Author: Isay Amante

What is or isn’t in the realm of possibility? Is it up to us to find the answer to this, or is it enough for us to believe that God knows the answer and has it in His power to carry out whatever He pleases?

Sometimes you wake up and don’t want to face what the day has ahead. It can be a paper you have to write, a project that’s pressing at work, a meeting with someone you’re dreading to see, or some days it’s everything all at once. It’s especially in these cases when it’s hard to wake up and start the day. We must try, that’s the point, we need only start, try, do what we can, and then trust that the Lord is with us, will never abandon us, loves us tenderly, and will guide us.

“Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible” – St. Francis of Assisi

One morning during my walk from Mass to work I watched people I passed by and wondered, “Where is that person going? What are they doing today? They’re obviously dressed and walking somewhere so they’ve already exerted energy and effort to do something.” What that something is, who knows. But what that something is, is also important to everything relating to this blog.

We learn from the world growing up, especially through school and as we start to develop our careers, to find a way to get the most – whether it be money, material wealth, value, opportunities – with as little effort as necessary or possible, and sometimes we choose to call this efficiency. It makes sense in a way because if you can do things quicker and easier without putting in as much effort, then logically you have extra time and resources to do more. What we should keep in mind, however, is that there will be things in life which require much more of us than we’re willing to give, even if it’s for the seemingly smallest of outcomes. I say ‘seemingly’ for a reason.

To draw out the point with real examples, it’s like seeing a line up of people praying outside an abortion clinic for 40 days – The world says: Why not be out there once a week instead of 40 days straight for more exposure? Why not spend more on preventative measures so that women don’t end up in dire situations where they’d want to have an abortion to begin with? How many babies were actually saved? Or were any even saved at all? Reminder: Sometimes the outcome isn’t the only thing that matters. Or what about the countless times you were there for your friend at 2am to help them pick up the pieces of their heart because of something they were going through, only to have them replay that situation over and over again like your consoling words went in one ear and out the other? The world says: If this happens once or twice it’s ok, but if it continues then what’s the point in helping them? Do they really need a shoulder to lean on? Show them tough love so they get thicker skin! Find them another way to get over it, doesn’t seem like they’re moving on anyway! Again, sometimes the outcome isn’t the only thing that matters. 

There are things we do as Christians that seem questionable and unreasonable to the rest of the world. “Why do it THAT way if you can do it THIS way?” or “THAT logic doesn’t make sense, but THIS logic does!” or “They need to learn how to live in modern times and adjust to modern ways.” The thing that the world doesn’t understand that we should, is that love isn’t a simple cause-and-effect vending machine where you can put coins into it, in the form of time and effort, and expect blessings to come out. All our efforts as Christians, no matter how much of it we put into something, should be out of, with, and for the sake of love, without measure.

As we all go through our day-to-day lives, I hope we can think about what we are doing, why we are doing it, how we are doing it, and most importantly for whom we are doing it. At the end of the day, regardless of what the outcome is based on how much energy you put into it, if it is pleasing to the Lord, is it worth the effort?

What do we understand the purpose of prayer to be, and how do we understand prayer to work? We pray for a sign to help us make a decision, for the knowledge of something we need answers to, or do a novena to have something revealed to us, but do we stop to think about the way prayer really works?

“The misconception arises partly from the false idea of prayer that we learn as children, partly from the idiom of piety that looks more to the extraordinary than to the ordinary ways of grace, and partly from our quite understandable tendency to judge the mind of God by what we know of our own. 

First, what are we told about prayer? We are given to understand that it will get us out of every difficulty. From our earliest infancy, the belief is drummed into us that if we repeat our petitions enough, we shall get what we want. Faith and perseverance: armed with these two we cannot miss. Now, all this is perfectly true, but not in the sense that we normally understand it. Prayer does get us out of every difficulty – by so building up our inner reserves that we meet every difficulty and rise above it. If we repeat our petitions often enough, we do get what we want – because we come to want God’s will even more than we want an answer to the particular petition we are making. Given faith and perseverance, we cannot miss – since in proportion as these qualities deepen, we get closer to our true goal, which is God. 

Sometimes, it is true, the more obvious meaning of the doctrine is verified. We pray, and the obstacle vanishes. We place complete confidence in the power of God to work a miracle, and the miracle (to everyone’s surprise, including our own) happens. We make up our minds never to give up asking, come what may, and after a while, we are rewarded with exactly what we have asked for. Instances of this sort are happily common: they strengthen our belief in the power of prayer and provide occasions for showing gratitude to God. The thing to remember is that such examples of cause and effect are not the only ones that prove the value of prayer, and that those which show it less clearly are evidence of greater faith, greater love, greater trust, and generosity.” – Hubert Van Zeller

Last week I celebrated my 27th birthday, and in typical birthday fashion my family got me my favourite Dairy Queen ice cream cake. Although I’m not a big believer in the whole “make a wish when you blow out your candles” deal, I figured, let’s do it for fun and make it a small prayer instead. As much as I’m a non-believer in the practice of making a wish, I’ll still follow suit and keep the prayer to myself…just in case it doesn’t come true! Just kidding, our prayers are always obviously answered.

The gospel on that day, June 18, was from Matthew 6:7-15. What a fitting passage since my birthday always falls close to Father’s Day, and the Lord’s Prayer has been near and dear to my heart these last few weeks. The gospel was a reminder that just as my earthly father has always provided everything I needed and more (I’m a bit of a daddy’s girl whether I like to admit it or not), our heavenly Father does the same and finds it pleasing to love us.

“your Father knows what you need before you ask Him” [Mark 6:9]

One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:
to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
[Psalm 27:4]

To be in the house of the Lord all the days of my life – not necessarily speaking about the physical Church, but to recognize the presence of the Lord in and around us at all times. It is the perpetual thought and pondering on Christ present in our hearts and the joy of knowing that we are forever in union with Him. It is a conscious and subconscious realization and reminder of this union during our day to day activities.

The word ‘delight’ comes to my mind. To find delight in the fact that He is always present. To find delight in knowing that His ways are not my ways. To find delight in believing that He loves us in a unique and beautiful way.

Have you ever made a decision, and then gone back and forth countless times about it afterwards , wondering if you’ve made the right one?

Do I do what is easy or what is right?

It’s often easy, or maybe not easy but easier, to follow certain commandments as opposed to others. Sometimes it’s the smaller ways of obedience that we ought to pay attention to. The Gospel today is a reminder of the need to ponder on the commandments, not just when they’re preached to us, but in everyday life. If there is something that I can do today that can be more pleasing to God than what I was doing yesterday, then I pray that I can have the courage to do it.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference

 

“God is always creating” – Ok, so maybe it was said a little more eloquently than that during one of the homilies at Mass last week, but that was the main message. It got me thinking: Creation didn’t stop after the 6th day, and God didn’t just say, “That’s it. Everything is made. I’m done!”

Creation of our bodies, our hearts, and all the beautiful things in and around us in this world were the first things. However, that’s only one type of creation, and God certainly didn’t stop then. It’s a great reminder that God is continuously creating. He never stopped, and He never will. He creates moments for us to cherish, He creates opportunities for us to grow, He creates hiccups for us to learn.

There are new things around us every single day. Lord, help me to open my eyes and ears to see and hear your new creations everyday.