Ending

The month ends today. We have had thirty-one days to journey toward God in which we have passed through some picturesque moments of faith, hope, love; we have seen the extreme discomfort of others grieving, in Haiti. We have questions about life and death, being human, and the solution is not easy when there are only thirty-one days to examine, prioritize, negotiate, compromise.

As Christians we can observe every moment of life, and then offer up the experience to God in prayer. We do not have to become unhappy bitter refugees from life, from heartache. We must remember that life will always involve a little suffering. We all will be wounded, will be asked to make a sacrifice. Hope and love will protect uss.

Each day we must learn humility, obedience, charity. We must learn from our temptations to avoid them, and to help others avoid them.

Splendid winter weather.

Believer and Philosopher

(Read, pray, Learn.)--Being Christian means being both a believer and a philosopher; we should use our lives like an artist and let our lives be the canvas of hopes, prayers, and good deeds done in honor and as a humble servant of God. We can use the ability to think and analyze life to produce a plethora of beautiful pleasing things that please God. Goodness resides in the details, in both why we are living our Faith and how we are living it. Do we believe in irony or providence? How do we approach truth? What is essential in our lives as Christians? We have the Word; we have prayers; we have rituals. Together this provides a wonderful religious sequence, a progression of thought into action. Truth affirms truth. Unity arrives. As Christians we have to handle the instruments of our faith confidently, patiently, delicately. The aim is never to possess or hoard our faith but simply to have and share it. We can be both gardener and geologist as our lives as Christians will at times ask us to do different things; we might have to nurture others as they learn how to cultivate their love of God; we might need to dig into Holy Scripture to understand it and how to be a servant of God doing his work. Being Christian asks us to move beyond simply superficial. Being Christian asks us to move beyond having a fragmentary existence into a fellowship of wholeness, goodness and holiness with God. We are asked to be literary, oratorical, visual artists in God’s loving service; each of us have our own unique personal philosophy on being Christian and loving God. We are pioneers for ourselves, each other, and new converts. We exist to give a living breathing smile face to the abstract word Christian.

Antidote

--Pray when you wake-up. Live your life based upon fairness, social justice and love. Make time to both read and reflect upon each book of the Bible. Let the teachings of Jesus Christ inspire you to revolt against all evil and injustice. Live your life with joyous expectation. Have hunger only for God’s love and mercy. Open your soul up to the idea of and responsibility for your own discernment to listen for and to answer God’s call. Seek the style and beauty of goodness and holiness. Allow yourself to be conscious of each impression of gentleness, softness, of hopefulness, of prayers, of reflection, caressing, encouraging—an emphasis, calm yet confident, contemplative and passionate, with serenity and loving humility. Sense the greatness of God’s love; allow all your labors to be an opportunity to praise and give thanks to God. Do not be obstinate and seek only definitions and answers; instead be mindful of your anxiety and nourish your questions; allow them to grow, to expand, to contract over time; let your questions change and mature with time, with prayer, with reflection. Seek silence. Seek forgiveness. Be compassion. Be Love. Pray, pray, pray and pray again.

--Pray the Rosary at least once a week. Find good faith inspiring books for reading and reflection. Create a life of humility, obedience, and charity. Concentrate only on improving the best qualities of your life; the love within your heart, the hope within your soul should be your guide. Be conscious of the presence of God within your life. Always show respect to God. Always show reverence for God. Keep good company. Pray, pray, pray. Remember the virtues.

Let the impression of your life be filled with the humility, obedience, charity of God’s loving humble servant.

Do not fear austerity; simplicity allows us to find and share our love for God. Let love be the emphasis of your life with him. Be conscious of every impression of charity, obedience, humility. Examine your philosophy, your ideas of self and community. Where do you position serving God?

