Simon was an ordinary fisherman from Capernaum in Galilee. One day, he was going about his ordinary business, washing his nets and preparing for a catch. Without warning, without asking permission, Jesus got into his boat. Now the boat was everything for Peter; it was his livelihood, his security. And Jesus just got in and began giving orders.
So it goes in the order of grace. The true God cannot be manipulate by us, controlled through our efforts. Rather, he comes into our lives, often unbidden and unexpected, to determine and guide us.
What does this surprising and awe-inspiring person do once he gets our attention? He gives us a mission. When Jesus gets into Simon’s boat, he says, “Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” The deep water represents God’s work, projects, and intentions.
Jesus even clarified this mission for Peter saying, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men” (Luke 5:10). In essence, he told Peter: Now you know what your life is about; now the depth dimension has opened up.
But what does all of this also produce? A keen sense of one’s own sinfulness. It is a Biblical commonplace (on display in the lives of all the saints as well) that the closer God gets, the more one becomes aware of his sin. But once God reveals himself, once he gets into our boat, we can no longer live with those comforting illusions.
Peter says, “Leave me Lord, I’m a sinful man” (Luke 5:8). This is precisely why we recite or sing the Kyrie at the beginning of every Mass. In God’s presence, we become aware of our sin. We must not be afraid of acknowledging our sin—despite a thousand suggestions to the contrary coming from the culture. God can easily deal with sin that is honestly confessed.
Our God is not the least bit interested in getting us fussily preoccupied with our sin. He wants us to confess it and get on with the mission.
Has God broken into your life? Has he given you a mission? Has he forgiven your sins? The answer to all three questions is: “Yes!”
A Rosary for Alzheimer's Patients:
Praying the Sorrowful Mysteries Agony in Garden
For the length of time it takes to pray 10 Hail Marys, I meditate on the Agony in the Garden. I picture Jesus, troubled and afraid, asking his closest friends to wait with him, and begging his father to “take this cup” away. Then I hear him, I see him saying, “Not my will but yours.” Summary Prayer:
Father, please let this sickness pass away from me. I can feel myself so much less “together” these days, fading away, and it makes me distressed and sorrowful. I know some of my old friends who want to help, who say they want to be with me, but they are uncomfortable around me now and don’t know what to say to me. Neither do I. I beg you to take this away, to stop this erosion of my mind. But Father, this is not about what I want, but what you want. Let me find freedom in my inabilities and let me rely on you more in everything I do. Please help me to feel how much you love me.
Scourging at Pillar
For the length of time it takes to pray 10 Hail Marys, I picture Jesus being scourged at the pillar. He is beaten and whipped, completely helpless, and humiliated and in a very public way. He becomes weaker with each painful lashing and those who love him are unable to do anything to stop it.
Summary Prayer:
This disease is like torture, Lord. With each passing day, there is something else I am unable to do, some new inability in a situation where I always used to know exactly what to do. I make so many mistakes now and every day is filled with lashes of humility on my ego. Give me the grace, loving God, to accept this lack of control in my life and to humbly ask for your help. Give me the grace to let go of so many things I cling tightly to and to rely only on you. It is in the letting go that I will find the real freedom from this disease that I long for.
Crowning with Thorns
For the length of time it takes to pray 10 Hail Marys, I meditate on the crowning with thorns. I can picture the pain that Jesus goes through as he feels the crown being roughly pushed into his head. His head is filled with searing jolts and he is unable to think clearly. He looks around but he can’t focus well and his agony is so great because of the throbbing in his head. Summary Prayer:
Jesus, I understand some of what you are going through. On many days I feel as though a crown of thorns were on my own head, taking away my memories, making me forget the everyday things and keeping me from completing the simplest of everyday tasks. I ask you, Lord to help me to accept this disease with grace. Let me not snap at those around me out of my own frustrations and let me accept my inability to finish conversations or follow a train of thought. You gave me the gift of my mind, Lord. Let me thank you for this gift and ask how you would like me to use it to glorify you.
Carrying of Cross
For the length of ten Hail Marys, I meditate on Jesus carrying the cross. The burden is heavy and becomes heavier with each step. He stumbles and falls heavily and is kicked until he struggles back to his feet. The rough wood tears at his already bleeding skin and as he drags his cross through the streets, he faces those he loves so much who weep for him. He looks at them and wishes it could be different for him – and for them, and he loves them.
Summary Prayer:
Loving God, I can hardly carry this burden of my life. This disease robs me of myself and I can’t bear it alone anymore. I know there are so many who love me but they can only stare helplessly as I face this cross alone. I have to accept so much help now and I feel humiliated. But I am not alone if I remember that your strong and loving arms are there to help me carry this. All of my suffering, all of the things I am afraid of, all that I cannot remember and do anymore, they are the cross you help me to bear each day. Help me to remember to thank you for being with me on this journey.
Crucifixion
For the length of ten Hail Marys, I meditate on the crucifixion. It is such a cruel form of punishment and death. I see Jesus, pushed beyond exhaustion and trembling with pain. Through a dim awareness of his pain and grief, he hears the jeers of those who mock him and the sobbing sorrow of those who love him the most. Yet in a most human moment in this inhumane scene, Jesus is thirsty and longs to drink. In his pain and faith, he gives up his life to his Father.
