Resolutions

Never forget the age-old advice of making resolutions at the end of your prayer. Without it you will never move forward in the spiritual life, for you will have nothing concrete with which to change, and the devil can convince you of growth when in fact you have gone backwards!

Ask the Lord what He wants you to do. Then do it.

Care first for the person

In the Apostolate, you must care for the person first. You cannot help a soul grow in the virtue if its creaturely needs are not met. You cannot help a soul to grow in the virtue of purity if its body is overtired.

If a person first knows he is loved above all else, then helping him to grow in virtue follows naturally. The help you offer his soul will do nothing but harm if that love can be questioned.

Do what you are doing

Think of Mary in Nazareth, sweeping the floor of her humble house. She does not leave crevices and corners untouched, but methodically, calmly sweeps the entire floor until it is perfectly clean. She is lost in the rhythm of the sweeping, contemplating whatever the Lord desires. Perhaps it is simply watching the dust as it is wisked from the floor by her broom, or perhaps this has drawn her to contemplate higher things.

If you are going to sweep the floor, sweep the floor.

Soiled gift

Soul: "Lord, You have given me everything--I can only give You what You have given me... but why must I always soil it first?"

Lion: "What does it matter? I gave you My mother."

Whenever there is a stain on anything, I immediately call my mother for directions to remove it--or better yet, give it to her to clean! No one can remove stains to make it like new as my mother can.

How much more so our Mother in heaven with our souls?

Jesus center stage

Follow Mary's example in always pushing Jesus to center stage. Mary is always saying her Magnificat and redirecting all attention and praise to her Son and Lord.

This is especially important in the apostolate. Others will be drawn to you because they see Christ in you, but if you are not careful they will attach themselves to you rather than Him. Our job is not to be the answer men and women for the world, but rather to lead them to the answer: Jesus.

The Word

The Word was made flesh...

Jesus is God's Word. Therefore everything that He wishes to tell us is in His Son. Whatever you wish to ask God, look to Jesus, His eternal Word. Look at His life, His works, His death. Here you will find everything you need to know from God. You will know Truth, Mercy, Humility and Love.

How well Mary knew God! She carried Him in her womb, she gazed upon His face and listened to His actions and words His whole life through. Let us learn from Mary!

Selfish beloved

How selfish is the beloved if she desires to be loved because she is perfect! If she denies her lover because she is with blemish!

For a true lover will love her with her blemish and can make her spotless once more.

O self-love, how many lives do you have? You are worse than a bad penny.

Arise Holy Spirit!

When you are darkened and can no longer find your voice to sing praise to your God, call into your depths:

Arise Holy Spirit!
Arise within me to praise my God, for He has done wondrous deeds!
Remove from me this darkness through song and dance for my Lord!

He is not disgusted

God never looks upon you with disgust. When you turn away from Him, His only thought is 'If only I can bring her back.' How His heart longs for you! He desires to draw you to Himself again. He will not hold you at a distance.

When you are sick, often others will keep at a distance so that they will not be contaminated. God will never do this to your sick soul. He is the Physician, He is your Father. If only you will let Him, He will take you to Himself to care for you and heal you. Nothing you do can disgust Him. He will clean any wound, no matter where it is or how infested it is. Give yourself back to Him, and do not be embarrassed by anything. He already knows and sees all. Let Him heal it.

Salt and wound

"You are the salt of the earth" --Matthew 5:13

Salt, when used to dress a wound, will kill any infection and allow for healthy healing. But O how it stings! The bigger and deeper and more infected the wound, the more it will sting. Do not forget this, as you go out into the world. The greater the wound and the more it festers, the more your truth and love will bite! But also do not forget that this is a sign that it is working to cleanse the wound and will allow it to heal well. You are being applied by the hands of the Great Physician.

Salt

"You are the salt of the earth" --Matthew 5:13

Salt does not simply add its own flavor to a food, but instead draws out the goodness of the food upon which it is placed. So we must be to the world. We are not to overtake it with ourselves, but rather to draw out its goodness in which the Lord created it.

Salt of the earth

"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men." --Matthew 5:13

You have chosen anxiety and stress over the peace and love of the Lord--no wonder you have lost your joy! And if you have lost your taste, then you are fit for nothing but dust in the streets.

Return to your Lord and enter into His peace, that you may be filled with joy and once more be the salt of the earth.

Grace performs the extraordinary

Do you believe that it is extraordinary that you have fallen from grace? You are upset that you have sinned.

It is not extraordinary to do evil, but extraordinary to do good and walk in the ways of our Lord. By ourselves, we can do evil, but it is through His grace that we do good.

God wants to be needed

Like any parent, God desires to be needed. He wants you to ask for things, and He wants to provide them for you. He is waiting for you to come to Him for advice! He is waiting to give you the graces you need. All you must do is humble yourself to approach Him-- and admit that He was right all along!

Interior inspirations

The interior inspirations of the Holy Spirit touch a soul much deeper than the level of the senses. Once you learn this, you will no longer be led astray by the demons that plague you. Become familiar with the depths of your soul, and come to know the Holy Spirit, Who resides there. You must develop a sixth sense, the sense of your soul.

Lord, one word from You and I would never fall

Lord, one word from You and I would never fall the rest of my life; I would be without blemish.

Jesus is the Word which God has spoken. We will be without blemish. To the cross!

Are you hiding?

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." --Matthew 5:16

Are you hiding, little soul, because you feel you have shamed your Father in heaven and no longer deserve to shine? Come forth! If you do not let your light shine before men, they cannot give glory to your Father, and shame be upon your head!

Hidden Lamp

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house." --Matthew 5:14-15

Little soul, do not hide your light from the world. Let your peace and joy shine forth! It is foolish to hide it behind the worries of the world.

Holiness is simple

"Let what you say be simply 'yes' or 'no;' anything more than this comes from evil." --Matthew 5:37

If in your examination of conscience you find a situation complicated, then it is not of God. Ask yourself, is this 'yes' or 'no'? And leave it at that. Qualifiers are a sign of rationalization, which is always from the devil.

Supersize

Whenever God asks you, "Would you like to supersize that?"
Say "YES!!!"

Unlike McDonald's french fries, it will improve your health exponentially.

Fall to your level

God permits us to fall, that we may remember how low we are--so close to the dirt! How easy to forget this, to begin to imagine we are angelic and worthy of heaven when we fix our gaze on heaven and the stars. At the moment of each fall, our God reminds us of our stature, that we may live in the humility that will gain us heaven. For only if we are humble and relying on His grace may we be His bride without blemish!

Life is eternal

This life is a part of our eternal life-- it is a stage of our never-ending journey. Do not be so short sighted! Look to your eternal future, and love your Lord with Whom you will be forever.