The Mystery of Our Faith

The mystical aspect of being Christian pleases me, creates all types of ideas and answers. The mystery patiently asks us to both reaffirm and rediscover it in our busy modern daily lives. We must remember the birth, death, sacrifice, suffering, and life of Christ. We must remember and believe the entire package. With time we can refine and improve our understanding. But, we must work to keep the mystery fresh and alive in our hearts and minds. This will help us treat each other with more compassion and respect. We must always nurture and renew our good-fellowship as we live our lives. Our faith and belief in God provides us with a wondrous solidarity. We must remember the honor of being his humble servants. Each day of our lives can be filled with discernment, attempts to be better Christians; filled new thoughts about our vocations. One of the advantages of our situation is that we can, as it were, pray for both questions and answers. The one certainty of our lives is our belief in God’s love for each one us. We must always remember this and remember to share our love for him. We should remember to always give thanks and praise to God. As Christians we must do everything the temptation to want immediate results. We must have patience. Prayer does have an usefulness which must be remembered and treasured. A moment or two of silence may allow a profound thought or solution to enter your heart or mind. As Christians we are part of a community; we must not forget this community in our prayers or our actions. Each moment of our lives should inspire us to be more devoted humble servants of the Lord. We are all here to support and to love one another. We must share our goodness and holiness with each other. Within each of us there is both God’s bounty and God’s splendor waiting to be shared. Within each of there is part of God’s mystery to be rediscovered and renewed.

We Can Pray

In our daily lives we are over stimulated, provided with too much information, and not given enough time to either digest or process it. Knowledge without rigorous contemplation can create anxiety, uneasiness. So we all need some attention, we want some semblance of morality and decency. We often edit our thoughts, censor our statements.

In our spiritual lives we must always make time to read the Bible or another good book. When there is prayer in our lives there is also calmness and peace. Allow yourself to be quiet, to be patient. Believing in God and being Christian is magnificent as we all breathe hope, love ourselves and all of our neighbors. We can pray during Mass, after Mass, in our homes and offices and our prayers can make any situation feel better. We must remember to always be faithful and humble. We must respect God by making choices based upon fairness and social justice. This may not always be easy but we must strive to develop the courage and confidence to based our lives on God’s moral teachings. Our lives are better when we remember and incorporate God’s plan in them. We must nourish and encourage the goodness and holiness within ourselves and within our neighbors. Simply we must love.

Prayers, Prayers, Prayers

Are we so pampered that we are blind to the despair that hides just beneath our savage comfort zones? When someone on the street asks for money, how do we respond? Do you ever allow yourself to be hungry? to miss a meal? Would you give a cold destitute person the new coat that you are wearing? What is important to you simply going to Mass or being involved in the Mass?

As Catholics we are called to use Christ as a guide for us in our daily lives; we should have love and respect for everyone. Poverty should not scare us. Death should not scare us.

We must train ourselves to look beyond the simply visible

Prayers, prayers, prayers, prayers,—These are my first days of consciousness of faith, full of hope, but searching for signs of goodness and holiness in others. The Bible and other inspirational books wait to be read. I actually feel sanguine right now.

I am in a state of great nervous enthusiasm because of the desire to be a humble servant of the Lord and the examples of that behavior which I have seen in others. I lead the life of a journalist. I observe everything with my eyes, I record and save each moment within my mind as I search for the best examples of serving God.

What I observe and remember is beautiful, in each of us both goodness and holiness are present and sometimes visible in the little things that we naturally do in our daily lives.

Goodness and Holiness

I have been writing, for two or three hours without stopping; writing and revising and thinking. Should I add a quote from the Psalms? Should I mention Saint John Viannay or Saint Francis de Sales? What is my theme going to be. I must admit a very strong attraction and affection toward goodness and holiness, and a deep interest being a faithful, humble servant of God, but I understand my limitations and that I have many lessons to learn. I must accept both the mystery and the logic of being Christian. There are guiding principles. There is a definite philosophical foundation to Christianity. Faith provides a way to organize our scattered and fragmentary thoughts and ideas. Faith suggests that we use our reason power to further understand and to serve God. Faith provides us with the vigor to do what is right, to be righteous, to develop an exquisite sensibility filled with obedience, charity, and humility. Our philosophy is neither modern or popular but without fail it directs us to do the right thing, to be better people. Being Christian is a twenty-four hour , three hundred sixty-five day a year vocation. We must remember this and live our lives accordingly. We have intelligence. We have creativity. Our Faith offers compassion and continuity. Our Faith reminds us that we each have a limitless capacity for goodness and holiness which we have to develop, nourish, maintain and protect. We must remember to make time for prayer in our lives. We all need time for silent contemplation in our busy imperfect chaotic noisy lives.