Summary Prayer:
Jesus, this is where my life most resembles yours. I feel so much pain and burden in this cross and at moments I wonder where God is in my life. I feel like I have lost so much; so much has been taken away from me. I want to yell in anger, and bewilderment. Why me? And then I look at you loving me from the cross and I see you in your own pain. You turn it over to your father and I know I must do the same. Help me to give up this pain and sorrow my Lord. I must rely on your father – my father – for comfort and support. Into your hands, I commend my spirit. With permission from : Creighton U Online Ministries Reforming Our Lives BL. MOTHER TERESA OF CALCUTTA Holiness is not the luxury of the few but a simple duty for you and me, so let us be holy as our Father in heaven is holy. Saint Thomas says: "Sanctity consists in nothing else but a firm resolve" - the heroic act of a soul abandoning itself to God. Our progress in holiness depends on God and on ourselves - on God's grace and on our will to be holy. We must have a real living determination to reach holiness. "I will be a saint" means I will despoil myself of all that is not God, I will strip my heart of all created things, I will live in poverty and detachment, I will renounce my will, my inclinations, my whims and fancies, and make myself a willing slave to the will of God. Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in his love than in your weakness. Saint Augustine says: "Fill yourselves first and then only will you be able to give to others." If we really want God to fill us, we must empty ourselves through humility of all that is selfishness in us. We must not attempt to control God's actions. We must not count the stages in the journey he would have us make. We must not desire a clear perception of our advance along the road, nor know precisely where we are on the way of holiness. GOD KNOWS JUST WHAT WE NEED
Author Unknown
A woman was at work when she received a phone call that her daughter
was very sick with a fever. She left her work and stopped by the
pharmacy to get some medication for her daughter.
Upon returning to her car she found that she had locked her keys in
the car. She was in a hurry to get home to her sick daughter. She
didn't know what to do, so she called her home and told the baby
sitter what had happened and that she did not know what to do.
The baby sitter told her that her daughter was getting worse. She
said, "You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door."
The woman looked around and found an old rusty coat hanger that had
been thrown down on the ground, possibly by someone else who at some
time or other had locked their keys in their car. Then she looked at
the hanger and said, "I don't know how to use this." So she bowed her
head and asked God to send her some help.
Within five minutes an old rusty car pulled up, with a dirty, greasy,
bearded man who was wearing an old biker skull rag on his head. The
woman thought, "This is what you sent to help me?" But, she was
desperate, so she was also very thankful.
The man got out of his car and asked her if he could help. She said,
"Yes, my daughter is very sick. I stopped to get her some medication
and I locked my keys in my car. I must get home to her. Please, can
you use this hanger
to unlock my car?"
He said, "Sure". He walked over to the car, and in less than one
minute the car was opened.
She hugged the man and through her tears she said, "Thank You So Much!
You are a very nice man."
The man replied, "Lady, I am not a nice man. I just got out of prison
yesterday. I was in prison for car theft and have only been out less
than 24 hours."
The woman hugged the man again and with sobbing tears cried out loud,
"Oh, Thank you God! You even sent me a Professional!"
God may not always send us what we expect, but He will always send us
what we need. It's up to us to have the wisdom to recognize the
difference and be thankful.
On the Cross Jesus crucified,
for us you suffered, for us you died,
on the cross. How can we pass by and not care?
It was our sins that nailed him there...
See the crowd unpitying stare,
"Forgive them Father," is his prayer...
Thorns the only crown he must wear,
Thirst and wounds our King must bear...
See our high priest makes his great prayer,
Himself the victim, bleeding bare...
Let our lives, by giving, declare;
Amen, Amen to that great prayer...
May we die to sin and so share,
The triumph he enacted there... On the cross. (James Phillip McAuley) Verse of the Day "For this very reason, you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love. For if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 2:5-8 A Prayer for Lent
O God, You know my weaknesses, that I am poor and destitute, that I cannot do, nor even think any good without You. Arise up then; strengthen me with grace, that I may fervently execute what I have firmly resolved, and not only avoid all evil You forbid, but also perform all the good You command towards others, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Psalm 79:1–9 Remember not our past sins; let your compassion be swift to meet us; for we have been brought very low (v. 8). “Everyone complains of a lack of memory,” the American humorist Ken Hubbard wrote, “but nobody of a want of judgment.” Indeed a photographic memory is an envied ability—unless it enables you to remember something you want to be forgotten. You might wish for some things to be left in the past. Or feel haunted by the memory that “we have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and done those things which we ought not to have done,” as the traditional Prayer Book confession puts it. As you journey through Lent, reflect on what you carry with you, particularly the memory of sin. Ask for healing strength to carry on. You’ll be asked to repent and then to accept that God not only forgives us but forgets your sins, even if others do not. Then use God’s compassion for you as a blueprint for the way to forgive others. March 12 - Jesus Calling Waiting, trusting, and hoping are intricately connected, like golden strands interwoven to form a strong chain. Trusting is the central strand, because it is the response from My children that I desire the most. Waiting and hoping embellish the central strand and strengthen the chain that connects you to Me. Waiting for Me to work, with your eyes on Me, is evidence that you really do trust Me. If you mouth the words “I trust You” while anxiously trying to make things go your way, your words ring hollow. Hoping is future-directed, connecting you to your inheritance in heaven. However, the benefits of hope fall fully on you in the present. Because you are Mine, you don’t just pass time in your waiting. You can wait expectantly, in hopeful trust. Keep your “antennae” out to pick up even the faintest glimmer of My Presence. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”
—John 14:1 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
—Psalm 27:14 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
—Hebrews 6:18–20 |
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