Women Who Walk By Faith

Will you allow God to shape and form you?

“If God sends you many sufferings, it is a sign that He has great plans for you and certainly wants to make you a saint.” St. Ignatius of Loyola

Ever wish life were simple, everything worked out, there was no pain, no suffering? Do you think if you had no pain and suffering you would be the person you are today?

So often I wish God would take away all my pain and suffering, just put me in a bubble and protect me from all inflictions. If only each piece of sin and suffering would bounce off the wall of the bubble and I can watch in peace. When I sit and dream of such a beautiful, perfect life with no heart ache, no unhappy tears, I’m reminded of all that I have gained in the midst of pain and suffering. If I had not suffered pain and inflictions, I may not have the relationship I have with God. It is through these trials that I have grown the most in my faith and relationship with God. It’s in these moments that I cry out to God and seek His love and guidance the most. It’s in these moments that I learn to trust God more and more because I know there is much more greatness God has in store for me.

As a parent, I am always wanting to place my girls in a bubble, protect them from all things in the world that can inflict pain, hurt, heart ache. But being a parent, I also know that putting my kids in a bubble and not letting them experience these things is not good for them. In order for them to grow, I have to step back sometimes and give them space to experience situations.

God does the same for us in so many ways. He knows what we need and He allows us to go through these moments so that the happiness He designed for us through love for Him is pruned and blooms.

What masterpiece can be created when you fire up a slab of metal and mold and shape it? What can you create when you twirl around a piece of clay, guiding its formation? Is God not the artist and the potter? Will you let Him shape and form you today through your pain and suffering, because you are His perfect work of art?

Has your veil of darkness been lifted revealing the love of Christ?

“Faith widens our lens of our limited human understanding, giving us the graced view of eternal perspective to see that all is well in God. It’s the veiled revelation of living faith that allows us to see Christ in the midst of our pain, as our hearts open up to anchor themselves in the promise of life beyond the grave, which is the ground of hope.” Mary’s Way The Power of Entrusting Your Child to God, Judy Landrieu Klein

Have you had moments when your faith was weak? Moments when you were in the valley or in shear darkness? Perhaps, you couldn’t see past the circumstance you were dealing with and you were just fighting to survive, to keep your head above the water?

There was a time in my life when my lens was very narrow. All I could see was the storm I was in. I bobbed in the ocean I was swimming in, just trying to keep my head up and above the surface. Physically I was surviving but spiritually and emotionally I was drowning. Then one day, this little spark of faith widened my lens and opened my heart. I began to anchor myself in the love I found.

I found this man, who was human and divine. His eyes looked upon me with love and sadness at the same time. He knew my pain because He had felt an enormous pain of His own. He was rejected no matter how He loved. He was stripped of His clothes, beaten and spit upon for His love. He endured the greatest level of humiliation. Yet, His love remained. It was unfailing and unwavering. When I came face to face with Him and saw His enormous love radiating towards me, I knew my life was transforming. No matter my rejection, my humiliation, my brokenness, He loved me.

Have you ever felt this love – truly experienced it? Have you felt it in the midst of your pain and suffering?

If you are struggling in your marriage, your health, with addictions, parenting, loss of a loved one, any relationship or brokenness, try embracing it. Allow the veil of darkness to drop and see Jesus looking right at you with love and sadness. Give thanks for your cross and allow Jesus to be your Simon of Cyrene lifting the greatest weight of your cross so that you can complete the journey of hope and glory that is beyond the grave, in the light shining in the midst of the darkness.

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Discover the power or prayer in these darkest moments. Embrace His gaze upon you as you kneel before Him, praying for those who hurt you, for His will in your health and addictions, for comfort through your loss, or to mend your brokenness. He loves you to the “heavens” and back, even in your weakest, darkest moments.

Understanding in why we are asked to carry these crosses is beyond our limited view. In all things, God is good. When our FAITH is tested and strengthened, we are given a greater perspective revealing this goodness of God anchored in the center of our circumstance. May your faith be strengthened when the storms of life test it the most.

