the light of Your love always burning in my heart.
And after I come back to God, it comes back to me. How am I going to love Him more?
So as we wait, let us turn our hearts always back to God, who leaves the light of His love burning brightly in our hearts. AMEN.
Monday, July 25, 2011
no Vulnerability.
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to to with punishment, so one who fears in not yet perfect in love. We love because He first loved us." - 1 John 4:18-19
I think today's blog could be about a million different things, and believe you me the topic has changed about a zillion times over the last few days. This weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to again serve on team on Rocky Mountain TEC #129. If you've never been on a TEC retreat I highly encourage you to go, they never fail to amaze me and truly change lives. The miracles I've seen through TEC are as countless as the stars in the sky. Go to http://www.rockymountaintec.net/ to find out when all of the upcoming retreats are!
After the amazingness of this weekend it was hard to finally settle on a topic for today's blog. But after much time in prayer yesterday and today I've come to this beautiful conclusion which I can't help but share: there is no vulnerability in loving Jesus.
Lately I've been struggling with guys, with men, with boys, with romantic relationships. Guys disappoint, they leave, the say hurtful words, they break your heart (and I have no doubt that girls can and in fact will do the same things to guys). There is risk involved in being in a relationship, in putting your heart on the line and hoping they won't smash it on the ground. Trust me, I've been there. I've put my heart out there and then I was told that the person I loved was never in love with me. Talk about heartbreak! But do you know what I've discovered? There is no vulnerability in loving Jesus.
Jesus doesn't leave.
Jesus doesn't walk away after a bad fight.
Jesus doesn't walk away, even if I cheat on Him. (i.e. loving something or someone more than I love Him.)
Jesus doesn't say hurtful words, He only tells me the truths I need to hear. Though they may be hard to hear, they set my heart free.
Jesus doesn't break my heart.
Jesus isn't going to come up to me one day and say that He's not in love with me, nor has He ever been. He loves me and He is passionately in love with me.
Jesus doesn't take my heart and break it into a million pieces, intentionally or unintentionally.
Isn't that what we are all seeking? We are seeking that relationship that will never hurt us or make us cry, that will never break our hearts. Why not love Him? Jesus offers us that relationship, we never have to fear Him leaving or hurting us. Sometimes I think even that notion is scary; I don't have to fear? That sounds too good to be true, too easy. Let me tell you, this was not easy:
Loving Jesus isn't all that hard. Loving Him comes naturally. Letting Him love you with His perfect, unfailing love is. Let Him love you, allow Him to wash you clean in His holy love.
AMEN.
I think today's blog could be about a million different things, and believe you me the topic has changed about a zillion times over the last few days. This weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to again serve on team on Rocky Mountain TEC #129. If you've never been on a TEC retreat I highly encourage you to go, they never fail to amaze me and truly change lives. The miracles I've seen through TEC are as countless as the stars in the sky. Go to http://www.rockymountaintec.net/ to find out when all of the upcoming retreats are!
After the amazingness of this weekend it was hard to finally settle on a topic for today's blog. But after much time in prayer yesterday and today I've come to this beautiful conclusion which I can't help but share: there is no vulnerability in loving Jesus.
Lately I've been struggling with guys, with men, with boys, with romantic relationships. Guys disappoint, they leave, the say hurtful words, they break your heart (and I have no doubt that girls can and in fact will do the same things to guys). There is risk involved in being in a relationship, in putting your heart on the line and hoping they won't smash it on the ground. Trust me, I've been there. I've put my heart out there and then I was told that the person I loved was never in love with me. Talk about heartbreak! But do you know what I've discovered? There is no vulnerability in loving Jesus.
Jesus doesn't leave.
Jesus doesn't walk away after a bad fight.
Jesus doesn't walk away, even if I cheat on Him. (i.e. loving something or someone more than I love Him.)
Jesus doesn't say hurtful words, He only tells me the truths I need to hear. Though they may be hard to hear, they set my heart free.
Jesus doesn't break my heart.
Jesus isn't going to come up to me one day and say that He's not in love with me, nor has He ever been. He loves me and He is passionately in love with me.
Jesus doesn't take my heart and break it into a million pieces, intentionally or unintentionally.
