If my goal is to love Jesus perfectly then I need to look to Mother Mary who loved Him more than anyone that has walked this earth. No wonder why I need her help? She loved Jesus the most perfectly and she helps us all love Him the same. It’s also amazing to know that she loves me just as much as she loves her Son. Such tender mercy she has for all of us.
Thank You, God, for giving me a Mother who, with the Holy Spirit, nurtures my growth in Christ. Amen.
I believe there is such thing as an objective Truth that is so ubiquitous like air, and we are engulfed by it. This Truth that exists, that is here and now, is the Kingdom of God. When we are able to be present in the here and now, and allow ourselves to be caught up in the moment, we will experience something very beautiful. We will experience the presence of Truth—the presence of God. We will experience being engulfed by Love.
All the angels and saints in Heaven, pray for us. Amen.
Young people being and bringing Christ wherever we are.
That is the vision of CFC-Youth, and more often that not, I get hung up on the being Christ aspect of the vision. Giving talks, leading worships, journeying with the youth somehow displaces my sense of placement in the universe. Oh how many times has it crossed my mind that the results of all the activities in CFC-Youth in my area are brought about by me – my vision and my strength. Only to be humbled by the Lord in an awesome proportion reminding me that I am but a messenger – not the message. That my weakness, sinfulness, fears, faults – all of them – far outweigh what I can bring to the mission.
The game changer in fact is His grace. The grace that is experienced, transforms and is proclaimed. The message is Jesus Christ, not Kevin. The message is love made flesh, love on the cross, love that is raised up in victory from death. A love that triumphs over all doubt, all failures, and all sin.
I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me. – Philippians 4:13
When I was a child I watched a lot of baseball with my brother, uncle, and grandfather. I used to imitate the swings of my favourite players (Ken Griffey Jr. had the best swing). One day I was in front of a large mirror in my living room practicing my swing with a hallow white plastic pole. The thing was, my parents made it clear to me to not practice swinging inside the house because I could break something. Well, they were out that day and I was confident I had a good grip and doubted that it could leave my hands because, you know, I was a professional baseball player. I started with light swings while checking out my form in the mirror. Feeling more impressed and confident with myself I decided to swing harder and harder so that it looked more realistic. I swung so hard that the pole flew from my hands and into the wall! I couldn’t believe my eyes. The pole thrusted right into the wall and remained sticking out. I froze for a good 2 minutes in disbelief. I eventually removed the pole and when I did, I could see that it left a extremely obvious black whole in the wall. I had no idea what to do so I left it there hoping my parents wouldn’t notice when they got home.
When I could hear my parents pulling in, fear surged and coursed through my whole body. I immediately went upstairs to my room on my bed which was on the top bunk, sunk my face in the pillow and curled up as close to the wall as possible. I could hear a faint cry in the distance “oh my, what happened?! Why is there a hole in the wall?!” Then I could hear steps going up the stairs. My parents came inside my room and realized that I did it because I was already crying. I couldn’t even look at them because I felt so shameful that I broke their trust and disobeyed them. I thought they wouldn’t love me anymore. I slowly turned around to face them with tears in my eyes and I said “it’s my fault, i did it. I’m sorry.” They first looked disappointed then I think my mom said, “don’t worry, your daddy can fix it.” They reminded me that they said it would happen that I would break something and to not do that again. They hugged and kissed me and I felt a great feeling—that I had never lost their love.
My point is, we fear to hurt those we love. The more we know someone loves us, the more we should be afraid to lose that relationship of abiding love. God loves me, and when I gravely sin against Him, I cut myself off from Him. I defiantly say to Him “I don’t want you in my life, I want what I want and You can’t stop me.” It’s like when I said to my parents in my heart “you can’t stop me from being disobedient and swinging this pole.” My disobedience to my parents left a hole in the wall, but my disobedience to the Lord leads to a hole in my heart. A void that grows larger each time I disobey.