Love a deeper force of attraction

St John of the Cross, “soul is in God like a stone buried in the earth. The soul is attracted to the deepest center of God like the stone is attracted to the deepest center of the earth. This attraction is mutual. The force of attraction between the soul and the center of God is not gravity but love.”

Where is the anchor of your heart? What about your soul? Do you feel an attraction to something that is unexplainable? A deep desire for something bigger than your physical life?

St John of the Cross’ metaphor of our soul’s attraction to God by love being similar to a stone attracted to the earth by gravity is a beautiful image. It reminds me of Margaret Silf’s road map of our lives in the book Inner Compass. She explains that our lives are comprised of layers: Where I am? How I am? Who I am? The deepest center – I am.

Where I am is my connection to circumstance, the things in my environment I cannot change. This is my past. It is my family, where I come from, the outer part of me.

How I am is how I respond to the environment, my circumstance and to others. I can love. I can be angry. I can be afraid. I can be merciful and compassionate. I can accept things or not. This is where I make choices and affect changes within in myself and the world.

Who I am is my true being. It is who I truly am, where I face my indifference. It’s the comfort and peace of my being and it is the challenges I face as I see the differences between the outer me and the person created by God. This is my spiritual being in the I am that lay at the deepest part of my soul. This is where my relationship with God is, where my seed of God’s love grows and produces fruit. This is where I journey through prayer, the very essence of my journey.

In our lives, we will move between each of the layers – back and forth. Some people may never move into the who I am because of the risk and the challenges they may face by approaching a relationship with God. Those of us who do move here may be faced with challenges by seeing the gap between life in the where we are and the person God created us to be. In this space we gain wisdom, strength, and love. We begin to find acceptance with joy to circumstance that we cannot change. It challenges us to see the things where God is calling us to transform to be resurrected from. This is where our intimate relationship with God fuels a trust in Him.

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As we continue to dive deeper the love of God attracts us to the center, to the deeper core of us. This is where our deepest desires lay. Where we are most in touch with who God is in us and who He created us to be. This is where our anchor is. And everything else should be centered and directed from this point as we transition through each layer of ourself back and forth. Processing circumstance into our action based on who we truly are in the one who created us.

Through this movement, there are times we may have an experience that is not explainable, that is providential. It is something that is tangential to all the layers of our being. It is a moment when we have truly been touched by God and he has moved and united all layers fusing our where I am to the how I am and the who I am, driving roots to the center, anchoring our total being to Him. When this happens His light shines around us, glowing from our center for all to see. This is a point of spiritual freedom, the top of the mountain in our journey.

Have you allowed yourself to be open to move into the who I am, allowing God to anchor Himself from your where I am to the center of your being, to your heart?

Do you wrestle with stillness?

“Be still and know I am God.” Psalm 46:11

Do you struggle with stillness? What is God saying to you when He says “be still and know I am God?”

A couple of years ago this verse danced in my head and I questioned what it really meant to me, what was God saying to me when He said be still and know I am God?

A few weeks later, I had gone to see my eye doctor just for a regular exam so I could get some contacts. As I’m sitting in the chair, my doctor looks at me concerned and began asking me a series of questions. He asked if I was dizzy and having headaches. I looked at him very confused and slowly stated, I was fine and no I hadn’t been having any issues with headaches or dizziness. He explained to me that my optic nerve looked swollen. He said it could be one of two things, it was swelling, which would indicate neurological issues or there was calcium deposits causing it to look like swelling, which would affect my peripheral vision. He referred me to a neuro ophthalmologist to run further tests. Of course, like most people, I go home and search the internet, not very wise. Everything bad under the sun comes up, heightening my anxieties. I made an appointment to see the specialist. I spent an entire day undergoing several exams on my eye and was becoming very concerned through each exam. After all the tests, she still could not make a determination what was going on with my eye and made me an appointment at another facility to have an ultrasound done on my eye. I was alone and frightened as none of these tests revealed a definitive answer. I had a couple of hours before the appointment for the ultrasound. I found myself longing to go sit quietly in a church. I found a church just down the road from where my ultrasound was scheduled. When I walked in, I noticed they had Adoration in a small chapel. I went in to sit, to “be still,” with Jesus. Being there brought about a calmness and tranquility and all my anxieties on what could be wrong with my eyes were gone. I was in a state of stillness and I knew that God was in control. I knew that no matter what the doctor found, this was part of God’s plan in my journey.