Isn't that what we are all seeking? We are seeking that relationship that will never hurt us or make us cry, that will never break our hearts. Why not love Him? Jesus offers us that relationship, we never have to fear Him leaving or hurting us. Sometimes I think even that notion is scary; I don't have to fear? That sounds too good to be true, too easy. Let me tell you, this was not easy:
AMEN.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
good love is on the Way
It's Wednesday and that means its time for another song about waiting for love and why this song is so awesome! Without further ado, its time for another one of my fave's by John Mayer!
Artist: John Mayer
Song: Good Love is on the Way
Lyrics:
I'm a lazy lover
Undercover
Wasting time
Then one day this summer
I changed my number
To cut my line
Good love is on the way
I been lonely but I know, I'll be ok
Good love is on the way
3 years broken hearted
But now her ghost is finally gone
I'm done with broken people
This is me
I'm working on (cause I know)
Good love is on the way
I've been lonely but I know, I'll be ok
Good love is on the way
Good to go for wherever I'm needed
Bags are packed and I'm
Down by the door
You can take all the tricks up my sleeve
I don't need them anymore
Good to go for wherever I'm needed
Bags are packed and I'm
Down by the door
You can take all the tricks up my sleeve
I don't need them anymore
Good love is on the way
I've been lonely, lonely, lonely, yeah
Good love is on the way
I've been lonely but I know I'll be ok
Good love is on the way
Oh, Good love is on the way, hey
Listen to the live version from the "Where The Light Is" live album. He starts out by basically yelling "Good LOVE", which just makes me happy. I love the chorus, "I've been lonely but I know I'll be okay, good love is on the way." How many times do we feel that same emotion? We feel lonely, but when we place our trust in God and His perfect timing we know we will be okay, because not only is His good love on the way, but He promises us good love from others as well.
For three years he's been broken hearted, but her ghost is finally gone. I love this verse probably the most out of all the verses in this song. I know in my life I've felt haunted by the ghosts of past relationships, haunted by what could have been, by what should have been, if only...but the ghosts eventually leave. I'm done with broken people. At some point I had to realize that its time to move, to not for a second settle for less than what my heart desires. I'm done with broken people, this is me I'm working on. By moving on from the ghosts of the past, I am free to be with God, to work on my relationship with Him, and to better myself and strive to be the holiest person I can be.
I'm good to go where ever I'm needed. Take time to prepare yourselves to go where ever it is that God calls you, even if its not some place you expected. Be done with the tricks up your sleeve, be done playing games with love, with others' hearts, with your own heart. You don't need the games and the tricks anymore, you only need God.
The truth is that Good Love is always on His way, may you be open to encountering Him and falling even more in love with Him. AMEN!
Artist: John Mayer
Song: Good Love is on the Way
Lyrics:
I'm a lazy lover
Undercover
Wasting time
Then one day this summer
I changed my number
To cut my line
Good love is on the way
I been lonely but I know, I'll be ok
Good love is on the way
3 years broken hearted
But now her ghost is finally gone
I'm done with broken people
This is me
I'm working on (cause I know)
Good love is on the way
I've been lonely but I know, I'll be ok
Good love is on the way
Good to go for wherever I'm needed
Bags are packed and I'm
Down by the door
You can take all the tricks up my sleeve
I don't need them anymore
Good to go for wherever I'm needed
Bags are packed and I'm
Down by the door
You can take all the tricks up my sleeve
I don't need them anymore
Good love is on the way
I've been lonely, lonely, lonely, yeah
Good love is on the way
I've been lonely but I know I'll be ok
Good love is on the way
Oh, Good love is on the way, hey
Listen to the live version from the "Where The Light Is" live album. He starts out by basically yelling "Good LOVE", which just makes me happy. I love the chorus, "I've been lonely but I know I'll be okay, good love is on the way." How many times do we feel that same emotion? We feel lonely, but when we place our trust in God and His perfect timing we know we will be okay, because not only is His good love on the way, but He promises us good love from others as well.
For three years he's been broken hearted, but her ghost is finally gone. I love this verse probably the most out of all the verses in this song. I know in my life I've felt haunted by the ghosts of past relationships, haunted by what could have been, by what should have been, if only...but the ghosts eventually leave. I'm done with broken people. At some point I had to realize that its time to move, to not for a second settle for less than what my heart desires. I'm done with broken people, this is me I'm working on. By moving on from the ghosts of the past, I am free to be with God, to work on my relationship with Him, and to better myself and strive to be the holiest person I can be.