Even as a young child, the Lord gave me grace to have perfect contrition. At first I felt bad because of the consequence I would receive from damaging the wall. However, when my parents were actually in my room, I felt bad because I sensed how much they loved me, and how much I hurt them. It was the reason why I cried so much.
Heavenly Father, may I be filled with fear at the thought of sinning not because of my fear of eternal hell, but because of simply hurting You, You who loves me eternally and unconditionally. Help me to have perfect contrition for my sins and to completely turn my life around in repentance. When I cannot stand, Lord, I will fall on You so that you can help me move forward on this journey in Your grace, always remembering Your great love for me. Amen.
It seems just like yesterday. The first major decision of my adult life as a Catholic was the choice of my parish – the place where my spiritual journey would be cultivated and nurtured. The place where I would learn to love the sacraments so whole-heartedly. The place I would spend hours upon hours crying, praying and laughing with our Lord in simple and sweet adoration. The place I would be taught to be a man by our Blessed Virgin Mary. At the time, I was still very fresh-faced in regards to my knowledge of the faith (God knows on paper that it didn’t seem like a perfect match), but for some reason the Spirit lead me to make a choice – and that I did. Needless to say, after experiencing missions upon missions, assignments upon assignments, the Lord knows that whatever I have given will always be firmly rooted in where I have first received. Yes, I have laid to rest my head in this humble parish by seeking comfort in it, but more prevailingly they have taught me to rest my heart in the very same way.
If the saying goes, “home is where the heart is”, then you will find pieces of it scattered through the confessionals, scattered throughout the Adoration chapel, spread out throughout the pews, throughout the vastness of the youth centre, distributed to the pastors and priests and religious, with the parish workers and laity, to the kids I would see during daily morning mass, and to all of those who I’ve had the pleasure of greeting, meeting, or serving with.
Surrey 1 Chapter, home of the Salesians of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, not only will I cherish thee for blessing me the opportunity to experience fullness of faith, but I will also always cherish every one of you for allowing me to, for the first time in my life ever, experience true joy. The truest joy that I know I will be taking with me wherever I go from hereon out in my journey and pilgrimage with and to the Lord.
I still have a lot of my heart to give. Lord, send me.
Even when many years have past and I may no longer recognize your faces (which, truth be told, is starting to seem like now) know that I am praying for all of you very deeply by name and that the peace, happiness, and conviction you feel belonging and serving in that chapter is akin to that which I once felt and am still feeling and will always feel – the joy of the Lord and a heart overwhelmed.
With that, I leave you with the words of a wise man named St. John Bosco:
“Love the Church, revere the Holy Father, receive the sacraments often, frequently visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, be very devout to the Blessed Virgin, offer Her your heart, and you will be able to overcome all battles and allurements. When it is a question of doing good and rejecting or combating error, trust in Jesus and Mary, and you will be ready to tread human respect underfoot and even suffer martyrdom.”
St. John Bosco, Pray for Us
“Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.” —St. Augustine
Beauty attracts. If I’m living in a way that repels people or if people do not feel comfortable when I’m around, then I really need to take a look at myself and ask “am I truly letting love grow within me?” Do I truly see the other person’s “I”? Do I really consider the other person before and above myself? Am I really “third”?
Sometimes I can fool myself to believing I’m loving the way I should. Sure, I’m praying, going to Mass, and studying the faith, but do I truly love God in others through the way that I speak to them, serve them, consider them, and deny myself for them? Or do I hold back? Do I doubt that the Lord can really change my heart of stone into flesh?
Heavenly Father, help me to love! Help me to get out of myself and stop being so selfish and egotistical. Help me to lose my life for Your sake. Please, O LORD, take my heart of stone, and turn it into flesh. Amen.
True intelligence is seeking and knowing God’s will, and following it. It is humbly loving as Jesus loves, in our heart, thoughts, words, and actions. Everything else and all other gainz and pursuits are worth nothing. We gain nothing if not for the sake of God’s eternal love.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends; as for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
–1 Corinthians 13