A time for hope.

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:  

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal:

a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 

a time to seek, and a time to lose; 

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew; 

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

What gain has the worker from his toil?

"I have seen the business that God has given to the sons of men to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time; also he has put eternity into man's mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end."

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

What is God calling you to do in this season, today, now? To speak out, act, and rebuild? Or perhaps He is calling you to be quiet and still, steady on the course? No matter where you find yourself in this season, be assured that if you bind your hand to His, you may be hopeful in His unfolding of the future. For me, now, I find immense joy and hope in the smile of my child, my gift from God. I must remember that for now, I am his primary reflection of the world, and must transmit the love and peace of the Lord despite any doubts or fears that assail me. Michael is so confident in my love, so trusting in my abilities to care for him, so hopeful in my knowing his every need. Truly an example of how we must relate to our Father in heaven...like little children with simplistic trust. All things will be revealed in their entire complexity of purpose; if not soon, then at the end of time, and His name will be forever glorified for His great providence and mercy. 

I pray that each of you feel His peace in this season. God bless America.

Dealing with joy.

It's been a week of colds and teething. As the weather chills, so have our immune systems. We have been pretty good with our vitamins and herbal teas, but are lacking in the department of sleep. Andrew's schedule has been incredibly busy and Michael is still working on some teeth; hence, not much rest for us parents which has greatly hindered our ability to get better. Andrew has lost his voice several times this week, making an already packed week of meetings and teaching, extra challenging for him.  At least I don't have a full blown cold (yet); have been teetering on the fence line for a few days and am feeling the worst today. This weekend has been the worst for Michael so far; I have never seen him this fussy and distraught. Poor little guy keeps rubbing his ears and his mouth, expressing his discomfort with faces, and being extremely needy. And he has a cough to boot. I've been keeping him warmly dressed and inside for the most part - hopefully he will kick that cough this week. Needless to say, it has been a tiring and draining week for me. Providence brought this to my attention and I had to smile at Cardinal Dolan's cheerful frankness:

"Lord knows there are plenty of Good Fridays in our lives...but, they will not prevail. Easter will. As we Irish claim, 'Life is all about loving, living, and laughing, not about hating, dying, and moaning.' That's why a crabby, griping, whining believer is an oxymoron! That's why we say, 'Joy is the infallible sign of God's presence.' "

Lord also knows I've had a few Good Fridays in my day. And I've learned to deal. But God asks us to do more then deal. In addition to trusting Him to carry us through the tough times, He asks us to forge them joyfully. Joy. Such a tiny word, but packed with purpose and meaning. I've always been very good with dutifully and punctually carrying out my obligations and fulfilling my commitments, but I've never been good with the "rejoice always" part. In fact, I fail in that area way too often. This is why I chose the title "Joy of Being" for my blog; to constantly remind me that not only have I much to be joyful about as a daughter of God, but that only in Him, do I find complete joy of being and that only through Him, will I be able to impart that joy of being to family, friends and strangers. Sure, it's a breeze to smile when the going is easy and smooth. However, being human, it's more likely that some insecurity, frustration or weakness of temperament will haste to turn that smile into a frown. What does Scripture say?

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice!" Philippians 4:4

"...we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produce hope, and hope does not disappoint us..." Romans 5:3-5

"Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer."
Romans 12:12

"Count it all joy, my brethren when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness." James 1:2-3

And so, if we strive to remain daily in His presence and invite Him into our various trials, will not the "task" of remaining joyful no longer be a "task" but a automatic response to the consolation found in Him? In other words, a gift from the Lord?

"You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound." Psalm 4:7

"Splendor and majesty go before him; praise and joy are in his holy place."  
1 Chronicles 16:27

"Then all who take refuge in you will be glad and forever shout for joy. Protect them that you may be the joy for those who love your name." Psalm 5:12

"My soul is feasted as with marrow and fat, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips, when I think of you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy." Psalm 63:5-7

Such wealth of comfort found in His Word, these quotes being only a mere fraction! Through our faith and trust in Him, the Lord grants us joy. Joy begets peace. Joy begets hope. Joy begets stronger love. Aren't those the principles I want our life and house to revolve around? There's a saying somewhere that the mother is the heart of the household. Also, that a mother's heart in the classroom of her child. It's true. I've got a little man around who grows ever-aware of my state of being and reactions to life's curve balls and who will soon be following my lead, not to mention a husband who in his own human imperfection, is likely to react according to my reactions...ample reasons to check/change my habits, no? Resolve: to bless my family by being more joyful in all circumstances, and by so doing, to bring God's presence more keenly into their midst.