I'm good to go where ever I'm needed. Take time to prepare yourselves to go where ever it is that God calls you, even if its not some place you expected. Be done with the tricks up your sleeve, be done playing games with love, with others' hearts, with your own heart. You don't need the games and the tricks anymore, you only need God.
The truth is that Good Love is always on His way, may you be open to encountering Him and falling even more in love with Him. AMEN!
Monday, July 18, 2011
fear not the Desert.
Do you ever feel like God is changing everything in your life? Like He is slowly (or sometimes quickly) pulling you away from everything you've ever known? Doesn't it seem at least a little terrifying?
That's totally where I'm at. I recently quit my job for a myriad of reasons, but chief among them was that I knew I wasn't called to be there anymore. I moved across town and back in with my folks. The people I hang out with, the people I see on a regular basis are rapidly changing and I find myself often hungering for fellowship and sisterhood.
The other day I was driving home from daily Mass and I just felt like God is pulling me into the desert...again. He does this a lot with me, He did it a few times in high school, again when I went to college, a few times during college and even more since I've graduated. Ever since the first time I really felt Him pulling me, calling me to the desert (whether I liked it or not) this verse has stuck with me: "So I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart" (Hosea 2:16, NAB). That verse has, for many years, been my favorite verse in all of Scripture. Though I have other verses that I love, that one best describes my whole relationship with God. He calls me, He allures me into the desert. What a great word, allures. It means "to attract or tempt by something flattering or desirable." Or, "to fascinate; charm." When I think of the desert, I think of some barren and desolate land that is hot and basically all around miserable.
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That's certainly not some place that I am attracted to by something desirable.
...Except God. I've found that though God is everywhere, He lives in the desert. He is the MOST desirable "something" in the desert, how could I not be attracted, allured to that, to Him? That verse from Hosea goes on to say that it is in the desert that God will speak to her heart, to our hearts. When everything is stripped away, the Lord speaks even clearer to her heart. Early in the Church's history there were men known as the Desert Fathers. They went out into the desert, forsaking all of their worldly possessions, the noise and busyness of the cities in hopes of seeking God and finding Him in the nothingness of the desert. Do you know what they found? God. Purity of Heart. Read just about anything by St. John Cassian and I'm pretty sure you'll want to go to the desert to find whatever it is that he found. (I highly recommend "Conferences").
I think sometimes He allures me to the desert because I need desolation. I need nothingness. I need to rid myself, my life of everything so that He can start rebuilding me, so that He can put me on a new path which, no doubt, will lead to His Heavenly throne. Can you fight this call to join Him in the desert? Sure you can, (God knows I've tried to fight it on many occasions) He gave us free will after all. But really, how long can you fight God?
So, let us, instead of fearing the desolation and nothingness of the desert, rejoice when God calls us out of our normal way of life [even as I'm writing this I have this gut-wrenching feeling that I could eat these words very soon]. Let us not fear the desert, but let us joyfully go to meet Him there always. Let us clear our hearts of the noise and busyness of the world so that God make speak tenderly to our hearts. AMEN.
That's totally where I'm at. I recently quit my job for a myriad of reasons, but chief among them was that I knew I wasn't called to be there anymore. I moved across town and back in with my folks. The people I hang out with, the people I see on a regular basis are rapidly changing and I find myself often hungering for fellowship and sisterhood.
The other day I was driving home from daily Mass and I just felt like God is pulling me into the desert...again. He does this a lot with me, He did it a few times in high school, again when I went to college, a few times during college and even more since I've graduated. Ever since the first time I really felt Him pulling me, calling me to the desert (whether I liked it or not) this verse has stuck with me: "So I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart" (Hosea 2:16, NAB). That verse has, for many years, been my favorite verse in all of Scripture. Though I have other verses that I love, that one best describes my whole relationship with God. He calls me, He allures me into the desert. What a great word, allures. It means "to attract or tempt by something flattering or desirable." Or, "to fascinate; charm." When I think of the desert, I think of some barren and desolate land that is hot and basically all around miserable.
...Except God. I've found that though God is everywhere, He lives in the desert. He is the MOST desirable "something" in the desert, how could I not be attracted, allured to that, to Him? That verse from Hosea goes on to say that it is in the desert that God will speak to her heart, to our hearts. When everything is stripped away, the Lord speaks even clearer to her heart. Early in the Church's history there were men known as the Desert Fathers. They went out into the desert, forsaking all of their worldly possessions, the noise and busyness of the cities in hopes of seeking God and finding Him in the nothingness of the desert. Do you know what they found? God. Purity of Heart. Read just about anything by St. John Cassian and I'm pretty sure you'll want to go to the desert to find whatever it is that he found. (I highly recommend "Conferences").
