The Best Guide

~~~ Nahum 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7 ~~~ (Psalm) ~~~ 

Deuteronmy 32:35CD-36AB, 39ABCD, 41

~~~ Matthew 16:24-28 ~~~

"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,

take up his cross, and follow me..."

Guided tours...hike through the forest...mountain trail...

A tour guide alerts you to what is important

 to notice in the present environment.

A tour guide often carries a flag pole so you can 

see to follow him/her.

The guide knows the material...they are familiar with the space.

I know with a guide I get so much more information.

I have many friends that find zip lining to be exhilarating.

Having followed the path to the high point

they get into a harness and zip down along the cable line.

When you are ready to find a guide you check 

for the person with the highest ratings...the best reviews. 

Jesus is the perfect guide...

He asks us to follow him. He knows the way.
He has so much wisdom and knowledge he wants to share with us.

...take up his cross, and follow me..."

This is where we are tempted to pass up the
opportunity to follow Jesus the perfect guide.

We are never quite sure we can take up our cross...never
sure we want to carry our cross.

But even those who follow a guide
 through the woods carry their backpack.
Sometimes this backpack can be a very heavy load.

The interesting thing is that you become so engaged
in listening and following the guide that soon
the backpack no longer seems such a burden.

The same is true when we accept the invitation to follow Jesus.
We must take up our cross, but he quickly makes the journey
 so incredible that the cross seems to become lighter.

Jesus is the most wonderful guide for us.
He leads us into the most breathtaking places.

He leads us to everlasting life with him...
where all beauty, truth, and love awaits for us.

Blessings to take up your cross and follow Jesus.
The load of the cross will seem lighter
and you will be
in peace.

Take Up Your Cross: Choose Life

~~~Our Lady of Lourdes~~~

~~~ Deuteronomy 30:15-20 ~~~ Psalm 1 ~~~ Luke 9:22-25 ~~~

...deny himself

and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Jesus gives us the prescription for his followers.

It is something we must do each day.

It is not something we do a single time.

It is not something we put away in the drawer for later.

Every day we must 'take up our cross'.

Some days our crosses may be greater than other days.

What is importance is that we pick them up and take them with us.

We join more completely with Jesus 

when we can joyfully take up our crosses.

Our crosses can also be a reminder to choose life.

Moses said to the people:

“Today I have set before you

life and prosperity, death and doom.

If we do not choose life we will not have

 the strength to carry our crosses.

Choosing life means we choose Jesus...

when we choose Jesus we also choose to pick our personal cross.

Jesus shows us how to do this...

carrying ones cross is not easy but may bring 

special graces into our heart.

In the wisdom of the church today as we begin Lent

we also commemorate the 

Blessed Mother's appearance at Lourdes.

Today we reflect on the healing water at Lourdes.

Mary appeared here...she continues to bless 

the waters of Lourdes with healing powers.

Those who are sick are very aware of the cross they bear...

they are very aware of the admonition to choose life.

Perhaps the life we must choose is eternal life in heaven.

Much of the time we can only see life as here on Earth,

but our eternal life is much more important.

Our physical life is only a blip on the radar of eternity.

Choosing life is parallel to picking up our cross.

Some people find a better life when they are carrying their cross.

The Blessed Mother knows about our crosses.

She is nearby to intercede on your behalf.

She will help you carry your cross;

while she was not allowed to help her son, Jesus to carry his.

We may not be able to visit the healing water of Lourdes,

but we can pray for those who are in need of healing.

Our Lady of Lourdes,

pray for us.

Choose life...

cling to the Lord;

you will be blessed.

~~~Peace~~~

Better Answer

~~~ Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~

~~~ Isaiah 50:5-9A ~~~ Psalm 116 ~~~ 

~~~ James 2:14-18 ~~~ Mark 8:27-35 ~~~

“But who do you say that I am?” 

Can you honestly answer this question?

What influences your answer the most? 

Does your answer depend on how your day is going?

There are so many possible topics from today's readings...

faith...good works...and taking up your cross.

All related to who Jesus is to you personally.