You are living your eternal life.

The key to purity

You say you wish to be pure, but you do not know how.

Pray to Mary. Say three Hail Marys a day for purity of mind, body and soul. The power of this practice, the generosity with which she will respond to those who do it with total devotion and faith will astonish you.

Do not think that you will not still fall, or that you will never again struggle. But the grace with which you will be surrounded will protect you from yourself, and you will fully appreciate what she has done for you when you reach heaven.

My purity throughout my life has direct correlation to my faithfulness to this devotion.

When temptation begins

You must resist temptations and reject the voice of the devil the moment it begins. The longer you delay the weaker you become and the stronger it becomes, for it has gained a foothold in your soul.

If the devil knocks and you open the door, then immediately slam the door back in his face. Preferably, look through the peephole to see who is knocking, and bolt the door should you see it is him! If you let him into your home and hear him out, you will have to fight him in hand-to-hand combat to throw him out, and you likely will not succeed.

Always appeal to your God for His mercy, that He will rescue you from your enemy. But if you have let the enemy into your home, then you have acquiesced to the devil and may have closed your heart to God. If you have reached a point where your heart was given to the devil and his temptations, then it may not be open to receive God's grace when you finally call to Him.

How much better to never open the door!

True prayer

You have fallen again? Good. God is teaching you to pray. He wants for you true prayer, not the prayer of the hypocrites. He will allow you to fall in order to keep your prayer, which is your relationship with Him, pure. He wants to give you prayer that seeks Him and knows your deep need for Him. You must know you are nothing, or He cannot give you everything.

Filter

The point of a water filter is to remove imperfections. We must have a filter on our hearts and minds and body to remove impurities.

Filters take time. If you would like a glass of water you must wait for the water to drip through the filter before you can pour it and drink it. Likewise, it will take time, effort and waiting to allow the movements of our hearts and minds and bodies to be filtered before we pour them and enjoy them. Do not become lazy! Or you will contaminate yourselves and your love with impurities.

Vocation

Your vocation is to love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your soul.

'But I cannot!' you say.

Little soul, this is your vocation- it will be the journey of your life, which cannot begin in earnest until you have taken your vows. You must spend your time when you are single asking God which path He is asking you walk to unite with Him.

If you have been chosen for marriage, then it is through your spouse that God will teach you. If you are masculine, you will learn to give completely, selflessly and without reserve to your wife, and thus to God. If you are feminine, it is through your husband's love that you will learn to open and receive completely, selflessly, and without reserve to conceive and bear forth life. Through learning to give he will be able to receive, and through learning to receive she will be able to give.

If you are one of the few chosen souls, God Himself will teach you. Through the special graces received in the Holy Orders, God will teach the masculine soul to give of himself completely, selflessly, without reserve, to lay down his life for Him. God will teach the feminine soul to open and receive completely, selflessly, and without reserve His divine life within.

Engaged spirituality

Once you are engaged, you must allow God to bring closure to your single life and enter preparation to be a spouse and parent. Ask Him to transform your relationship with Him, that you may enter smoothly into your vocation upon taking your vows.

Your enemy at your feet

"In this kind of battle, the victory will be won by him who has the courage not to throw down his arms or put aside his confidence in God. His assistance is always present for those that fight His battles, though He may sometimes permit them to be wounded. Persevere to the end. Victory depends on this. There is a swift and effective remedy for the wounds of anyone who fights for God's cause and who places his entire trust in Him. When he least expects it, he will see his enemy at his feet." --Dom Lorenzo Scupoli

No matter your wounds, no matter the frenzy of battle, do not lose your confidence in your Commander. He will send reinforcements and subdue your enemy.

When we reach heaven, how glorious to see the battle wounds of the saints!

Purity does not remove vulnerability

Purity's purpose is not to avoid vulnerability. The purpose of purity to give of yourself totally to another and receive another totally, that you may see God.

Saving your body for your spouse is not about withdrawing or barricading your heart. You are not loving with a pure heart if you are not vulnerable to the other. You cannot love another while thinking selfishly. If his hands start to wander, do not be an ice queen and coldly brush them away. Take his hands in yours and hold them. If your hands want to wander, take his hands and hold them. Your striving to be pure and chaste must come from loving the other, from a yes to unveiling yourself completely to your husband on your wedding night, to him giving of himself totally to his wife on his wedding night.

Hell

Those souls who are in hell are there because they chose to be miserable by themselves rather than happy with God.

Do not fall into the same trap. Do not love yourself more than Love.

Be honest with God

1 Kings 19:9-15

Elijah, having done much work for the Lord, finds his life endangered and hides in a cave. The Lord comes to him and says to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" Elijah tells the Lord of his faithfulness, and is honest with the Lord that he is afraid for his life. God commands him "Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord."

There is a tornado, an earthquake, and a great fire, but the Lord comes after these in a "still small voice. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave." Elijah, paralyzed in his fear, had not even left the back of the cave, but if anything had retreated farther! At the sound of His God, he musters his courage to go to the entrance of the cave. Not exactly the top of the mountain! But it is a step he takes for the Lord. He asks him gently again, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" Elijah repeats what he has already told the Lord, who, because of his honesty, gives him his marching orders: "Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus..."

How kind and merciful is our God! Truly, so long as we give him our everything- even our fear!- He will come to us and lift us up. Upon finding Elijah still in the cave, God does not look at him with disgust nor admonish him, but rather asks him why he has not gone to the top of the mountain as he was asked. Of course our Lord knows that it is out of fear, but he is giving Elijah the chance to give himself once more to the Lord. Elijah responds to God's questioning with another statement of faith, acknowledgment of his own weakness, and a genuine plea for help. God responds with love by giving him directions from where he is.

Model Elijah. Although he had failed to follow through on the Lord's command, he did not try to cover up his failure, nor did he give up hope in the goodness of his God. He remained open and faithful to his Father in heaven, giving him his weaknesses and failures and fears, asking Him for His strength and guidance. God will always give us what we need, if only we are humble and honest with Him!

Check with God

No matter the good thought or inclination that arises within you, no matter the excitement or zeal you feel, give it to God before you act. If it is not desirable to Him, then obey His wish and let it pass. The devil may be drawing you from His plan by offering lesser goods.

What is important is what is pleasing to God, not what you think is pleasing to God.

Examination of Conscience

When you do your examination of conscience, ask yourself: What is separating me from God? And suddenly your smallest sins come into focus.

Peace of Soul

Little soul, there is one place where you can find peace: the junction of His greatness and your smallness. Here, you can surrender to Him who made you, and know that all will be well. You can do nothing, but He can do all.