I think sometimes He allures me to the desert because I need desolation. I need nothingness. I need to rid myself, my life of everything so that He can start rebuilding me, so that He can put me on a new path which, no doubt, will lead to His Heavenly throne. Can you fight this call to join Him in the desert? Sure you can, (God knows I've tried to fight it on many occasions) He gave us free will after all. But really, how long can you fight God?
So, let us, instead of fearing the desolation and nothingness of the desert, rejoice when God calls us out of our normal way of life [even as I'm writing this I have this gut-wrenching feeling that I could eat these words very soon]. Let us not fear the desert, but let us joyfully go to meet Him there always. Let us clear our hearts of the noise and busyness of the world so that God make speak tenderly to our hearts. AMEN.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
not Myself
So...I've decided to start a new little mini-series on Wednesdays on songs about waiting for love. Not only is this a topic I relate to, but I believe that many other people relate to as well, especially when talking about waiting for Mr. or Mrs. Right. Every week I'll be featuring a new song with a little bit about why its so awesome! Let me know if there's a song you want to see up here and I'll be sure to consider it!
First up is one of my all time favorite songs about waiting. The first few times I heard this song I kind of brushed if off, but when I stopped and really listened to it, I found an amazing message within.
Artist: John Mayer
Song: Not Myself
Lyrics:
Suppose I said
I am on my best behavior
there are times
I lose my worried mind
Would you want me when I'm not myself?
Wait it out while I am someone else?
Suppose I said
Colors change for no good reason
words will go
From poetry to prose
Would you want me when I'm not myself?
Wait it out while I am someone else?
And I, in time, will come around, come around
I always do for you
Suppose I said
You're my saving grace?
My grace
My self
Not myself, my myself and I...
When I'm someone else
When I'm someone else
When I'm someone else
When I'm not myself
Myself
Myself
Love, love, love this song. I always put it on when I'm having one of those "where-the-heck-is-he?" kind of days. I love the question "would you want me when I'm not myself?" I tell a bunch of people about this song for that very question because its so true. Would I want my future husband NOW just because I want him, or would I rather wait until he is the person God wants him to be in order to meet me? I'm not saying he's going to some perfect man when I meet him, but hopefully God will have put his head on straight when we do meet. While I'd love to know where my future husband is now, I also know that God has a plan for both of us. Perhaps I'm not in a place right now where I'm ready to meet Mr. Right, or perhaps he's not ready to meet me yet, for whatever reason. So, yes, I'll wait it out while he is someone else because I trust that God will bring him around when it is time. After all, "and I, in time, will come around, I always do, for you." The music at that part of the song gets really intense, as though that is the climax. In time, in time, he/I will come around...for You. For the love of God, we always come back to striving to be who He made us to be.
I pray my husband is waiting it out while I am someone else. I'll come around, in time; trust Him.
First up is one of my all time favorite songs about waiting. The first few times I heard this song I kind of brushed if off, but when I stopped and really listened to it, I found an amazing message within.
Artist: John Mayer
Song: Not Myself
Lyrics:
Suppose I said
I am on my best behavior
there are times
I lose my worried mind
Would you want me when I'm not myself?
Wait it out while I am someone else?
Suppose I said
Colors change for no good reason
words will go
From poetry to prose
Would you want me when I'm not myself?
Wait it out while I am someone else?
And I, in time, will come around, come around
I always do for you
Suppose I said
You're my saving grace?
My grace
My self
Not myself, my myself and I...
When I'm someone else
When I'm someone else
When I'm someone else
When I'm not myself
Myself
Myself
Love, love, love this song. I always put it on when I'm having one of those "where-the-heck-is-he?" kind of days. I love the question "would you want me when I'm not myself?" I tell a bunch of people about this song for that very question because its so true. Would I want my future husband NOW just because I want him, or would I rather wait until he is the person God wants him to be in order to meet me? I'm not saying he's going to some perfect man when I meet him, but hopefully God will have put his head on straight when we do meet. While I'd love to know where my future husband is now, I also know that God has a plan for both of us. Perhaps I'm not in a place right now where I'm ready to meet Mr. Right, or perhaps he's not ready to meet me yet, for whatever reason. So, yes, I'll wait it out while he is someone else because I trust that God will bring him around when it is time. After all, "and I, in time, will come around, I always do, for you." The music at that part of the song gets really intense, as though that is the climax. In time, in time, he/I will come around...for You. For the love of God, we always come back to striving to be who He made us to be.