To have faith you must believe in something or someone...Jesus.

But faith is not something you should keep hidden away.

Jesus says if you have faith...if you want to follow me...

if you know who I am then

you must pick up your cross and carry it with you.

We must serve others and perform good works 

for our own personal gratification.

Instead we must let our desire to be more like 

Christ to our guiding force.

 ...deny himself,

take up his cross, and follow me. 

Who do YOU say Jesus is?

Knowing Christ does not shield you 

from trials, and hardships in your life.

It is precisely those trials and hardships that teach 

you more about who Jesus truly is...

it is through these that you begin to fully 

formulate your answer within your own heart.

Jesus must be real for you right now...today.

Jesus cannot be real for you only in the good times.

To take up your cross and follow Jesus;

sometimes means coming to the bottom of the cross,

wrapping your arms around the feet of Jesus

and simply looking up into his eyes.

It is Jesus alone who can give you the strength to carry cross.

But if you do not know who he is how can you come to him?

Your relationship with Jesus is personal.

but your demonstration of your faith is visible to others.

Every day you take up your crosses and follow Jesus

is another day that you come to better know how

to answer his question...

“But who do you say that I am?” 

You are unbelievably Blessed...

let those define your faith commitment.

Every time you answer his question 

your answer will become more personal.

You are living into a better answer.

Think of those you love the most...

who do you say they are?

~~~Peace~~~

Stay the Course

~~~ Exodus 1:8-14, 22 ~~~ Psalm 124 ~~~ 

~~~ Matthew 10:34—11:1 ~~~

Whoever receives you receives me,

and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.

Jesus is sending out the apostles with his blessing.

His speech to them is one building up their confidence.

The message Jesus brought to the world 

was very contrary to the times.

His message was so radical that it was necessary

 to prepare them for opposing forces.

Jesus told them even their own family members would

not understand what they were preaching.

The apostles had to believe deep in their heart.

The apostles had to put Jesus before all else in their life.

They had to go forth without looking back.

They had to believe with their whole being that Jesus

 had the true message for salvation.

...whoever does not take up his cross

and follow after me is not worthy of me.

Jesus did not try to paint the perfect picture.

He did not try to deceive them with glitter and gold.

Jesus warned them of the difficulties they would encounter.

Jesus was looking for those who were willing

 to spread the message in spite of persecution.

Jesus asks them to stay the course in the face of difficulties.

For us Jesus is making the same request...

or is it a requirement?

It is impossible to follow Jesus 

without the willingness to take up our own cross.

We may not realize our cross on a daily basis,

but when they come we must face them.

 Our help is in the name of the Lord.

In order to best follow Jesus we must develop

 our personal relationship with him.

If we do not have a deep rooted relationship with Jesus

 the crosses we face will cause us to crumble.

Become one of Jesus' best friends.

Read the Bible as often as you can...let the words

 of Jesus be your strength.

Jesus blesses us with the grace to stay the course

helping us to carry our cross.

We each have our own cross to carry.

We cannot leave it behind or pass

 it on to someone else...

Your cross is your cross.

~~~Peace~~~

How Much...How Long?

~~~ Memorial of Saint Dominic, Priest ~~~

~~~ Nahum 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7 ~~~ Deuteronomy 32:39b ~~~ Matthew 16:24-28 ~~~

"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me..."

Is it really necessary to deny yourself
and take up your cross to follow Jesus?
Why isn't is sufficient to do one or the other?

How is it possible to deny yourself?
What do you deny?
How much...how long must you
deny yourself?
Following Jesus is not a pleasant path to follow;
it is not easy to deny yourself.

It is very difficult to pick up your cross
and then be expected to drag it around with you.

Why can't we just acknowledge our cross and go on down the road?
Why must we be required to keep it with us?

Taking up your cross is not like a young child
 carrying around their security blanket.
On second thought, carrying our cross
might serve the exact same purpose.

Our cross is our security blanket; we have been saved by the cross...
the cross that Jesus carried for the sins of the whole world.

