More Faith, Less Fear

And he woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Quiet now! Be calm!’ And the wind dropped, and all was calm again. Then he said to them, ‘Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?’
Mk.4:39,40

Jesus and His disciples have taken to a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee when a storm rises up.  While the storm threatens to overwhelm them, the disciples in fear awake Jesus who is sleeping in the stern of the boat. Jesus rebukes the storm, which immediately subsides to the awe of the disciples.  Jesus then reproaches the disciples for their lack of faith.

There is an inference from Jesus here that the disciples could have rebuked and calmed the storm themselves, if they had enough faith in Him, the creator of the wind and waves.  I need to remember, whenever fear starts to choke me, that there is nothing that Jesus does not have supreme power over. I can trust in Him, no matter what the circumstance may be.  Jesus is the antidote to fear.

Lord Jesus, You are co-creator of all.  Help me to always place my trust in You.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Courage! It Is I

They had all seen him and were terrified. But he at once spoke to them, and said, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’ Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind dropped.
Mk.6:50,51

Jesus has walked out onto the lake where the disciples are struggling with a head wind.  Their terror at seeing  Him walking on water is replaced with awe and wonder as He gets into their boat and the storm drops away.

In today's first reading John states, "fear is driven out by perfect love: because to fear is to expect punishment," 1Jn.4:18.  This incident of Jesus walking on water and calming the storm shows perfect love driving out the fear of the disciples.  There are storms in my life that cause me to fear, fear of what others may think, fear of failure, fear of not measuring up.  The antidote?  To invite Perfect Love, that is Jesus, into my life to drive the fear out.

Thank you Jesus that You know me inside out and still love me.  I claim Your perfect love today and say goodbye to fear.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Keep on Looking at Jesus

From that moment Jesus began his preaching with the message, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.’
Mt.4:17

Jesus has just left the desert where He wrestled with Satan and is now starting His public ministry.  Even before He has called His twelve disciples His ministry is drawing huge crowds.  His message is very simple, turn from sin and welcome God's Kingdom.

I recently watched with my daughter the movie version of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.  It struck me again how C S Lewis brilliantly wove the story of Christ into the Narnian Chronicles.  There is a moving scene where Edmund faces Aslan for the first time and confesses his betrayal of his brother and sisters to the White Witch.  Edmund becomes a changed boy.  Aslan says to the others they are not mention Edmund's past, that it has been dealt with.

Oh the power of repentance!   Even the accusations of the Witch have no further effect on Edmund:

“You have a traitor there, Aslan," said the Witch. Of course everyone present knew that she meant Edmund. But Edmund had got past thinking about himself after all he'd been through and after the talk he'd had that morning. He just went on looking at Aslan. It didn't seem to matter what the Witch said.” 

After Confession, whenever Satan tries to re-accuse me, like Edmund I just need to keep my eyes fixed on the one who has taken my guilt away and reinstated my son-ship.

Jesus, thank you that You have taken the stain of my sins on yourself, that You have set me free.  I place my trust in You.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Pardoned Healed Redeemed and Crowned

He pardons all your iniquities,
he heals all your ills.
He redeems your life from destruction,
he crowns you with kindness and compassion.
Ps.103:3,4

Psalm 103 is a beautiful self portrait of God.  Whenever I get a bit fuzzy about who God is, this is where I go to be reminded, to have my vision of Him refocused.

Today I am reminded God is one who pardons, heals, redeems and crowns.  What a beautiful Advent promise for me to savour.

Thank you Jesus that You forgive me my sins, that You heal me of my brokenness, that You have paid the price for me to gain eternal life and that You crown me with the title of "Son of the King".

Little Flower, please pray for me.

Hard and Soft

Memorial of Saint Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church 

Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.” 

Then he summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness. 

Mt.9:37-10:1

Jesus is moved with compassion when looking on the crowds following Him.  He calls them "sheep without a shepherd".  Immediately He provides shepherds by commissioning the twelve disciples and sending them off on their first missionary trip.

Saint Ambrose is a giant among saints, being pivotal in the conversion of Saint Augustine.  As bishop he is discribed as being assiduous in his duties while being compassionate with his people. The perfect shepherd whose character could describe our current Pope. 

Hard on doctrine while being soft on people.  I find it hard to excersise both these virtues. I tend to be one or the other.  The tension between the two keeps them both in balance, like gravity stopping the person on a swing from floating out into space.  Hard and soft... These can be my points of focus today.

Lord Jesus, You are the perfect example of the perfect shepherd.  Help me shepherd the flock You have given me.

Saint Ambrose please pray for me.

The Rock

Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock.
Mt.7:24

Jesus warns against not acting out God's word.  He tells the story of the wise and foolish builders.  Both build houses but their foundations are radically different, as different as rock and sand.

We're always building something.  Hopes, dreams and plans abound.  At the moment we are building a wedding day for our daughter.  Jesus has a lot to say about weddings.  He's a big fan for them, as evidenced by the wedding feast at Cana.  The rock on which to build this day is the sacrament that is created in the Nuptial Mass.  Everything else will flow from that.

Lord Jesus, help me always keep You in the picture.  You are my rock.
Little Flower, please pray for me.

Can Do

Jesus said to them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ ‘Seven’ they said ‘and a few small fish.’ Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves and the fish, and he gave thanks and broke them and handed them to the disciples who gave them to the crowds.
Matthew 15:34-36

Jesus is in the hills next to the Sea of Galilee teaching and healing a vast crowd for three days.  His compassion moves Him to want to feed the people.  The disciples observe what they have (seven loaves and a few fish) and see problems.  Jesus sees what they have and provides a solution.

I am often like the disciples here.  I focus on what there isn't instead of, like Jesus, seeing what there is. I have a reputation in my family for "raining on their parades".  Using what you've got is a great maxim. It gets things started and allows miracles to happen.  In modern jargon it's called a "can do" attitude.  It's an attitude I can cultivate today.

Lord Jesus, with You anything is possible.  Help me be positive in my outlook, seeing what can be done rather than what can't.
Little Flower, please pray for me.