Now, when I read that verse and contemplate its meaning, I know that God is telling me, “relax, I have this figured out, you are mine and I am your God, your Heavenly Father who loves you, who has a plan for you and all things in your life.”

Being still and allowing God to be God, does not mean you have to go to a church or a chapel and find complete solitude or quietness. You can find this stillness in your home or outdoors. God is all around you and anytime you find yourself needing to be still, find a comfortable spot, pause and allow Him to reveal to you that He has everything under control because He is God. This stillness is a moment of focus on God in all matters in your life.

Have you been kissed by God or heard His heartbeat?

“There is an ancient legend that holds that when an infant is created, God kisses its soul and sings to it. The legend says God’s kiss and His song, as well as the song of the angel, remain in that soul forever – to be called up, cherished, shared and to become the basis of all our songs. But to feel that kiss, to hear that song, requires solitude…. The sound of God’s heartbeat is audible only in a certain solitude and in the gentleness it brings.” Prayer Our Deepest Longing

Have you been kissed by God lately? Have you heard Him tell you He loves you lately? Have you sat intimately with Him, allowing His embrace so that you could hear His heartbeat.

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I think the quote from the book “Prayer Our Deepest Longing” is such a beautiful image of the love of God as our creator and how intimate His relationship has been with us from the time we were formed.

Today, as I contemplated that image in the solitude of my heart, I realized that not only do I long and desire this intimate relationship with God but I also long and desire it with my earthly relationships. I realize that no one on this earth can possess the unconditional love God has for me but I also recognize that there are people in my life that imitate this intimacy of God through Christ in them.

As I have matured in my life and embraced my journey with Christ, I realize how important each person in my life is. Discerning my friendships and those that help guide my direction in my life has become very important. When a doctor performs surgery or any procedure for that matter, he has a set of instruments that are necessary to do the task that he needs to accomplish. The same is the case with an orchestra. To play a certain melody that resonates beautiful sound, the orchestra has to have certain instruments that precisely play certain notes at particular times. I think our friendships and other relationships are instruments in our lives that help guide us in directions that resonate with the very heartbeat of God and “His song” in us. Perhaps, it is in our solitude that we can truly hear the sound of His heartbeat, hear that song and embrace His kiss.

In my life, discerning the relationships that are healthy, the instruments in my journey, has been critical for me to ascend to this summit of solitude where I can lay on the chest of my Lord and hear His heartbeat and embrace His kiss.

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After reading the excerpt of this ancient legend in “Prayer Our Deepest Longing,” I know that His song and His kisses that remain in my soul have been called up, cherished and shared in the intimacy of my dear brothers and sisters I have connected with in my walk with God. Each of my sisters and brothers are the instruments in the song God played for me during my creation as His beautiful daughter. And each of your brothers and sisters that are in your life guiding you along your journey with Christ are the instruments in the orchestra God created just for you to hear His harmonious heartbeat in the beautiful song they play. Embrace your sisters and brothers that guide you closer to God along your faith journey. Share the kiss of the Lord with each of them.

Ripples of the Holy Spirit – are you open to receive them?

Do you struggle with listening and hearing God? Do you struggle with being still and resting in His presence? How about being open to everything around you and how He will speak to you or reveal Himself to you?

Do a little exercise. Get in a comfortable place, somewhere that is peaceful for you. Perhaps a place where you have experienced God before. Take two deep breaths and release them.

Now, imagine you are sitting next to a calm lake. The water is still. There is absolutely no observable movement on the surface. The surface is flat throughout. It is absolutely undisturbed.