Fear

If you are to fear anything in this life, let it be this: disappointing such a good God.

Never cease!

God, never cease your work in souls! No matter the darkness and difficulties they pass through--how boring when we are resting! How dulled the senses and mundane even the extraordinary seems when we are not honed to battle condition. But in the midst of battle, even the most ordinary of things becomes poignant.

Betrayal

Woman: you guard yourself well when surrounded by men of ill-repute. You sense their eyes straying and devouring you, their flesh hungering for yours. You cover yourself and act modestly.

Traitor! Around men who strive to see you rightly, you relax your standards for yourself! You no longer filter your dress nor actions, because you do not feel the predator prowling. Do you wish to so endanger their souls? To cause them to fall? To force them to fight with demons rather than appreciate the beauty of your soul that they have received the grace to see?

Put out into the Deep

You fear the future because it brings the unknown and the uncertain to your doorstep. Be not afraid! Jesus is asking you, with the apostles, to put out into the deep. Cast your nets wide for Him! He will bring the fish to your nets, He will calm the storms that rock your boat. Trust in Him. He knows where the fish are--if He asks you to go deep, go deep!

Bear fruit: away with all else

God cares only that we bear fruit.

So you are weak and small and scraggly. Who cares? What good is a tree is that is tall and strong and beautiful if what you need is a blackberry? God has created you that you might bear the fruit He needs in this world. Stop trying to be something you are not, and put your efforts into bearing His fruits. So you are not an evergreen; when the spring comes you will once more turn green, that you may bear the fruit you were created for.

Blessing of Time

When you are bemoaning the sins in your past and find yourself despairing, turn to the Lord with thanksgiving:

"Thank you Jesus for the gift of time. How wise of you create me in time that I may at every moment have the chance to begin again. You have given me the gift of a past, that I may always commune with you in the present and look to a future full of hope and grace."

Time never stops; it carries us ever forward on our journey to eternal life. Jesus is constantly transforming us. He has given us a past in order to give us a present and future. Do not dwell in the past! He is no longer there, and neither are you. Time carries us closer and closer to our Lord, even when we are trying to run in the other direction!

Direct souls

The important thing for the Apostolate is that God gains souls of prayer. It is about teaching them to pray and to have a relationship with our Lord. He will do all else. You bring them to Him and He will do the rest.

Gospel

Do not read the Gospel for answers. Read it to encounter the person of Jesus Christ, who is still alive and still seeking us!

When you are in love with a person, no detail of his life is too mundane or minute to interest you. You seek to know his every breath, his every hair. What makes him angry? When has he cried? When is he tired?

We must be interested in all of Christ's life, even to the littlest, most mundane detail. We must read the Gospels in order to come to know our Lord. Only when we know what pleases Him or angers Him and the desires of His heart can we see our lives clearly and live such that He can delight in us.

Encounter Christ through confession

In confession, you are not simply reciting your sins to the priest. You are apologizing to Jesus Himself for the ways you have hurt Him, and asking His forgiveness. You are healing the broken or wounded relationship of your closest friend. How important it is to do this often! If you have been in a quarrel with a friend, or have done something to hurt them, you must go to them immediately to ask forgiveness that your friendship may be healed. Otherwise the distance and hurt will grow and grow until you are no longer near enough to be heard.

God loves you even with your sins. His love for you when you leave the confessional is no greater than when you entered. You have gone not to gain His love, but to repair your friendship, that you may once again rest your head upon His breast and be heard and hear without speaking.

The devil will do everything he can to convince you to not go to confession. He will tell you that God will not forgive you, he will tell you that the priest will be horrified and judge you, he will tell you that it is not important to do it so formally... Do not listen to his voice! Go to your Lord, lay your head on His chest and tell Him everything in your heart. He will always forgive you. He is only waiting for you to come to Him!

As grass

We are like the grass of the field. Without the sun, it is dark and meaningless, and there is nothing beautiful in it. It withers and dies. It is good for nothing but to be thrown into the fire.

But with the sun, it glitters gold, reflecting its light. It grows and flourishes and waves tall in the breeze.

Let us pray for the Son to shine His light upon us, that we may be turned to gold.

Slake His thirst

Prayer is not only a time when we come to God to drink of His living waters.

Remember the woman at the well? Jesus asked her for a drink of water. He thirsts for us- let us approach prayer as a time to give our souls to our Lord who thirsts for them!

Opposite of love

The opposite of love is not hatred, but indifference.

How many times have you treated the Eucharist with indifference? He has given us His presence because He knew that we would need Him. He knew that as physical beings we would need His physical presence.

He is waiting for you. He comes again and again and again, not just to say "hi," but to unite Himself to you totally, completely, without reserve. He comes to transform you, that His beloved may become more like Himself and share in His glory and love.

The five C's

The five C's of confession describe true friendship. Confession is when we go to Jesus to apologize for how we have hurt him, and reconcile our friendship with Him.

True friends choose to love each other. Friendship does not just happen to you, just as romantic love does not just happen to you. Though it often begins with an attraction that neither chooses, to become anything it must be a choice that is made. It is a relationship that requires hard work and attention, and that will grow ever deeper as the Lord entwines your lives.

True friends both affirm and challenge each other. When an issue arises, we must remember the five C's of confession:

1. Clear- Do not be vague! Whatever your topic of discussion or comment, be honest and clear in what you are saying. Lay out your heart.

2. Concise- Do not use qualifiers or sugar coat anything. Be direct and open, and do not apologize for who you are or what is in your heart (you must always apologize if you hurt them or if you do something wrong! see point 5).

3. Concrete- Be in the moment and in reality. If they are sick, don't just wish them better, but make them tea or drop by for a visit. If you are discussing an issue, be specific to the instance or experience, not generalized or categorical.

4. Complete- Don't hide anything, and don't leave anything out!

5. Contrite- Be truly sorry for any harm done, and run to repair the friendship as soon as possible. Acknowledge and apologize for what you have done wrong to hurt your friend.

To be found beautiful

At the core of a woman's being is a mysterious treasure which cries out to be known and loved and found beautiful. This desire is written on her heart by our God as an image of His own heart. It is when she is pursued that she will blossom and pour forth blessings of her love upon her lover, just as God does to those who pursue Him. When she is not loved, she will close and no longer be able to love herself. She must be receiving in order to give. How important for a woman to know God's love! For how often human love falls short!

Men: Pornography, self-satisfaction, adultery; all these things tell the woman that she is not beautiful enough, that she has nothing to reveal you do not already have, that she does not have a gift to give. With this, her womanly heart is destroyed.