Denying yourself is not the same as going on a fad diet.
Denying yourself is not giving up chocolate candy.
Denying yourself is not sleeping on the floor.
Denying yourself is not walking for miles across the desert.

Denying yourself is to accept that God is in control of your life.
Denying yourself is to let God work through you.

The backpack you casually sling across your shoulders
 may not be the same as taking up your cross.

But whenever you are carrying something across your shoulder
 think about how you are denying yourself.

When you are carrying a heavy bag of groceries think
 about the cross you carry compared
to the one Jesus carried.

Blessings sometimes come in disguise...
through denying yourself...
through cheerfully carrying your cross.
~~~Peace~~~

There is No Denying Your Crosses

Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

~~~ Isaiah 1:10-17 ~~~ Psalm 50 ~~~ Matthew 10:34-11:1 ~~~

Jesus teaches lessons filled with contradictions.

He comes not to bring peace but the sword...

he comes to turn family member against family member...

finally whoever gives a cup of water

 to one of the little ones will be rewarded.

Along with all of this comes...

...whoever does not take up his cross

and follow after me is not worthy of me.

We each have our crosses to bear.

These crosses are sometimes on-going,

but more often than not

 they come and go depending on the circumstances.

Crosses are not supposed to be easy to bear 

otherwise they would not be called crosses.

Taking up your personal cross means you first must face it;

you must see it as real.

You must realize that you are not alone.

The person next you must also face their own crosses.

No one is exempt from hardships in this world.

Why would Jesus make taking up one's cross be so important?

Taking up your cross means you must give up your idea of a perfect life.

Rose colored glasses  will not help you follow Jesus.

He did not pretend that everything was good and holy;

instead he went about spreading compassion and understanding.

Whatever our wants and desires are must come after 

what God wants to be in out life.

If God is above all else in our life 

then it follows that we will be called to make sacrifices.

In order to follow Jesus we must realize 

that there will be sacrifices all along the journey.

Actually many times following Jesus

 means we will find even more crosses along the way.

Jesus says so many times, 'be not afraid'

this also applies when it comes to our crosses.

Jesus wants us to accept our crosses

 because that is when he comes to our assistance most perfectly.

When we perceive our life to be 'perfect'

we have a tendency to want to take credit for it ourselves.

We have this bad habit of leaving God out of the picture.

On the other hand when we are facing our crosses...

when we are feeling overwhelmed,

that is when we find ourselves down on our knees.

We fall on our knees in desperation.

We cry out to God for his help and assistance, 

even though he was always there. 

We do not exist just for the good times, the happy times, or the times of joy.

We exist to accept all that means to be alive.

To be alive means there will be pain and sorrow.

Jesus carried his wooden cross to the place of his death.

He never denied the cross.

He knew it had to be the most important part of his journey.

He could not escape his cross any more than we can.

There is no way to pass through this life without crosses.

To be worthy of Jesus, from his own mouth,

 means you must take up your cross.

He will lead you to cool waters...he will give you rest...

he will be your strength and your protection.

Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and there will be

 no cross too great for you to carry.

Jesus came to show us the way

 to the salvation he was winning for us.

If we look only for those parts of the Scriptures that are pleasant to us

then we will miss the whole point of his life and death.

Jesus was sent to do the will of the Father.

We too are sent to die to ourselves and live in the will of the Father.

Taking up your cross is not death,

 rather taking up your cross is the key to eternal life.

See if you can begin to view your crosses as blessings.

The burden will certainly be made lighter...

~~~Peace~~~

Will You 'Sync' With Jesus?

~~~Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~

 

~~Zechariah 12:10-11; 13:1~~Psalm 63~~Gal 3:26-29~~Luke 9:18-24~~

 

Jesus gets personal today with not only Peter but each of us.

'...who do you say that I am?'

 

This is the question we must answer for ourselves.

Jesus wants a direct answer not a string of empty words grouped together.

Jesus wants us to look at his face and speak to him.

 

Some will quickly claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Jesus goes on telling Peter what the future holds for him...

suffering, rebuke, death, and finally resurrection.

