The Prayer of St. Francis

This is a good reminder of how to live life:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

The Comings of Christ

When we think about the coming of Christ, we think about his first coming, being born in Bethlahem, and the Final Judgment, but there are other, hidden, important comings of Jesus.

"St. Bernard of Clairvaux spoke of three 'comings' of Christ: as the child of Bethlahem and the final Lord of history, as well as the quiet daily arrivals of grace in which we recognize the face of Jesus."

We must be constantly alert and aware of the comings of Jesus in our everyday lives, whether it is through things like the friendship of others, the beauty of the earth, the fulfillment of a goal, or any of the number of other things that could help lead us closer to Christ.

Being aware of these comings of Christ can help us recognize the way that He works in our lives, which helps us to grow in virtue and appreciate the gifts and blessings and graces that we receive on an everyday basis.

This can also help us to do as Jesus would do, and to live our lives like He did, treating everyone we meet with love and respect. When we are aware of the arrivals of grace that Jesus brings to us, we can't help but grow in virtue as we know that Jesus is with us always, helping us and supporting us.

How has Jesus come to you today?

The Annunciaton

Last week was the Feast of the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Bible verses that chiefly talk about this just so happen to include the one that this site is named after.

"Mary said, 'Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."

I love this verse, it is my favorite in the whole Bible.

It helps to look at the context of it. The Archangel Gabriel had just told Mary that she was pregnant with the Son of God, even though she was still a virgin. She was almost certainly still a teenager. She was not married, and she would had to have thought that Joseph (to whom she was betrothed) would no longer be with her, and her reputation would be ruined. Furthermore, it is (I imagine) hard enough having to raise a normal child! Now being in the charge of the development of Jesus, that is a tough task. Talk about being called to a higher standard.

For all of these reasons, it would have been easy to see why Mary might have gotten scared, or nervous, or told Gabriel that this was a responsibility that she did not want to shoulder.

Instead, she does the opposite. In short, she tells Gabriel, "I am here only to do God's work. Let His will be done, I will do what He wants." Despite the difficulties surrounding this, she does not need time to think, she trusts that if it is God's will, it is what she wants also.

I strive to always have that same attitude, to follow in the example of Mary, to say to God, "Let it be done to me according to your word."

St. Therese of Lisieux - "Story of a Soul" Quotes

One of the best books I have ever read was "The Story of a Soul" by St. Therese of Lisieux, one of the most famous and inspiring books in Catholic (or more, so Christian, but it was written by a Catholic Saint) literature.

Her nickname was "The Little Flower," and on the surface there was nothing that was necessarily extraordinary about her. She was a simple nun, who placed all of her trust, hope, and love in the Lord, and it allowed her to create this book that has been an inspiration to countless people.

If you have never read it, I urge you to get it and read it. If you have read it, read it again. And again. And again.

Anywho, here are some of the quotes from the book that really stuck out to me as I read the book:

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- "This desire might seem presumptuous, seeing how week and imperfect I was and still am, even after eight years as a nun, yet I always feel the same fearless uncertainty that I shall become a great saint. I'm not relying on my own merits, as I have none, but I put my hope in Him who is goodness and holiness Himself. It is He alone who, satisfied with my feeble efforts, will raise me to Him, will clothe me with His infinite merits, and will make me a saint." (37-38)

- "She showed me how one could achieve sanctity by being faithful in the smallest matters." (39)

- "Sometimes I felt lonely, very lonely, but then peace and courage would come back to me if I repeated the line: 'The world's thy ship and not thy home.'" (48)

- "It's absolutely true that 'nothing is impossible to love, for love is convinced it may and can do all things.'" (64)

- "I realized very clearly that happiness has nothing to do with the material things which surround us; it dwells in the very depths of the soul." (79)

- "I know that every soul cannot be alike. There must be different kinds so that each of the perfections of God can be specially honored." (109)

- "He knows very well that although I had not the consolation of faith, I forced myself to act as if I had. I have made more acts of faith in the last year than in the whole of my life." (118)

- "For is there any greater joy than to suffer for love of You? The more intense and hidden the suffering is, the more pleasing it is to You." (118)

- "There my only aim would be to do the will of God and to welcome every sacrifice He wished. I know I should not be disappointed, for the slightest pleasure is a surprise when one expects nothing but suffering. And suffering itself becomes the greatest of all joys when one seeks it like a precious treasure." (121)

- "But now I realize that true charity consists in putting up with all one's neighbor's faults, never being surprised by his weakness, and being inspired by the least of his virtues." (122-123)

- "When a soul has been captivated by the intoxicating odor of Your ointments, she cannot run alone. Every soul she loves is drawn after her - a natural consequence of her being drawn to You." (149)

- "I want to be fascinated by Your gaze." (165)

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We should all desire to be fascinated by the Lord's gaze.

Mother Teresa's Pro-Life Speech in Washington DC

If you are looking for a little bit on inspiration today, take a look at the text (or listen to it) of Mother Teresa's Speech in Washington DC in 1994.

Here is a link to the speech.

I hope and pray that someday this great country of America will realize the vision of Mother Teresa, and will embrace the view of the sanctity of life that comes from the pro-life movement.

If we remember that God loves us, and that we can love others as He loves us, then America can become a sign of peace for the world.

From here, a sign of care for the weakest of the weak - the unborn child - must go out to the world. If you become a burning light of justice and peace in the world, then really you will be true to what the founders of this country stood for. God bless you!

Say a prayer today for the health of unborn children everywhere, that they may receive the mercy and love that they deserve.

Quotes about Mary

Here are some quotes about Mary from a calendar that was in my parents basement!

