An Hour With Jesus

   “And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you asleep?  Could you not watch one hour?’”  (Mark 14: 37)

   Like many Catholics, I spend an hour each week with my Lord in the Adoration Chapel.  Before me is the Blessed Sacrament; the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ.  It is an opportunity to spend quiet time with Him and to grow closer to Him.  Sometimes I read or just sit silently in His presence.  But I always spend time in prayer considering the sacrifice He made for me on the cross.

   In contemplating His passion and the death He suffered, I realize that I caused that atrocity.  It is for my sins and the sins of the world that Jesus chose to die on Calvary.  His death and resurrection opened the door to heaven to me and all who believe.

   While in adoration last evening the following prayer was in my heart:

Jesus, my thanks for Your sacrifice is insufficient.  I do thank You with all that is within me, but it’s not enough.  Therefore, I give to You my life.  I give You my heart, my soul, and all I am to use according to Your will.

I willingly accept whatever You have planned for my life.  I lovingly accept whatever death you may choose for me.  With Your help I will endure any pain, sorrow or agony this life may bring.  Whatever I am, whatever I may become I give to You my Lord.

Lord take me and make me holy.  Make my life a sacrifice worthy of Your acceptance.

I am Yours’ Lord, do with me what You will.

Amen

Puzzles

   In many ways my life is a puzzle.  As in a picture puzzle, there are many pieces and they must fit together properly if the whole picture is to be known.  Those pieces may include family, friends, places I visited and things I’ve done in my life.  Each one adds a little bit to the overall picture of me and who I am.

   Some of the pieces in life are more important to the completion of the picture than others.  People rank near the top of the most important pieces.  Those in our family, our friends and those we love help complete the picture of life and add joy and happiness to the puzzle.

   The years of love and joy with my wife was a vitally important piece of my puzzle.  Even though she is now with God, her place in the puzzle of my life will never change; she will remain with me forever.  I anxiously await our reunion in the next life; sharing the love God has given us for all eternity.

   The most important piece in the puzzle, however, is God.  Without Him my puzzle cannot be completed.  He is the keystone of my life.  Nothing else could have been as it was without Him.  The remainder of my life belongs to Him and I will do my best to serve Him in all I do.

   Puzzles can be fun, but the puzzle of life is one that must be completed properly.  Without God, the puzzle remains unsolvable.

There are many pieces in the puzzle of my life.

Some are more important than others.

Father, You are the most important of all.

Amen

Rest in God

   “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” (St. Augustine, “Confessions”)


   We are anxious and worry about many things.  Most are unimportant when compared with what truly matters; our relationship with God.  We can relieve many of our anxieties if we place our trust in God and let our hearts rest in Him.


   We were created with a desire to know God within us.  He wants us to live in Him, with Him and for Him.  When we acknowledge that and seek to find Him in all things our anxieties will lessen.  With God at the center of our life the worries of this world seem less urgent.  All will pass away except our relationship with our Lord so there is little reason to be overly concerned with the things of this world.


   Our world is disfigured by sin.  The anxieties we suffer are many times the result of that disfigurement.  In large part it is our own fault; we don’t allow ourselves to rest in Him.  Instead of trusting God we trust in our own abilities and desires.


   The trials of the world will be with us throughout our life.  Without God those worldly concerns can overwhelm us.  With Him at the center of our life we can be at ease.  Our hearts can rest in Him.

The cares of this world are many.

They sometimes overwhelm me.

Only one thing truly matters.

Let me rest in You O Lord.

Amen

 

The Unbearable Cross

   “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”  (Matt 16: 24)



   This teaching appears in each of the synoptic gospels.  It seems Matthew, Mark and Luke all wanted to ensure that everyone would understand that following Christ requires sacrifice and that bearing our cross is a part of being a Christian.


   I have found that there is a cross beyond my ability to bear.  Jesus fell several times on His way to Calvary due to the weight of His cross and I have fallen under the weight of this cross.  Simon was forced to help Jesus carry His cross.  No one need force Jesus to help me carry my cross.  Out of love and mercy He will give me strength in pain and sorrow.  He will bring me comfort and peace in times of despair.