Any action which seeks to unveil her before you are her husband does the same thing to her soul. At first she may believe that you are delighting in her as you should--if she loves you, she aches for you to delight in her!-- but in truth you have taken her mystery and treasure from her, and she will soon wilt and grow cold. Do whatever you must to protect her. The most important thing is to show her that she has a mystery and a treasure that she should protect, and teaching her how to own her mystery!

If you have made a mistake, all is not lost. The woman, like God, is only waiting for you to return to her. She craves to be found beautiful in your eyes; so long as you can put it in your past and delight in her unique, infinite treasure before God as her husband, she will open to you again and the warmth will return. If only you would take her coldness as a time to redouble your pursuit, you would find her once again flowering and blooming before you, pouring blessings into your life. Be in awe at God's creation in your wife, and all will be well.

Love of God is the law

"Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven." --Matthew 5:17-19

Beware of loving the law over the Lawmaker. Do you seek to follow the law because you love your God? Or do you follow the law because you love the law, because you think it gives you the ability to attain righteousness on your own power? How right that He should bring us crashing down! You make so many rules for yourself, you leave no room for God to work in your soul.

If you love God, you will keep all His commandments. Follow Jesus from the sheepfold to the mountains, and let your intense love for Him keep you at His heels.

The Nails of the Cross and Crown of Victory

Satan thought he was victorious, as his minions mocked the Son of God with a crown of thorns and royal robe. What he did not know, was that they had crowned the true Victor, the Lord of Lords. As they crowned Him with thorns and spat on Him, they gave Satan's 'authority' to Christ the true King.

Satan thought he was victorious, as his minions nailed the Son of God to the cross. What he did not know, was that as they nailed His hands and feet to the tree, they were in fact driving the nails through the chains by which they held humanity captive. As they nailed the Son of God to the cross, they set mankind free.

Essence of the Theology of the Body

Our bodies make visible the invisible. Our bodies reveal, or express, our souls made in the image of God, and they are inseparable. Our bodies were created as a revelation of the Truth of God as an eternal exchange of Love in the Trinity and our call to union with God (among other things! God's wisdom infinite).

From the Catechism: "By sending His only Son and the Spirit of Love in the fullness of time, God has revealed His inner most secret: God Himself is an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and He has destined us to share in that exchange."

Christ is our Bridegroom. He has given us His entirety; our role as Bride is to receive and conceive and bear forth the fruits of His Love, and to pour ourselves out in Love to Him. Our bodies reveal invaluable truths of this relationship and how to live holy, divine union with God.

Bound by Rules

Rules are binding.

When you are at a stage in your spiritual journey where your soul still attends to the enticements of the devil, where compulsion and passion cause you to sin, then rules which bind you and stay your hand from breaking God's commandments are good. Do whatever you must to keep yourself from sin. If you cannot touch the forbidden fruit without eating it, then you must live by the rule "Do not touch"!

However, once you have gained a degree of self-control, and are no longer a slave to sin, you must abandon your self-made rules! They are good while they bind you from evil, but they nonetheless bind you, and you are not free to attain the heights of holiness. When you are bound you cannot fly to the heavens, soaring on the Eagle's wings.

The Bible is clear that true holiness is living by the Spirit--Who will never direct us to break or contradict God's law! Jesus came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it, by writing it on our hearts with His grace. You are called to something infinitely deeper, infinitely higher, than fear of transgression. You are called to divine union!

Think of the Shepherd and His sheep. In the dark of night, the sheep are penned to keep them from wandering and to protect them from thieves. However, in the morning light, they hearken to the Shepherd's voice which leads them out into the open range of the mountains, where He leads them to green pastures and fresh, clear water. Here in the pristine wilderness of the mountains, guided and guarded by their Shepherd, the sheep grow robust.

If a sheep wanders and becomes lost, the Shepherd will leave the others to search for him, and upon finding him rejoice and return him to His flock. The Good Shepherd knows that in the mountains His sheep are exposed to greater dangers alongside the greater goods; He will always protect them and draw them back to Him when they stray. If a sheep is wounded, no matter how close or far away from the flock, the Shepherd will carry him on His shoulders through the heights until he is well enough to follow again. And after this time of closeness with his Shepherd - hearing His voice, His every breath, feeling the vibrations as He talks - how much better can the sheep recognize and obey His voice in the future!

When you hear the Shepherd's voice calling you, be not afraid! Leave your pen you have built yourself to frolic with Him on the mountain tops. He will never leave you. His grace is sufficient.

The Sword of Silence

Christ wields the sword of silence to sever the chains that bind our souls.

With loud voices and chaotic busy-ness, demons have convinced us to proffer our ankles and wrists to them, that they may adorn us with pleasure. What we soon discover, however, is that these adornments are not bracelets but shackles that bind us to our demonic slave drivers. These chains may be lust, anxiety, doubt, fear... once the manacle encloses around our wrist, we cannot free ourselves from it.

But there is One who can break these chains. He alone has the authority and strength to free us from our bondage. When we feel ourselves weighed down or dragged about by these chains, we need only strive to attain silence. This striving is an orientation of our whole being towards God and God alone; it is the silence of two souls' eyes meeting in the midst of chaotic battle and bloodshed. This desperate plea from our hearts to God will be met with Mercy and Love, and our Savior will strike the chains with the gift of true silence in our hearts--the silencing of the devil.

Private

"Tenderness is always personal, interior, private, -- to some extent at least it modestly shuns the gaze of others. It can display itself freely only to those who can understand it and respond to it properly." --JP II Love and Responsibility

The tenderness between a man and a woman is a private matter, for through it they are seeking to enter into the other's heart, to assume, through love, the other's experiences and state as their own. Through physical love, the invisible becomes visible; it is God's gift to man and wife to experience a unity and closeness that is otherwise impossible, for two people are always incommunicable on this earth.

Even had man never sinned, and were still in the garden of Eden where man and woman were naked without shame, the intimate affections between man and woman would be a private matter. Others would look away should they happen upon it out of respect and love for them--out of a recognition that this beautiful love was something which involves only that one man and one woman. The total gift and total reception of the gift can only be communicated between the two persons involved.

This is not to say that brief moments of tenderness cannot be shared in the sight of others, nor that a man and woman should not allow their tender love to be revealed to the world through the way they interact with each other. However when it becomes an exchange between them which is seeking the depths of the other, even if it is just looking in each other's eyes, they are removing themselves from the levels which are accessible by onlookers, and it becomes a private affair.

When touching means death

Beware of Eve's mistake. God told her not to eat of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, but she tells the serpent when questioned that God said "You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die."