"Every good, every help, and every grace that human beings have received and will receive from God until the end of time came and will come to them by the intercession and through then hands of Mary." - Blessed Raymond Jordano

"O sorrowful Virgin, give me strength to accept my little crosses with patience and joy." - Saint Bonaventure

"Let us run to her, and, as her little children, cast ourselves into her arms with a perfect confidence." - Saint Francis de Sales

"He who asks favors of God without the intercession of Mary is like a bird who tries to fly without wings." - Saint Antonius

"I could convert the whole world, if I had an army praying the rosary." Blessed Pope Pis IX

"Mary seeks those who approach her devoutly and with reverence, for such she loves, nourishes, and adopts as her children." - Saint Bonaventure

"O Blessed Virgin, nothing resists your power. God the Father looks upon your glory as if it were His own." - Saint Gregory of Nicemedia

"It is almost impossible to reach Jesus except through Mary." - Saint John Bosco

"Great was the love that Mary possessed. So great indeed that it gave rise to that perfect beauty by which she captivated the Heart of her God!" - Saint Thomas of Villanova

"Let the storm rage and the sky darken - we shall not be dismayed. If we trust as we should in Mary, we shall recognize in her, the Virgin Most Powerful 'who with virginal foot did crush the head of the serpent.'" - Pope Saint Pius X

"As mariners are guided into port by the light of a star, so Christians are guided into heaven by Mary." - Saint Thomas Aquinas

"Whoever does not have a great love for the Mother of God cannot have a great love for her Son." - Saint Joseph Cafasso

Trusting in God

A quote from Mother Teresa, from the book Come Be My Light:

"Now I really rejoice when something does not go as I wish - because I see that He wants our trust - that is why in the loss let us praise God as if we have got everything."

Wow, how different our lives would be if we had that attitude towards loss and disappoint, that is is just another way for us to learn to trust in God and in His divine providence.

How often does something not go as we want it to, only for something better to come along later? If something does not go as we wish, it might open up another, better opportunity for something. Like the saying goes, "Thank God for unanswered prayers."
He knows what is best for our life, even if we sometimes feel like He does not.

Ultimately, the things that we want might not be the best things for us, and in these cases all we can do is trust God, as Mother Teresa said, "as if we have got everything."

Jesus, I Trust in You

Mother Teresa's Path to Peace

In the book "Come Be My Light," there is this quote from the writings and wisdom of Mother Teresa:

The fruit of silence is prayer,
The fruit of prayer is faith,
The fruit off faith is love,
The fruit of love is service,
The fruit of service is peace.

Many people have found their lives in unrest, constantly in search of an ever-elusive peace. So many methods to find peace are out there, but I think you would be hard-pressed to find advice and simple, timeless, and effective as this.

Since Mother Teresa is so great, another quote from her to end this post:

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop."

Remaining Steadfast Always

In St. Louis de Montfort's Total Consecration, he writes (on day 4):

"He who would be too secure in time of peace will often be found too much dejected in time of war. If you could always continue to be humble and little in your own eyes, and keep your spirit in due order and subjection, you would not fall so easily into danger and offense. It is good counsel that, when you have conceived the spirit of fervor, you should meditate how it will be when that light shall be withdrawn."

I think most of us, when things are going well in our life, have the tendency to kind of forget about God, or put Him on the backburner. Then, we figure, when we need Him (when things don't go as we wish), He will be there as a fallback option.

However, if we have this strategy, St. Louis de Montfort says, we are just setting ourselves up for a fall. The good times, the easy times, are not their simply for us to coast and enjoy, but those are the key times to grow stronger in our faith, stronger in our virtue, so that we can be strong when things don't go our way.

This should be no surprise, it holds true in all walks of life. If you are a farmer with a good crop, you don't eat it all and simply enjoy it because it's there, you save some in case the next harvest is not as strong. Financially, if you make some extra money, you should not spend it all immediately, but save some for when things are tough (or for when you want to retire!)

If you are in a period of many blessings and good times, be careful! Do not grow complacent, but grow stronger. Doing this, you will be able to withstand any storm.

Fake It 'Til You Make It

The name for that sounds very silly, but I can't think of a better way to put it. St. Louis de Montfort (among many others) talk about it the Total Consecration (day 11):

"When a certain anxious person, who oftentimes wavered between hope and fear, once overcome with sadness, threw himself upon the ground in prayer, before one of the altars in the Church and thinking these things in his mind, said 'Oh, if only I knew how to persevere,' that very instant he heard within him, this heavenly answer: 'And if thou didst know this, what would thou do? Do now what thou would do, and you will be perfectly secure."

Time and again it seems true, the quickest way to acquire a virtue is to act as if you have already got it. Then, over time, it will become more and more natural, until it becomes second nature, and you find that you have indeed acquired the virtue. It is no longer an act, the play has become real life.

Be The One

In one of her many letters and meditations included in the book "Come Be My Light," Mother Teresa writes:

"Tell Jesus, 'I will be the one.' I will comfort, encourage, and love Him… Be with Jesus. He prayed and prayed and prayed, and then He went to look for consolation, and there was none. .. I always write that sentence, 'I looked for one to comfort Me, but I found no one.' Then I write, 'Be the one.' So now you be that one. Try to be the one to share with Him, to comfort Him, to console Him. So let us ask Our Lady to help us understand." (Come Be My Light, pg. 260)

How different would our attitude and our life be if we constantly made the effort to "Be The One" to help others, to love others, to console others, to pray for others, to show God and His majesty to others? I imagine we would barely be able to recognize ourselves if we were able to do that, and that would be a good thing.