Tag: Authority

Reign In My Heart

Today I attended Holy Mass at St. Monica’s Parish as I usually do every Sunday with Charlene’s family who sings for the choir. Through the readings and the homily, the Lord reminded me of the importance of living under His authority and how I must try my best to avoid anything that may distract me from focusing on Him.

I can imagine that the second reading must have been difficult to hear, especially for those who are married. I say this because St. Paul warns that it’s better to not be married because it may cause the man or woman to be “anxious of this world.” Well, marriage is obviously a very good thing instituted by God Himself. I think St. Paul put it this way to emphasize the absolute importance of being focused on Jesus. I think he’s emphasizing that we must be careful not to turn icons (which are meant to point to a greater reality) into idols, for marriage is not an end in itself. It is a Sacrament—a Sign and a great mystery—that points to the marriage of Christ and His Church, ultimate communion with God. The Lord doesn’t want our hearts to be divided. He wants it to be perfectly integrated in Him.

I shouldn’t be afraid to allow the Lord to reign in my heart. In allowing Him, He casts out what should not be there, the things causing a dichotomy of worship. I need to be more confident in His authority in my life, and not see it as tyrannically oppressive, but lovingly liberating. For He is a Father who loves me and who will never stop loving me until I am completely and eternally His.

Accepting God’s Authority

I trust you.

“… The Lord remembered her. She conceived” – 1 Samuel: 1:20

The past two First Readings have been from the first Book of Samuel, and have made us journey with an extremely unhappy and scorned woman named Hannah. The deepest desire of her heart was to conceive a son. In fact, in few but bitterly (10) cried out words, she expresses this out to God. She is not alone in the temple. Although misunderstanding her (“drunk” is her appearance to him), Eli’s curt response in seeing her weeping can be read as a two-fold in meaning: “Sober up.” (14)

An evaluation of my trust. How confident am I in God’s unwavering willingness to hear and answer my prayers? Admittedly, I do start to doubt when I ask: Is He even moved by my misery? Or did He actually forget me me? (11) Even if the only person present in my midst every day is not God but Eli the priest sitting on a chair, do I still strive to live without appearing downtrodden or downcast? (18) I am reminded that my trust in Him is deepened through conscious building of my relationship with Him. For this Hannah teaches me, that for one, all my deepest desires are to be offered directly to Him (not the “Eli” in the room). Second, when I can’t see Him clearly (through my crying or anything that blinds me) that I must “vow” (11) to live faithfully what He is asking me to do now fully accepting His authority in this way:

Simply. I praise God because even if He doesn’t say it, He knows my heart (desires, sorrows, miseries). Simply. I give thanks because he does answer prayers: In His time, He did give Hannah and Elkanah a son (Samuel, was his name). Simply. I must confess my tendency to put Him second in turning to others first rather than Him directly. Simply. I ask for the grace to trust His strength rather than my own.

A most “Dangerous Prayer” passed down by Bishop Dowd: Holy Spirit, I give you permission to work in my life the way that you want.