It is important to not fall into a near occasion of sin. However at the same time we must not add to God's commands. If touching the fruit is a near occasion of sin, then we would be right to ban ourselves from it for a time, opening ourselves to God's healing that we may become rightly ordered. However we must not forget that God's command was to not eat it. This tree, like the rest of the trees in the garden, is to be cared for, can be climbed and admired, or used for its shade. Touching does not kill us if we rely on God and not ourselves.

When touching means death, it is only a matter of time before looking means death, and being means death, for it means that we no longer believe in God's love for us and His healing grace.

"Balance what you fear from yourself with hope in God" (Dom Scupoli).

The key to life then is to ban ourselves only for a time; a fasting which makes the soul more open to God and the movements of the Spirit within. For once you have developed the ability to listen to the Spirit's guidance, and your soul has been healed and rightly ordered, then you may abandon your crutches and walk with God.

See Christ Crucified

The priest raises the monstrance for Benediction: see the cross with Christ crucified as the weighty object wobbles upon being lifted into the air. How each wobble must have added pain to His wounds!

Love and Weakness

Love is only strong in weakness. Without weakness, love becomes hardened and brittle, ready to shatter at the slightest blow. Weakness allows Love to bend and flex with the blows, that it may stand firm by its Beloved.

Other's Spirituality

Perhaps when you are uncomfortable with someone or his practices, it is not him or his practices, but your reaction that makes you uncomfortable. If you judge him, is the painful twinge your conscience telling you of your sin, rather than his?

If he is missing some piece of Truth, then show him Truth. Do not judge.

Look to the Eucharist

If you doubt the Goodness of God, look to the Eucharist.
If you doubt His love
...if you doubt His concern
...if you doubt His mercy

Look to the Eucharist.

Eucharist and the Body of Christ

When you receive the Eucharist, do not merely receive the graces for your own life. Rather, offer Mary her Son, that she may distribute these infinite graces to the whole world. For we are broken vessels; we cannot receive all of the graces proffered to us in the Eucharist. But surrounded by her perfect vessel, not a drop will be lost; through her intercession the whole world can be saved. Allow the graces from your Eucharist to win life for the unborn child, peace for the troubled woman, Truth and meaning for the man in the suit.

Gaining Virtue

The surest way to fail in your attempts to gain virtue is to judge those who have not attained it. If you struggle with temptation, stop judging and you will be granted victory over the demons that plague you.

Needs fulfilled

If we are in need, we have only to look at what we have and what tomorrow will bring, for You O Lord are an extravagant Lover! You know our true desires, and You fulfill them a thousand fold, if only we would open to You and believe in Your goodness!

The Accuser

Upon St Michael casting the demons from heaven, a loud voice proclaims:

"Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of His Anointed. For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, who accuses them before our God day and night." Revelations 12:10

How can we be certain the the Lord will forgive our sins and unite us with Him if we accept His invitation to love? Because the devil and his minions have been cast from the skies, and there is no one left to accuse us. If we have come before the Lord with contrite hearts, and He has wiped us clean, then there is no one in heaven who will accuse us. Love reigns.

When you hear a voice in your head which accuses you, call upon the name of your savior Jesus Christ. For the Accuser is trying to separate you from His love and mercy. Our Lord will speak as Truth, not accusation. He is justice as well as mercy; He does not accuse, but correct.

The beauty of the masculine

Men, your strong sexual desires may seem like a thorn in your side, but remember that you were created in His wisdom. How beautiful and essential is your contribution to healing in marriage. For God has granted that even after a fight, even after exhausting days or struggles, that you can look at your beautiful wife and feel the call to union. This drive is essential for you to woo her back, for you to sing to her the Song of songs, that she may come back to you with all her heart and soul and you may experience the healing union of the marital act.

If you were not given this innate knowledge of love, this drive for total union with your wife, how could you initiate the self-giving love which welds the two iron persons into one? It is a drive which ordered properly guides the man to give up himself, to lay down his pride in a disagreement, and to serve his wife. In turn as she is wooed, she too will lay down herself and see past the petty issues to the thing worth fighting for: Love.

The beauty of submission

Women, do not listen to the world which whispers into your ear that submission makes you vulnerable. Christ Himself was obedient unto death, even death on a cross. If obedience is a virtue which led to the salvation of the world, to the bridging of the infinite gap between Creator and created, then who are we to choose another path?

Submission means "under the mission." Woman, be under the mission of man. God commanded him to keep and till the garden; God has deemed that he be your protector. The serpent in the garden went to the woman and bypassed God's family structure. To what end? The fall of humanity. By all means, be sure that the man to whom you submit is under God's mission. Then, submit to him out of reverence to Christ, as to the Lord. Submit to love.

Sanctification in Marriage

It is not through pointing out the faults of your spouse yourself that you bring him to sainthood. What good does nagging do? You cannot give him the grace he needs to overcome his faults. Such prideful thinking will only win you the same faults, as the Lord reminds you that it is only by His grace that you had avoided them.

You must bear with the faults of your spouse and offer up any pain or agitation to God to win him grace. The greater the love with which you bear his faults, the greater the grace you will win for him; in this you become God's tool to sanctify him. And is that not the deepest longing of your heart? For him to be united with God in heaven?

To think that you can better anyone yourself, through your own instruction, is pride beyond pride. Who are you to think that you can, of your own power, give him what he needs to grow in virtue? All you can do is nag and drag him down into despair or harden his heart. Sometimes after much love and winning of grace, God may whisper something in your ear which is for him to hear; God may give you the key to unlock the door of his heart that he may receive the graces God so desires to give him. But usually He will knock and gain entrance without you, in perfection, as only a true lover can. Your role is to invite Him when your spouse has lost his voice.

Know your God

How much we pray to be able to trust in our God, for in this trust is our peace, our hope, our faith. But to trust means that there is an unknown, an uncertainty. How much better then to pray for knowledge of God. To know our God is to know Love, Truth, Goodness, Justice, Mercy... The list goes on. This is the beauty of scripture: it is His word, it is His love story to His bride. How endless is His patience! How creative is His love! Over and over He has sung the Song of songs to us, despite our adultery. Never has He forsaken us.

Know the Lord your God. Know that He suffered death that He may give you life. Be at peace.

Charism

Seek your own charism that has been purposed for you by God. Openness is the essential foundation of spiritual life, but what this means depends upon our charism.

If your charism is fire, then you must be open to consuming all the oxygen He puts before you and around you and allow Him to blow your sparks where He will.

If your charism is flower, then you must be open to blooming and allowing your fragrance to waft wherever His winds choose to take it. You must be open to the bees that will come for your pollen and fertilize you.

If your charism is rock, then you must be open to exposure. You must be barefaced to the wind and weather and sun that come upon you, and allow Him to build whatever He should choose upon you.

You must, through prayer, discover your charism(s), and allow Him to fashion your spiritual life accordingly. If a rock were to try to bloom, it would shatter to dust.