   The cross that I cannot bear is very important.  It teaches me that I must rely on the help of God if I am to overcome the trials of this life.  He says to me as He said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”  (2 Cor 12: 9).  Only through recognizing my weakness and turning to Him do I truly follow Christ.


   I’ve come to understand that the only unbearable cross is the one for which I refuse Jesus’ help.  I ask and He is always there.

Lord, some crosses are too heavy.

I can’t bear them alone.

You come and pick me up.

You carry the cross that I can’t.

Amen

Climbing The Mountain

   Though I’ve never climbed a mountain I sometimes think of life as being very like climbing one.  Part of the climb is simple and easy.  Other parts are extremely difficult and dangerous.  Regardless the hardships we may face, we must climb the mountain; that is life.


   As a Christian I see the top of the mountain as my heavenly home.  The climb has a purpose worth pursuing.  Looking at it this way the hardships don’t seem as hard, the difficulties less overwhelming.  Even when it seems I’ve reached a place where the climb is near impossible I know that the reward far exceeds the risk and that Jesus is there to help me.


   There have been many times in my life when I’ve reached out to my Lord in need of help.  There are times when I feel that all is lost and my faith seems to be faltering.  There are times when I want to give up and quit the climb.  I reach out to Him and He takes my hand and leads me through the difficult times.  Sometimes I feel as though He has picked me up and holds me in His arms to quiet my soul.


   When I can’t see the way ahead He is always there.  My Lord will never abandon me.  The times when I don’t think I can continue the climb are the times He comes to me with love, mercy and encouragement.  He opens His arms to receive me in His love.

Lord, there are days when I feel I can’t go on.

There are times when I’m not sure I want to go on.

It is then that You come to me.

You save me from myself.

Amen

He is Coming

   “Live as though He were coming today, and you will not fear His coming.” (St. Augustine)

   We have no way of knowing the day of our death or the time of Jesus' coming.  What a difference it would make if we approached each day as if it were the day of Christ’s coming in glory; if we knew that this day we would die.  

   We can ignore our immortality, acting as if we will never die.  In some ways this is a blessing.  If we were to be constantly concerned with our death we would probably be miserable.  In other ways it is a curse.  We put off the changes we know we should make in our lives thinking we have virtually unlimited time.

   Time could cease for us at any moment either by our death or the Lord’s return in glory.  The Father will determine the time of each and we will not be consulted to see if it is convenient.  Preparing ourselves should be our focus today and every day.  If we wait, it may be too late.

   I recently read a brief article about meditation on our death.  Not an obsession with our demise but simply a daily remembrance that our lives will end; our death is certain.  Taking a moment or two to reflect on the fact that our end could come at any moment may encourage us to better prepare for the life to come.

   We will die; He will come.  We need to prepare ourselves for the inevitable.  “Surely I am coming soon.’  Amen.  Come Lord Jesus!:” (Rev 22: 20)

Lord we do not know the time of Your coming.

The length of our life is unknown to us.

May we prepare ourselves well.

May we be ready.

Amen

The Book of Life

   “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  (Luke 19: 10)

   Before time began God wrote our names in the Book of Life.  Though many centuries would pass before we were born God knew us and intended that we be saved and spend eternity with Him in the joy and happiness He has prepared for those who believe.

   Only we can remove our name from His book.  We have the ultimate eraser in our hands, and it is called free will.  Though our Father wants us to join Him in the next life He will not demand it.  He will welcome us if that is our choice, but He will also allow us to erase our name if we so choose.

   Through free will, we can decide to live a life of immorality, sinfulness and wickedness, erasing our name from the book.  Satan will give us all we need to help us turn from God to spend eternity in the absence of God, which is Hell.

   Through free will, we can decide to ensure our name remains in God’s book by living our life for Him and His will.  He will give us all we need to help us resist the evil one and His temptations.  In His love and mercy He will forgive us when we fall prey to temptations and come to Him in repentance.  He will provide all we need to leave this life in His friendship and welcome us to our eternal home.

   People often look for options and half-way means to do a lot of things.  This decision has only two options, heaven or hell.  The choice is ours.

Father You want all to be with You in Heaven.

You give us all we need to spend eternity with You.

Help us to make the right choices.

Lead us to our Heavenly Home.

Amen