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Now close your eyes, keeping this image with you. Imagine you are this body of water. You are still. Your mind is clear. Your body is at rest. Allow the Holy Spirit to drop something into this body of water, into your presence, your being. Open your mind to receive it. Release all the pressures of the day and receive what God is offering you in this moment. Do you hear a whisper, feel something within, or envision something? Perhaps it’s a word? Perhaps it’s an answer to something you’ve been discerning to do? Perhaps it’s an object or a scenery? May be it’s a person’s face? Or perhaps it’s a feeling of love embracing you?

Does it make a ripple when it hits the surface of stillness within you? Do you have an overwhelming feeling throughout your body? A feeling of joy, comfort, or rest? May be you feel a peace of some resolution that has taken place within or that needs to take place? Whatever it is, soak it up. Stay in this moment and rest.

Just as the stillness of the water creates a ripple through the lake when something is dropped within it, does our inner space when we allow the Holy Spirit to drop His thoughts upon us.

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The ripples fill the lake as the Holy Spirit fills us. The ripples are only bound by the edges of the lake. We too place boundaries upon the ripples in our lives when we aren’t open to receiving all the Holy Spirit has to give us. His presence is boundless if we are open to it.

Open your eyes and always be prepared for God’s surprises. Let Him drop a single thought into your mind, a single smell of freshness into your nose, a song of beauty resonating in your ears, and a sight of art and feel His love surrounding you. God presents Himself to you in everything around you. He whispers to you His plans for goodness in your life and fills you with rest in times of despair. The key to it all is being open to receive it. Allow your Heavenly Father to walk your journey with you today. He seeks your friendship and will drop His very thoughts into your being, creating ripples in your life that are endless and perfect. Trust in His will for you and joy will overflow from you as the water overflows from any body of water when it fills every ounce of its reservoir.

Is your deepest desire a communal relationship with God?

“…our belonging to God, our deep bond with him, a relationship that gives meaning to our whole life and keeps us resolute, in communion with him, even during the most difficult and troubled moments” Pope Francis

What is your deepest desire? Is it a communal relationship with God? These are both good questions to ponder and reflect on today as you read the Gospel of John, chapter 6.

Todays Gospel reading is one of my favorites. In fact the series of the Gospel of John, chapter 6, has always been my favorite series at Mass. I think the reason is that over the years, I have realized the true meaning of the Eucharist in my life. It is the “communion with Him”. Before receiving the Eucharist, my heart desires so greatly to be consumed by Jesus as I consume His body and blood and when I receive the Eucharist at Mass, I receive this gift of Jesus’ presence within me that is like no other.

Today at Mass, something happened that brought a deeper meaning to me in the blessings and healing of the Eucharist and the communion with God. Just before Mass, I was reading The Better Part which is reflections on the Gospel. In The Better Part, Christ as friend, I had read

“You want more out of your life; I do too. I am what you’re looking for. Know me better; listen to me; trust me more.”

Today, before the consecration of the bread and wine, I heard this small voice whisper to me to offer up this Mass for my ex-husband. A little resistant at first, I remember thinking that is a lot to ask and not so easy today. After recalling what I had read before Mass, I knew that when the body and blood were raised up, I was to offer the Mass up for my ex-husband. I was to listen to that inner voice and trust that Jesus knew me better and knew what I needed today. So, I offered the Mass up for my ex. After receiving communion, when I went back to my pew to pray, I felt a release as tears cleansed me while I prayed.

I wanted to share this because I think this is an example of desiring and embracing a communal relationship with God. It’s through the Eucharist that the communal bond – as Father mentioned today – with Jesus as the wedding ring, a union between man and God takes place.

Jesus says in the Gospel today,

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” John 6:35

If you do not believe or have trouble believing that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, read the Gospel of John, chapter 6 carefully and let the words soak in – ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read this beautiful reading. He came to earth to not only die for us but to give us life and fulfill us by being present with us in this beautiful Sacrament.