Meant for eternity

"A man feels wet when he falls into water, because man is not a water animal: a fish would not feel wet." --C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

"We feel uncomfortable with the passage of time ('Look how you've grown!') because we are eternal beings experiencing a temporal life." --Charmaine Yoest

Remember that you are meant for eternity. Things of this world cannot satisfy you or fulfill you because you are meant for something infinitely greater and richer. In those moments where the passage of time takes you by surprise, or the tin qualities of life tarnish your hope, remember that every breath, every action, affects the cosmos in some way that we can never understand. You are uncomfortable because you were not made for the finite, but for the infinite! Give over your breaths and actions, your very life, to the One who does understand, who orchestrates all of creation and her salvation. Take refuge in Him, eternity, Who you were created for.

Pearls of Grace

"As the oyster grows in size, its shell must also grow. The mantle is an organ that produces the oyster's shell, using minerals from the oyster's food. The material created by the mantle is called nacre. Nacre lines the inside of the shell.

The formation of a natural pearl begins when a foreign substance slips into the oyster between the mantle and the shell, which irritates the mantle... The oyster's natural reaction is to cover up that irritant to protect itself. The man­tle covers the irritant with layers of the same nacre substance that is used to create the shell. This eventually forms a pearl." (http://animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/question630.htm)

As our souls grow, so does the grace which shelters us. Mary's mantle channels God's grace, enlarging our shell in line with our growth. This grace is only as good as the minerals in the food we feed it. Prayer, the sacraments, good reading: all these things provide the minerals for Mary to win us grace. There are times when we find irritating events or people in our lives which try to separate us from our shell of grace. Let us take the example of the oyster and place our irritations, pains and aggravations under Mary's mantle, that she may coat them in grace. It is God's will that these irritants become pearls of great price.

Never forget that for a pearl to be made, the oyster must be open and vulnerable to the irritants. If we are closed to all inconveniences and sufferings, we cannot have pearls of grace.

Snap

Listen to the snap of the Eucharist as the priest breaks the bread of Jesus...
Hear the crack of the whip in the scourging.
Hear the hammer clink as it drives the nail into His wrist.
Remember that He did not come to Lord it over us but to die for us. He allowed our anger and sin to mock Him, scourge Him, and nail Him to a tree, taking all that anger into the black hole of Love, never to be seen again.

Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the World, have mercy on us and grant us peace.

Grace abounds!!

"Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more." Romans 5:20

When faced with a situation which is full of evil be not afraid. Though you may be surrounded on all sides by people sinning, simply remember that it is here that grace abounds all the more!! It is not us who must fight but rather Christ who fights in us for the salvation of all. If anything we should be more confident when faced with evil, for it is simply an opportunity for God to shower more grace upon the world! Do not let fear close you to this grace, but rather open you, that you may stride forward confident in His love.

You Are Here

I remember when I was very small squished in the back of a rental van packed with family and suitcases. We were trying to leave the airport to begin our vacation and had found ourselves trapped: every road we tried to turn down was a dead end or looped back into the center of the airport. Frustration built as the chance to make it to our planned bed and breakfast dwindled and we found ourselves passing the same parking lot for the umpteenth time. My father pulled over, threw his arms up in the air and exclaimed "Where in the world ARE we?!?" We all saw the words written on the gate to the lot at the same time:

YOU ARE HERE

We parked in the lot and stayed the night at the adjacent hotel. The next morning we exited the airport without complication and proceeded with our vacation.

We need to remember that wherever we are, God has put us there for a reason. The important thing is not to understand but to be there. It is only through being that we can open ourselves to His work in us and His will can be accomplished. If we are too focused on getting where we think we should be, where we planned to be, then we will miss everything happening where we are. If we are too preoccupied with trying to figure out why, then we will never be present enough to find out why.

So remember: wherever you are in life, there you are. Be there.

Give us this day our daily bread

In Exodus, we see God giving the Israelites their daily bread- literally. They are allowed to collect only enough manna for that day and anything left over rots and is inedible the next. God thus weans them of their prideful belief that they can buffer themselves from misfortune and teaches them to trust that He will provide for them.

We must live a deep trust in our Lord. Any anxiety over the future, any inordinate desire and fixation on a certain outcome, is caused by our lack of trust. It is with cupped hands that we catch the water of life that He pours for us; as soon as we try to grasp the water in a fist it slips through our fingers to the ground beneath.

Trust that God will fulfill the desires of your heart! In this we follow Mary's example: her desire for the Messiah was so deep that He was placed in her womb. Only such a deep trust as hers would have made this possible. We must cultivate a deep trust in our Lord, trust that He has placed these desires in us for a purpose. Trust that His promises are true: "Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." (Luke 11:9)

One body

We are all one body in Christ. This is why it is so horrid to do anything malicious to another--it is self-injurious behavior. Those who are wounded often strike or pinch another part of the body in order to create a different, distracting pain, but this is ultimately self-destructive. We must instead turn ourselves over to the Great Physician that we may be healed, and in turn be His hand or eye in caring for the wounds.

Likewise as one body, we must be willing to accept the burdens of another part, for it is the burden of the one body. Should the feet give out, the knees and hands must be ready to bear the burden of carrying the body along the path; should the neck get tired the hands must be ready to support the head. In meditating on our Lord's body in His passion, we can see how the body must work as one to accomplish the goal of salvation.

If only...

What a prideful phrase this this! How we languish in guilt at times, thinking the whole world could have been saved if only we had answered that phone call or taken a different path to work. But how silly this is! God only allows things to happen from which He can create a greater good. If we stay in the past pridefully wallowing in guilt or wishful thinking, we cannot be a part of this greater good. We must move on, with our hand firmly in our Lord's, letting him lead us through the present into the future.

Ice Cream

Relationships are like ice cream cones. Planning is required to make sure that the cone to ice cream ratio is optimal from beginning to end. Constant attention and tending is required to avoid a drippy sticky mess. Just a moment taken away to focus on something else and yikes! Ice cream is melting all over! So why are they so popular when people could just eat ice cream in bowls? Because it is satisfying from beginning to end, and ultimately all that work is fun!

Prayer is hope in action. -- Benedict XVI

Potency of prayer is determined by authenticity of hope.
Authenticity of hope is determined by depth of trust.
Depth of trust is determined by certainty that God is Love.

A glance

"In the night watch just before dawn the Lord cast through the column of the fiery cloud upon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic; and He so clogged their chariot wheels that they could hardly drive. With that the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel, because the Lord was fighting for them against the Egyptians." Exodus 14:24-25

A simple glance from our Lord threw the entire Egyptian army into a panicked retreat. What have we to fear?