 

Those who confess belief in Jesus will also endure suffering and hardships.

 

 

"If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me."

 

Following Jesus is not like belonging to some elite country club.

Following Jesus is not a life of lounging around the pool sipping mint juleps.

Following Jesus is not sailing off to an exotic paradise island.

 

If you want to follow Jesus you must synchronize your life with his.

Now days in this age of technology we hear about 'syncing'

our data from one device to another.

With Jesus it is not quite as easy.

We cannot just tap our phones together.

 

Syncing your life to the life of Jesus requires pain and suffering.

It requires taking up your cross daily.

 

When you reflect on the question 

who do you say that I am

you may be somewhat reluctant to answer.

You may instead want to shy away from responding;

lest you must also accept the accompanying cross of suffering.

 

St. Paul tells us we are all one in Christ through our Baptism.

We are one with Christ,

 we are united with him in his suffering too.

 

Are you willing to 'sync' your life with Jesus?

 

Blessings are in your personal answer...

Who do YOU say that Jesus is?

Facing Crosses with Hope...Daily

~~~ Deuteronomy 30:15-20 ~~~ Psalm 1 ~~~ Luke 9:22-25 ~~~

 

 

Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

 

"...I have set before you life and death,
the blessing and the curse.
Choose life, then..".

 

"...If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me..." 

 

 

Today is Valentine's Day.

Above are three verses that especially spoke to me

from today's readings.

 

The psalm speaks of hope.

Hope is a belief that events will turn out for the best.

We all reason to hold on to feelings of hope.

If it were not for hope we would live in a very dark and desperate world.

Hope gives a person a reason to keep trying...to keep believing.

If we did not have hope in the promises made to us by God

how we lived our life might look very different.

 

 

 

If we are to be ambassadors for Christ then we must choose life over death.

Likewise to be an ambassador of Christ, who died for us,

we must daily take up our cross.

 

Through the grace of hope we can bear whatever crosses comes our way.

 

Sometimes the cross set before us to bear seems closer to death than to life.

So how can we accomplish this task?

 

Life in Christ is a life that includes the good, the bad, and the unpleasant.

Certainly you would agree that, all things did not go to Jesus' liking.

He endured much for us as he fulfilled the will of the Father.

 

We can expect to have times of trials.

We should expect to have periods when life seems remote.

I have experienced the sense that I was living my life in a kind of remote

limbo type of environment.

Where I was being asked by God to embrace one more 'cross'.

After all I have chosen to follow him.

I have chosen to be one of his ambassadors.

 

Some days present themselves with more crosses than others.

Each day we are to choose life in Christ.

Jesus is the Hope of the World.

I pray for strength and perseverance.

O Lord, hear my prayer.

Let's Make a Deal

~~~ Dt. 30: 15-20 ~~~ Psalm 1 ~~~ Luke 9: 22-25 ~~~

Have you ever seen the popular television game show Let's Make a Deal? Monty Hall would come out on the stage and the audience would go wild with excitement. Everyone wanted to be chosen to come up on the stage to make the deal of their life.

How the game works: contestants are asked to choose one of three doors. Behind one is a fabulous prize! Behind the others are gag gifts. When you choose a door, the game show host shows you a gag gift behind one of the two doors not chosen. You are given the option of switching to the one remaining door or staying with your original choice. Which is the better strategy: switch or stay?

Moses clutches the Commandment Tablets close to his chest.

"Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom."

He comes down the mountain with a profound message written in stone. How does he get the people to listen? He uses the game show appreoach. He appeals to their desire to live. He says look guys if you follow these 10 rules and walk in his ways you will live...grow numerous...and God will bless you. Moses wanted his people to be on the good side of God,
but he knows they must make the choice.

Which do you choose he asks?

Then Moses reveals what's behind the less desirable door...

If you do not listen to me and 'turn away your hearts' you will not live.

If you 'adore and serve other gods' you will perish.

Moses knew he needed to stop the people from getting impatient and making the wrong choices.
He also knew they were growing weary in the desert.