I pray my husband is waiting it out while I am someone else. I'll come around, in time; trust Him.
Monday, July 11, 2011
our spiritual Father
Last week I blogged about what a gift it is to be a daughter of Mary. This week I'm struck by the example of St. Joseph, the chaste spouse and "step-dad" to Jesus. This weekend I attended Mass at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Rawlins, WY and this morning in daily Mass I couldn't stop staring at the St. Joseph statue. There is so much we can learn from him, so much about him that I hope my future husband is imitating now:
1. Faith.
I started watching the Nativity Story last night because at the end of the day on my birthday, I wanted to unite myself with Mary as her daughter. Joseph had faith, a deep and abiding faith. Much like Abraham, his faith caused him to do things most people wouldn't (i.e. sacrificing your son, marrying a woman who was preggers and not with your baby). Joseph, though at first unsure, ultimately trusted the voice of God that told him to marry Mary. His faith drove him to shelter Mary, to lead Mary and Jesus to Egypt and to be an earthly father to Jesus.
2. Humility.
Joseph (at least in the movie) feels unworthy to be the father of Jesus. He wonders if he will ever be able to teach Jesus anything. It is in humility that God lifts him up so that he can act as an earthly father to Jesus. (God does this to Mary in the same way, she bows down as she says "be it done unto me according to Your word" and God lifts her up to be the Mother of Jesus).
3. Strength.
Joseph offers his strength to Mary as they travel to Bethlehem for the census. He protects her, feeds her, keeps her safe and finds shelter for her when she is in labor. He cares for her not only because she is pregnant and his wife, but he cares for her because he loves her with a holy and pure love that flows from the heart of God through his own heart.
4. Protection.
Much like his strength, Joseph offers his protection to Mary. As a man, he protects her from theives, from the stones that people seek to throw at her for her perceived transgressions. In the movie after the angel appears to him in the dream telling him to marry Mary, he is talking to Mary and she tells him that people will not look at him the same if he takes her as his wife. He simply responds, "You are my wife. I am your husband. That is all anyone need know." His faith drives him and he doesn't care about what others think or how they look at him, they are in this for the long haul. Mary, Joseph and God. God before them, God between them, God in them.
St. Joseph is a wonderful example of what it means to be a man, to love with a holy, chaste, pure and abiding love. He loves with a love that comes directly from the heart of God. Though Scripture says very little about him, we know and believe that he was a wonderful and humble man who God trusted to provide an example of manliness and Godliness to His Son. Look to St. Joseph!
1. Faith.
I started watching the Nativity Story last night because at the end of the day on my birthday, I wanted to unite myself with Mary as her daughter. Joseph had faith, a deep and abiding faith. Much like Abraham, his faith caused him to do things most people wouldn't (i.e. sacrificing your son, marrying a woman who was preggers and not with your baby). Joseph, though at first unsure, ultimately trusted the voice of God that told him to marry Mary. His faith drove him to shelter Mary, to lead Mary and Jesus to Egypt and to be an earthly father to Jesus.
2. Humility.
Joseph (at least in the movie) feels unworthy to be the father of Jesus. He wonders if he will ever be able to teach Jesus anything. It is in humility that God lifts him up so that he can act as an earthly father to Jesus. (God does this to Mary in the same way, she bows down as she says "be it done unto me according to Your word" and God lifts her up to be the Mother of Jesus).
3. Strength.
Joseph offers his strength to Mary as they travel to Bethlehem for the census. He protects her, feeds her, keeps her safe and finds shelter for her when she is in labor. He cares for her not only because she is pregnant and his wife, but he cares for her because he loves her with a holy and pure love that flows from the heart of God through his own heart.
4. Protection.
Much like his strength, Joseph offers his protection to Mary. As a man, he protects her from theives, from the stones that people seek to throw at her for her perceived transgressions. In the movie after the angel appears to him in the dream telling him to marry Mary, he is talking to Mary and she tells him that people will not look at him the same if he takes her as his wife. He simply responds, "You are my wife. I am your husband. That is all anyone need know." His faith drives him and he doesn't care about what others think or how they look at him, they are in this for the long haul. Mary, Joseph and God. God before them, God between them, God in them.