Keep still

"The Lord Himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still." Exodus 14:14

When an animal is caught in barbed wire, and struggles to get out, it will find itself more and more tangled, its flesh torn to shreds. However if only at the first prick the animal would hold still, its keeper would be able to free it from the wire with a mere scratch which would heal quickly.

We must do the same when we find ourselves caught in the barbed wire of sin. We must hold still, and let God cut us loose.

It is so prideful to be sad and melancholic after sinning. We think "how could I?" Well here's news for you: you are weak. The Good News? God has bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens! All we need do is open to our Lord and receive these gifts. As long as we are convinced that we are strong and believe ourselves to be self-sufficient, we will fall and tumble down the path to hell. The moment we humble ourselves and accept God's grace, we take flight on His eagle's wings to the gates of heaven.

Rest a while

"The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things." Mark 6:30-34

The apostles are exhausted as they strive to fulfill their vocation. The Lord draws them to a quiet place to rest, but the crowds already fill the previously peaceful place when they arrive. The apostles' hearts are torn between joy and exhaustion as they see the large crowds gathering to seek Truth. Their energy is drained, their bodies and minds exhausted, and their hearts give in to sinking as they picture the next hours of teaching and healing. However our Lord's heart is moved with pity not just for the gathering people but also His apostles. He Himself teaches the people, allowing His shepherds their promised rest.

Often in the apostolate exhaustion overcomes us, yet the souls and missions come to us in a never-ending flow of unfinished and often un-begun work. We must trust in our Lord that when we are tired and in need of rest, He will take over and accomplish what must be done. It is only through Him that we work at all! Let us not fall into prideful thinking that we are essential to every soul's salvation and every mission's success. Instead, like the apostles, let us sit back and watch our Lord in action once more, and allow our hearts to fill with His word and zeal for His kingdom. Let us take these opportunities to recall Who is responsible for all our successes and lean our full weight on Him for any in future.

"One new person in place of the two"

"Brothers and sisters: In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it."

Ephesians 2: 13-16

When we join with our Lord in the Eucharist, peace reigns; there are no longer laws and commandments governing relations between two people for there is one person, one love. We are reconciled to God through His sacrifice that put enmity to death.

What power lies in the joining of the flesh! In the love between man and wife also, two become one. Their love abolishes the laws and legal claims, establishing peace between them. Their daily sacrifices for each other put enmity to death, and they experience a piece of heaven on earth.

Mercy not sacrifice

"If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath." Matthew 12:6-8

Our Lord desires that we be humble and acknowledge that we are as prone to falling as those around us. He does not want the "sacrifice" of putting up with them, that age-old self-martyrdom that smacks of pride and self-righteousness. He desires instead mercy-- that spark of Love that ignites all it touches with divine fire.

The Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath for it is He who will on this day of rest and openness redeem us to bring about His kingdom on earth. The sabbath was given to us partly to remind us that we cannot do anything of our own power. To claim the greatness to which we are called we can only surrender to God what was His creation in the first place that He may mold it to His heart's content. Through observing the sabbath, we learn faith. It is a faith that contains the trust that God will provide, that God desires to provide, and it contains the humility that realizes no amount of work on our part can bring us to this greatness. It is a gift from Him Who chose to make us in His likeness.

The rest of the humble

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves." Matthew 11:29

Pride is the jailer of the heart, never letting it rest or sleep, always prodding with snide remarks and sneers, binding dreams in chains. Pride seeks to place our priorities on money and power; it seeks to have every thought, every action, every relationship, focused on self. How exhausting!! It is no wonder we are so burdened. Jesus teaches us the secret to carrying His yoke: humility. As soon as we place others before ourselves and lay down our lives at the service of our Lord, we find a huge weight lifted. We look up out from ourselves to find the world, His creation, breathing His majesty and love. We see that the world does not revolve around us, does not depend on us to have meaning or sustenance. When we can accept with humility that we are nothing, His voice calls to us through creation: "Talitha koum! For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope." (Mark 5:41; Jeremiah 29:11) and we find rest. Oh how peacefully the humble heart rests!!

"I must go over to look at this remarkable sight..."

"There an angel of the Lord appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. So Moses decided, 'I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned.' When the Lord saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, 'Moses! Moses!' He answered, 'Here I am.' God said 'Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground...I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt...Therefore I have come down to rescue them." Exodus 3:2-8

You, as a disciple of Christ, are the bush which finds itself spitting fire, surrounded inside and out by flames.

Those who are fellow disciples will draw strength and guiding light from the flame you are bearing to the world. Others who do not know God will pass you by; they may not notice, or they may give you a wide birth. Some will look long enough to realize that this little bush is not consumed by the flames. When a soul decides to give this novelty greater scrutiny, his will moves towards the Lord. When the Lord sees this movement He will call out to the soul by name. If the soul answers, God will reveal the holy ground on which it stands. He will witness to the soul the affliction it has suffered and promise bring to it to a land of milk of honey.

"Prayer is savoring God Himself." --Servant of God, Catherine Doherty

How great is the prayer of communion? To truly savor God? To accept Him on your tongue, to carry Him in your mouth and body? And yet so many chomp and chew as though they were eating a cracker on the run between errands. Let us not be so silly! Savor your Lord. When you take the first bite of an exquisite meal, the explosion of flavor slows your chewing and erases conversation from your mind. How much more so should our Lord Himself have this effect on you? Be present to the mystery and the miracle every Mass.

If you cannot savor something so great as God, how will you ever find life appetizing?

Sealed with the Holy Spirit

"In Him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God's possession, to the praise of His glory." Ephesians 1:13-14

Being sealed with the Holy Spirit is only the first installment!? Being temples of the living God, having Him with us always, guiding our thoughts and deeds, is only the beginning? The Holy Spirit-- the very Love that is passed between the Father and the Son-- within us! Can you imagine the greatness that God has destined us for? Can you imagine what awaits?

Love without blemish

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before Him. In love He destined us for adoption to Himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of His will, for the praise of the glory of His grace that He granted us in the beloved." Ephesians 1:3-

God has chosen us to be holy and without blemish before even His perfection. And what is it that He has given us that we may achieve such a lofty calling? In love He destined us... With love He destined us to union with Himself and it is in love that we find the key to being adopted daughters and sons of our God. It is through being gifts that we find the meaning of being, through giving our lives that we find our souls. How much more so does this apply to the love between husband and wife? It is through being in love that we can lose our self and give all for the other. Through our sexuality we can find the path to being holy and without blemish. If you think this is a bold claim, something unfathomable, you must remember that He is at every moment blessing us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens-- all we need do is open to Him and our weaknesses become our strengths. It is this pure, passionate love which burns away imperfections.

