Fill the Hearts of Your Faithful

I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. 
Ez.36:26

God is promising to transform and restore the nation of Israel. How? From the inside out.

That's how God transforms not only nations but people. From the inside out. We have just completed running an Alpha Course. People are naturally curious and ask, "How did it go?" There's an easy answer and another that is harder to give. The easy answer is, people turned up, the venue was good, technology worked, and the food was great. The harder answer involves what happened on the inside, in people's hearts. This is sometimes clear but many times not. The seed of faith can take years to germinate and someone else does the harvesting.

The inside work is the work of the Holy Spirit. I can just help create an environment where the Holy Spirit can be invited in.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love.

Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created,
and you shall renew the face of the earth.

Let us pray.

O God, who have taught the hearts of the faithful
by the light of the Holy Spirit, grant that in the same Spirit we may be truly wise
and ever rejoice in his consolation.

Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Green Pastures Still Waters

The Lord is my shepherd;
  there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
   where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
  to revive my drooping spirit.
Ps.22:1-3

The Lord God himself shepherds me. And where does he lead? To green pastures and still waters.

I recall tramping in rugged bush near Lake Tarawera and coming across an unexpected small lawn of verdant grass next to the Tarawera River. At that point the river was smooth as glass, while up and down stream boulders made the river froth and churn. This image of green pastures and still waters has stayed with me as an idyllic place of rest and repose.

 Why, of all places, does the Lord lead me there? Why not to a mountain top or a sunny beach. Just like my mini shangri-la in the Tarawera bush, green pastures and still waters are remote and quiet. My drooping spirit is revived. I want for nothing.

While a physical location can help, spiritual stillness and refreshment can happen anywhere. Today I choose to listen more and say less, to be consciously calm within the rushing stream of life.

Thank you Jesus, my Good Shepherd, for leading me to green pastures and still waters. I place my trust in you.

A Contrite Heart

A pure heart create for me, O God,
   put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
   nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
Ps.51:10,11

What draws in the Holy Spirit? A pure heart and a steadfast spirit.

The heart we're talking about here is not the muscle in my chest. It's the core of my soul that God is more interested in. A mixed, adulterated heart is impure. A wavering spirit is tossed about and irresolute. 

Psalm 51 goes on to say a contrite heart and spirit is not spurned. What draws God in is not just stopping doing wrong. It's knowing I've done wrong and seeking forgiveness. 

Lord, my sins you know them. Have mercy Lord on me, I am a sinner. 

All will be Well

The creator from the beginning made them male and female and that he said: This is why a man must leave father and mother, and cling to his wife, and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.
Mt.19:4-6

Jesus clearly defines the makeup of marriage. One man and one woman, becoming one body.

A prime minister here in New Zealand proclaimed, "If it's good for the family, it's good for the nation. If it's bad for the family it's bad for the nation." This was in the 1970s when there was no confusion about what constitutes a family. 

While there is much bad happening for families today, there is also much good. I have four married children. They all have their particular crosses to bear but they are all working on their marriages and I would say are happy at their work. 

I look at my children's marriages and think, "There is the silver bullet for the troubles of modern society." If all fathers would demonstratively love the mothers of their children, any statistic on social breakdown would be halved... at least. Children may go to school in bare feet with no breakfast, but if they know that dad loves mum, all is well in their world. It's not  rocket science.

Jesus, I ask you to bless my marriage and the marriages of my children, so that all will be well.

They are not meant to be Lost

"Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost."
 Mt.18:14

Children are very close to the Father's heart. Do I want to be in the center of God's will? Seek out and bring back his children.

A good friend has the heartache of having to help raise grandchildren because of son's marriage breakup. His son and three grandchildren live with him. Sadly, the son has turned his back on his Catholic upbringing and is refusing to let the children be baptised or given any sacraments of initiation.

I'm advising my friend, "Your castle, your rules bro." He has a wonderful window of opportunity to influence their little souls before they leave from under his roof. He can start simple but consistent faith routines in his home. Grace before every meal, in his home or in McDonalds. Prayer time after dinner every night. Christian music playing when they get up in the morning. A short prayer of blessing over them before they go off to school.

He can fight for them. They are not meant to be lost.

Jesus, help me be an agent that finds lost sheep and brings them home.

Cheerful Giving

For God loves a cheerful giver. 
2Cor.9,7

A sign of a believer is that he not only gives, but gives cheerfully.

Cheerfulness is the sign of a healthy and whole soul. Cheerful people are great to hang around, just as gloomy people are avoided. To be cheerful while giving says something even more. It indicates an authentic desire to elevate the other, a sign of genuine love.

Lord, I tend to be tight fisted. Help love be the motivation of my giving and open my grasp to give cheerfully.
Saint Laurence, who cheerfully gave even your very life, please pray for me.

The Deal about Death and Life

See now that I, I am He,
and beside me there is no other god.

It is I who deal death and life;
when I have struck it is I who heal.

It is I who deal death and give life.
Dt.32:39

Where does life come from, where does it go? I am He says the Lord.

A dear friend is facing death following a heart attack. The family has gathered with varying degrees of faith. For those with faith there is hope, for those without it is hopeless. 

How does the saying go? There are two certainties in life. Death and taxes. We make sure there is money in the bank to face the taxman. Let's make sure there is a reservoir of faith in my life to face God, for face him I will when the allotted time comes.

Jesus, I place my trust in you.

Saint Mary of the Cross

Feast - Saint Mary of the Cross (MacKillop)

 “To me the will of God is a clear book which I am never tired of reading, which has always some new charm for me”.

Saint Mary of the Cross, please pray for me.

Great Faith

‘Woman, you have great faith. Let your wish be granted.’ And from that moment her daughter was well again.
Mt.15:28

Starting with ignoring her, then apparently insulting her, Jesus makes it hard for the Canaanite woman. What finally moves Jesus' hand and brings forth a miracle is what always moves him. Great faith.

Books have been written about what happened in this story. Was Jesus' mind changed by the woman's persistence? The gospel according to Mike says no. 

Jesus knew great faith was within the woman. He wanted to draw that beautiful faith out of her. Why? To demonstrate once again what constitutes the rich soil from which miracles spring. Great faith.

Yes Lord, I believe. Help me in my unbelief.

Tell Jesus

John’s disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went off to tell Jesus.
Mt.14:12

This gruesome, despairing, dark tale of the beheading of John the Baptist finishes with a brilliant, piercing flash of hope. They went off to tell Jesus.

 I recall the shock of hearing of the suicide of a son of friends in our parish. I had been his confirmation sponsor. We immediately went to their home and wept with them. After a while, someone said, "Let's pray". We went and told Jesus.

Nothing changed but everything changed. It felt as though a corner had been turned. The parents of the boy still walk with a limp, but they have faith and hope and are still walking.

Jesus, in those times when we are so overwhelmed with grief, thank you for being there. We place our trust in you.

Faith

And he did not work many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
Mt.13:58

The home town of Jesus, instead of being blessed, was cursed with a lack of miracles. Why? Because of their lack of faith.

It took me years to understand what Catholics meant by "the Faith". At first I took it to signify a blind acceptance of tradition replacing a personal relationship with Jesus. I've grown to understand that it is a gift that opens the door for Jesus to step through. It is the key to miracles happening.

Thank you Jesus for my gift of faith. I place my trust in you.