St. Joseph is a wonderful example of what it means to be a man, to love with a holy, chaste, pure and abiding love. He loves with a love that comes directly from the heart of God. Though Scripture says very little about him, we know and believe that he was a wonderful and humble man who God trusted to provide an example of manliness and Godliness to His Son. Look to St. Joseph!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
daughter of Mary
I've always heard that Mary is our Mother, she is Jesus' Mother and she is ours too. It sounds awesome! But it wasn't until yesterday in confession that I realized that I am a daughter of Mary!
Why I never made this connection before, I don't know but its awesome! The priest gave me a penance to pray a Hail Mary that I would be strengthened to be a better daughter of Mary, that I would imitate my Mother's purity. It sounded so simple but its still blowing my mind!
Scripture tells us that we are children of God, that we are adopted heirs to the kingdom through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross (Heb. 2:5-13, Rom. 8:16-17). If we are His brothers and sisters, then it would also follow that not only is Mary our Mother, we are her children! When I think of Mary as my Mother, I think of her love for me, of the ways that she wraps her mantle of protection around me, I think of how she guards my heart, how she interceeds for me with her Son and with our Heavenly Father. She stands over me, she guards and guides my life in her maternal love, like she does for all her children.
But when I think of myself as her daughter, my role changes. I get that she is motherly towards me, but as her daughter (much like with my own earthly mother) I am called and invited to imitate her best qualities: her unconditional yes to God, her purity of heart, mind, body and soul, her giving nature, her love for Christ, her hope, her surrender to God. Suddenly, my love of Mary is deepened because as her daughter her love, her good qualities run in my veins. Her love, her surrender to God is in me, and therefore I am beckoned to imitate her.
If Mary is my Mother and I am her daughter, then Christ is truly my brother! The familial bonds deepen all the more: Christ is my brother, the apostles are my family upon whom I can depend to show me a path, a life full of purpose as we, as one family follow Christ, our head. Furthermore, Joseph (literally and biblical Joseph) is my earthly father, showing me a beautiful, wonderful, true example of what it is to be a man, to follow Christ, to follow God and to listen to His words and follow His plan for life.
I am a sister of Christ, a daughter of Mary and Joseph, relatives of the apostles. I find myself at the Nativity, I find myself holding my Mother as my Brother dies on the cross. We are all members of the Holy Family. Glorious.
Why I never made this connection before, I don't know but its awesome! The priest gave me a penance to pray a Hail Mary that I would be strengthened to be a better daughter of Mary, that I would imitate my Mother's purity. It sounded so simple but its still blowing my mind!
Scripture tells us that we are children of God, that we are adopted heirs to the kingdom through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross (Heb. 2:5-13, Rom. 8:16-17). If we are His brothers and sisters, then it would also follow that not only is Mary our Mother, we are her children! When I think of Mary as my Mother, I think of her love for me, of the ways that she wraps her mantle of protection around me, I think of how she guards my heart, how she interceeds for me with her Son and with our Heavenly Father. She stands over me, she guards and guides my life in her maternal love, like she does for all her children.
But when I think of myself as her daughter, my role changes. I get that she is motherly towards me, but as her daughter (much like with my own earthly mother) I am called and invited to imitate her best qualities: her unconditional yes to God, her purity of heart, mind, body and soul, her giving nature, her love for Christ, her hope, her surrender to God. Suddenly, my love of Mary is deepened because as her daughter her love, her good qualities run in my veins. Her love, her surrender to God is in me, and therefore I am beckoned to imitate her.
If Mary is my Mother and I am her daughter, then Christ is truly my brother! The familial bonds deepen all the more: Christ is my brother, the apostles are my family upon whom I can depend to show me a path, a life full of purpose as we, as one family follow Christ, our head. Furthermore, Joseph (literally and biblical Joseph) is my earthly father, showing me a beautiful, wonderful, true example of what it is to be a man, to follow Christ, to follow God and to listen to His words and follow His plan for life.
I am a sister of Christ, a daughter of Mary and Joseph, relatives of the apostles. I find myself at the Nativity, I find myself holding my Mother as my Brother dies on the cross. We are all members of the Holy Family. Glorious.
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