By Your Side

Lyrics by Tenth Avenue North

Why are you striving these days?
Why are you trying to earn grace?
Why are you crying?
Let me lift up your face-
Just don't turn away

Why are you looking for love?
Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough?
To where will you go, child, tell Me where will you run-
To where will you run?

Cause I'll be by your side wherever you fall
In the dead of night whenever you call
Please don't fight these hands that are holding you,
My hands are holding you.

Look at these hands and My side
I swallowed the grave on that night
When I drank the world's sin
So I could carry you in
And give you life
I wanna give you life
...

Cause I, I love you
I want you to know
That I, I love you, I'll never let you go, no no
...

Here at my side, my hands are holding you

Allowing evil

"Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve His present end, the survival of many people." Genesis 50:20

God only allows the evil from which He can create a greater good. He is the ultimate Architect, Who can create from every blow to His building a stronger, more beautiful one. If this is not the case, then the blow is deflected. We need not fear harm done to us, for God would not allow it unless He has something much greater in mind. Joseph's brothers plotted murder but chose instead to sell him into slavery. God deflected the evil murder, but allowed slavery to befall Joseph in order to raise him up and save His people from famine.

Enter in

"Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. And Moses entered the cloud, and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights." Exodus 24:15-24

To those who did not have the trust and intimacy with the Lord that Moses did, the Lord was fire. And not just any fire, but a destructive, devouring fire that raged over the entire mountaintop. They would have thought Moses lost, delusional, that he would have ventured to the top of this mountain because he heard a voice in the desert.

And yet to Moses, it is a cloud that covers the mountain. A cloud is difficult to see through, making it difficult to comprehend where you are and where you are going, but it is a peaceful place. You are surrounded by droplets of life-giving water and the sounds of chaos are dampened and quieted to a clear silence. And so he goes up the mountain, and into the cloud to wait for his Lord as he was asked. It is not till the seventh day that the Lord speaks to him again, and he is there with the Lord until the fortieth day. For this trust and steadfastness of heart, for allowing the Lord to guide his senses, Moses receives instructions for the construction of the tabernacle. Moses is given the work through which God will be physically present among the people at all times!! God is giving Himself to the people who feared Him as a devouring fire, in the form of a protective presence, that they too may one day see the cloud and not the fire.

We must be like Moses. We must not allow the fear and disbelief of others to convince us that His protective, guiding cloud is a devouring fire. We must enter His sanctuary, enter His presence and accept His gifts that He may be present to the world.

Angels sent before us

"Behold I send an angel before you, to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place which I have prepared. Give heed to him and hearken to his voice, do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression; for my name is in him. But if you hearken attentively to his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries." Exodus 23:20-22

God sends His angel before the people of Israel, always present among them to guide them and direct them. He does the same for us. The challenge in life is not to find our path, but to listen to the will of the One who knows our path. For if we listen, if we spend our energy straining for the silence in our life that we may hear the voice of the angel He has sent before us, then our enemies and our obstacles are His enemies and obstacles. If we stray from his path, we are in the enemies' camps. In the dark woods we will find ourselves turning to them for protection and food. In this we align ourselves with our Lord's enemies; woe to him who does so willfully! But the Lord will ransom us; if we long for His protection then He will come and take us away from these dark places. He will send His light through the dense foliage to guide you to His clearing.

If we search for the path ourselves when we find ourselves in the woods, then our lives become noisy auctions. Every distraction, every ambition, every prideful notion will bid for our attention, our life. No matter the price the bidder is willing to "pay" us, we are selling ourselves to bondage to an enemy in order to protect ourselves from another enemy. But our freedom is priceless, and is the only path to the safety of our loving Father who will protect us from all enemies. We must follow the voice of God on the path of freedom, the path where we are safe and satisfied.

"Take delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

Delighting is love in the form of gratitude; it is rejoicing at the greatness of the gift. This greatness can only be fathomed by giving away all of ourselves, for any self left within shrinks our capacity to receive the gift. To the extent that we give of self, we will receive. When we truly delight in the Lord we give ourselves entirely away, removing all obstacles to receiving His love. There is nothing left in the way of His union with us, and as our Eternal Lover, He will always unite with us when we remove the barriers! Every desire or void we have is ultimately a desire for union with our Lover; once we are united to Him, the desires of our hearts have been satisfied. Thus our Lord's promise will never fail: Take delight in Me and I will give you the desires of your heart.

Wrestling with God

"He took [his family] and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. And Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day." Genesis 32:23-24

We must remember that when we are challenged by people or situations in our lives, it is not only always allowed by God but often God Himself with whom we are wrestling. This theme is constant through Christ's ministry. God-become-man was constantly troubling those around Him with the things that He said and knew and did. However every time it was to better those with whom He wrestled, to point out to them a fault or weakness and provide them the grace to overcome it.

It is when Jacob is alone that he is challenged to his limits. We are often find ourselves isolated, and it is in those isolated reaches where God will push us and teach us. It may be that we are separated from community, or it may be a retreat into our hearts. Without our usual crutches and distractions, we must admit our weakness and thus begin the journey of accepting His grace and healing. As we grow stronger spiritually, these wrestling matches become training grounds for the world. He teaches us new ways to conquer the enemy. He hones our reactions and intuition. We become bold, like Jacob, in acquiring His blessings.

When our hands grow weary

"Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands grew weary; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat upon it, and Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; so his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword." Exodus 17:11-13

We were created for community; the fact that we are relational beings is stamped in our bodies as the physical expression of our souls. As we travel on God's path for us, we will find that we cannot do it alone. We need others around us who can hold up our arms when we no longer have the strength to do so ourselves; we need to be there to hold up the arms of another who is laboring for the Lord. If we are all one body in Christ, His hands will be steady until the going down of the sun, and God's Kingdom will reign on earth.

"And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way...

...and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night; the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people." Genesis 13:21

Our Lord is always present to us in whatever form is fitting for our situation. He will never leave our side. However when we are used to traveling by day, and it becomes night, we often still look for the pillar of cloud and cry foul when we cannot see it. But He is there in the fire!! Casting light on the path we are to take. He knows that in the dark we cannot see the cloud, and so He uses the light and heat of the fire to light our way.

Then when the enemy approaches: "the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the host of Egypt and the host of Israel. And there was the cloud and the darkness; and the night passed without one coming near the other all night." Genesis 14:9-20. At times we may not see God standing before us leading the way, for He has positioned Himself between us and the enemy, to protect us from harm. We must always seek God open to whatever form He may be taking, and be aware that His choice for revelation can alert us to the state of our spiritual life and our soul's safety or peril.