"Joy is the serious business of Heaven." ~ C. S. Lewis

Yes, sir. The best of reasons to practice now.

"And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."
Isaiah 51:11

His eye is on the sparrow

"Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins?  Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God.  Even the hairs of your head have all been counted.  Do not be afraid.  You are worth more than many sparrows."

Luke 12: 6-7

"O my Lord, how obvious it is that you are almighty!  There's no need to look for reasons for what you want.  For, beyond all natural reason, you make things so possible that you manifest clearly there's no need for anything more than truly to love you and truly to leave all for you, so that you, my Lord, may make everything easy..."

~ St. Teresa of Avila

The better part.

"The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

 ~ Luke 10: 41, 42

There are so many worries, foolish cares, and distractions in our simple and jaded view of life.  We must not allow ourselves to be so wrapped up in our bubble that we forget Who stands nearby awaiting our love, and that our attention must first, foremost, and always be centered on Him.  How tragic when we allow those petty cares we grasp so tightly to interfere with our devotion to our Lord.  Better to remain always at His feet then to be rushing in and out of His presence because there is "so much" to be done.  So silly of us, of me. He should be at the desk, at the stove, sink, and laundry room, in the car; always on our minds like the Beloved He is.  Our daily work will indeed even go much smoother, be more peace-filled, and feel less like drudgery if we consciously keep Him at the center of all that we do.  A perfect opportunity also to offer Him love and consolations instead of wasting time uselessly bemoaning our own tiny, tiny problems.  The reward? He will provide us with the grace to plow through our duties, and peace to sooth our frantic minds and weary spirits.  We struggle even to offer Him so little, and He gives ten-fold in return.

  

PS.  St. Therese of the Child Jesus, pray for us.

Suffering - the way of Christ

Suffering is a favorite meditation subject of mine.  Our Lord's words bring such consolation when He assures us that the way of a Christian is a way of suffering and affliction.  Today's Gospel concerns more of an emotional/mental suffering rather then a physical suffering - "If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.  Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple."  Luke 14:26, 27.  (It must be understood that love/hate were the words used to measure preference in the Aramaic language, or this would be a peculiar command indeed, since God clearly desires us to love our family and neighbors.)  We are reminded that we must not prefer anything to God and His law, even comfort and ease in our relationships with family, friends, acquaintances, etc.  It is not enough merely to ensure that we ourselves are not committing significant sins.  We must not only live according to the Commandments and Christ's teachings, encouraging those around us by word and deed, but must also be mindful not to betray our fidelity to God by condoning sinful actions by either remaining silent, or appearing to accept such behavior.  We must judge sin as sin, for by sugar-coating it, or perhaps not speaking up at all, we are doing more harm then good to those for whom we care.  This type of judgement has nothing to do with the final, ultimate judgement that God will pass on each and every soul; pointing out sin is not an attempt to step over that Divine boundary; indeed God orders us to do just that in seeking the good of the other.  Of course, this does not mean that we are to stop loving or praying for those people, on the contrary - love the sinner, hate the sin - they need all the more love and prayer.  

It is interesting to note that Christ immediately follows this revelation with the well known "whoever does not carry his own cross" statement.  He was aware that His commandments would cause division and strife in relationships, even within families, which can be especially saddening and heartbreaking.  Even so, He says we must not waver from both living and speaking truth, and must be willing to accept any hardships or suffering which results from such conflicts out of love for Him.  No matter how hard the situations that face us as Christ's disciples, we must be that much stronger in submitting to and obeying Him...the reward for our sufferings will be great indeed!  With such a love and such a Beloved who suffered the ultimate for us, how can we refuse?  "In truth, the soul perfectly enamored of Christ, its beloved, would not wish to have any other bed or state in this world than the one he had."  (Those are the words of Blessed Angela of Foligno, whose writings I would like to read more of, as she was a wife and mother.)  So those of you who are suffering from any type of circumstance or affliction, take heart and rejoice even in affliction.  He is by your side and will not forsake His faithful.