When I think of the greatness of God, the love He endlessly overwhelms me with, the joy He allows me to feel, and pieces of His cross that He shares with me, I can’t help but be brought to tears by the beauty of it all. I think of my current state here on earth – human, weak and imperfect yet loved so greatly.
“God loves each one of us as if there was only one of us to love.” – St. Augustine
It is such a blessing to be loved by God through the people I have in my life. When I think of how great God is because of the many things He’s done and is doing to win my heart while I’m still here on earth, I can’t help but imagine Heaven. I am here on earth and I already feel so loved, how much more when I get to Heaven?
Thank You Lord for the love You make me feel that only makes me long to be with You even more. Strengthen me that I may not lose sight of my true home, which is wherever You are. Let me rest my heart in You. Amen.
“O my Jesus, the misunderstandings are so great; sometimes, were it not for the Eucharist, I would not have the courage to go any further along the way You have marked out for me.”
– St. Maria Faustina Kowalska
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:8-9
Yesterday I had the privilege of spending my night at a friend’s house to help plan their upcoming wedding. It was a beautiful time seeing so much joy and hope and laughter from everyone in the room. As I was driving home, I was pondering on one of my favourite chapters from The Imitation of Mary – Chapter 8: “Choice of a State of Life.” It reads:
Mary sought God and loved Him alone from her earliest years. For this reason she drew upon herself all His blessings, and He on His part provided a suitable state of life for her so that she might carry out His plans for her.
To make the right choice of a vocation we need a conjunction of events and circumstances such as Providence ordinarily provides for faithful souls who consult God on the choice of a state of life.
Can a young man hope that God will bestow this favor on him if he meanwhile is abandoning himself to the deadly urges of his own newfound passions?
By means of her marriage to St. Joseph, God in His providence enabled Mary to gather the previous fruit of the virtues she had practiced so faithfully. If it had been left to the world to choose a husband for Mary, it would undoubtedly have chosen a rich and talented man. It would not have thought of choosing a virtuous man, a man who from childhood had lived reverently before God. That is not the way the world thinks. Self-interest and purely human considerations are the motivating forces behind most marriages. The possessions which chance bestows, rather than the blessings of grace, lead to the contracting of marriages. […]
The choice by Mary’s parents, or rather by God, fell upon Joseph, a just man (Mt. 1:19), in fact the most virtuous man then living on earth and the one most worthy to be the holy Virgin’s husband.
No marriage ever turned out more happily; never were two hearts more delighted at their union. What trials could ever disturb their peace of soul! Mary and Joseph were in the state of life God wanted for them.
Pray to the Lord, therefore, and consult Him if you are deciding on a state of life. Say to Him with the prophet: “Show me the way you want me to walk.” Live so that the Lord may see in you a fit subject for His special care.
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I am praying for all my brothers and sisters answering the call to marriage this year. Lord, please always show us the way You want us to walk. And Mama Mary, you are a beautiful example of true faithfulness and unwavering hope. And that you had no other desire in your state of life other than to be so in tune with His Will, and to fulfill your only desire of loving God through loving Jesus and St. Joseph, and all of us.
St. Joseph, pray for us. Most Holy Family, pray for us.
“In Perseverance; thunder crashes, sails billow, waves toss the fragile boat. We see that the clouds are about to break. The sea will calm; the sailor’s perseverance will soon be rewarded by a return to God’s safe heaven. Perhaps this painting can assure each of us that if we can simply persevere, God’s hand of love will soon disperse each storm.” – Thomas Kinkade, Painter
I encountered God in a way I had never before at my CFC-Youth camp on March 12-14, 2004 (11 years ago tomorrow). I heard God speak though Scripture, but I wasn’t listening; I didn’t know He was speaking directly to me. I saw Christ present in the Holy Eucharist, but I didn’t know or notice He was looking straight at me.
When I look back to this weekend, I realize now that God was greatly pursuing me even though I was totally blind to it. Even though I had no clue, He still made a way for me to realize it; after my youth camp, I was a different person from when it first began. I wanted to change and I wanted to tell people about Christ, and I did this the Monday I returned to school. A light switch turned from off to on and I just knew that it was God who said I was really ready to know that I loved Him and, more importantly, that He loved me.
As I ponder upon my journey since my youth camp to this particular moment in time, I can’t help but smile widely because I’m beginning a brand new journey with God, knowing (again) that I still love God and that God has, will always, and currently loves me more than I could ever imagine.
Becoming a CFC-Youth Mission Volunteer has been a mere thought for many years, but wondering if I was called to full-time pastoral work for CFC-Youth has been a reoccuring thought since I was 16 years old. That said, I’m unbelievably grateful that I am here today. Regardless of the outcome of the Mission Volunteer Program, I’m excited to learn as to why this desire still remains in my heart. I’m confident in saying that there is something that God wants me to discover. There is something He wants me to experience. And He wants me to do it all with Him!
As excited as I am, I would be lying if I said I was completely cool, calm, and collected because I can’t help but feel fear, doubt, and anxiety, especially when I also have other reoccurring thoughts and desires. For now, I find confidence, consolation, perseverance, and trust in God, whom continuously reminds me:
“Fear not for I am with you always.” -Isaiah 41:10
(Anchor verse for CFC Youth Canada’s National Conference in 2004 AKA my “life verse” haha)
In whatever this journey has in store, God’s assurance is the greatest assurance through it all, and I pray that I may cling to Him readily like a child does to their father and/or mother.
As I embark on this crazy new journey,
I pray that the the wood of the boat I remain in be made of the Cross of my Lord and my God, Jesus Christ. I pray that the wind which directs my sail be the Spirit, my only and precise Guide. I pray that the ocean be the Father’s deep love and mercy that keeps me afloat from falling into sin.
Praise be to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us. St. Therese of Lisieux, pray for us.
I tend to worry about things quite often. Scratch that. I am a major worrier. In my head, if I can worry about the worst-case scenario that could come out of a situation, when the actual outcome happens it might not be as bad as I had imagined…or I did good in preparing myself for the worst in the event that it happens. However, in the end, all my worries converge into one theme: “Am I good enough? Am I needed?”
I don’t give these questions a second thought until I realize: Where is God in all of this? How can I worry more than I pray? If I allow my worries and insecurities to fill my head, how can there be room for faith? Do my worries show that I do not trust God and fail to appreciate His blessings?
It is then that I find Him: in the colors of the sunrise I see on my way to work; in the faces of the children I serve in catechism; in the peaceful silence that finally comes after surrendering my worried and tired thoughts to The Lord. There is no need for me to worry or have doubts. He shows me He loves me every single day in every single way. It is because of this love and abundance of blessings that I can remember that I am loved. I am exactly where I need to be. I am enough.
The Lord is bigger than any of my problems or worries. Despite my insecurities, failures, and weaknesses, He continues to love without hesitation. I need not feel anxious. Instead, I should turn my worries into prayers; into another chance to trust in God. The only thing needed is to know, trust and love Him.
“Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.” -Corrie Ten Boom