They were more than ready to choose life or death. They were already anxious from their long journey. Moses himself realized his life would soon come to an end. He felt the urgency to convince the people to choose wisely. His desire for them is the same as God's...he wants them to choose life.

 Moses is saying come on guys take responsibility for your future. I have laid it before you. Do you want to prosper? Do you want to have a full life filled with blessings. Or do you want to go down the path of unfaithfullness cursing all the way?

It is up to you. He pleads for them to make the right decision by choosing life. Choosing life does not mean your days will be easy; but it does mean God will keep his promises. You will be delivered to 'the land that the Lord swore he would give your fathers Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.'

If you choose life, psalm 1 says, you will be like a tree planted near running water. God will provide for your needs. Beside running water life is abundant, plentiful, and fruitful there.

Jesus comes on the scene and adds a new dimension to the meaning of choosing life. He says if you want to save this life you have chosen you must do one more thing. Daily deny yourself; give up your self-centered ways. Take up your cross and follow me. If you do these things you will understand that to live you must die to your old selfish ways.

Go forward from this day choosing life through self denial. Choose to accept all things as blessings in your life. Embrace the cross for it is the only way to have life...that is Life Everlasting.

The way of the cross is the way to Everlasting Life.
During this Lenten season review your choices. Do they reflect you desire to have life in the Lord?

During Lent each photo used will be taken at Prince of Peace of either a crucifix or a cross.

I chose this kaleidoscope image: I see the brown of the cross, the blue of the water, the center flower of life, and the grey edges of the tablets held by Moses.

Choose the 'door' with life and you will have life abundantly.

Beauty in Carrying the Cross

~~~~ James 2: 14-24, 26 ~~~~ Psalm 112 ~~~~ Mark 8: 34- 9:1 ~~~~

When I was in the convent, before taking my vows, we made our own crown of thorns. We clipped long branches from the thorny Mesquite bush. The thorns are quite sharp and the branches strong and hardy. In order to make them pliable and able to wind around into a circle we had to soak them overnight in water. The next day we were able to form them into the crown of thorns just the size for our head.

I can remember it being a solemn occasion as we sat securing our coil of thorns with pieces of wire and then attaching tiny delicate white silk flowers. We were going to be wed to Jesus. We were preparing for our wedding day. I even made a special box to keep this precious keepsake tucked away. It was gray and pink construction paper between sheets of clear plastic. There were six or eight sides I am not sure now. The handmade box was later relinquished for something stronger;
a metal cookie tin.

Some years later when I left the convent that crown of thorns was one of the few things I took home with me.  It was and still is something I treasure.When I married my husband and we went off for his military service we decided it best not to bring my 'cookie tin' along. We left it with my in-laws. They placed it safely hidden in the bottom of an empty brick planter in the living room.

Eventually we returned home and I was able to claim my crown of thorns. Recently I have used it for Lenten days of prayer. It still looks the same as the day I wore it on my head.
In over forty years these thorns are still intact.

Jesus told the crowd, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." While in the convent I had plenty ways to deny myself...times of prolonged silence, censored mail, begging for a bar of soap, forbidden to have contact with those not in my class. Community bathroom and showers down the hall, dormitory sleeping quarters, very little free time. Today those do not seem very significant, but when I was young they were huge.

"...take up your cross, and follow me."

It is not enough just to follow Jesus. Following Jesus is no guarantee of a burden free life. In some cases I think if you follow Christ you may even have more trials and crosses to bear. It is probably not so, but at times it seems if you believe you can take more.

When I look at my crown of thorns I do not think so much about the convent any more, I think about how the thorns were driven into Our Lord's precious head and then a huge wooden splintered cross was thrust upon his shoulders. I think of people I know who have had to carry heavy burdens in their lives...dread diseases...sexual abuse...loss of a child...alcoholism...etc.

The crosses we bear in life cannot be softened as my mesquite branches in an overnight soaking bath. They cannot be made more pliable, but we can allow others to help us carry our crosses. One thing I cherish in community is that while we each carry our own crosses we still reach out with a helping hand to lighten another's load. Together we follow Jesus. There is certainly strength in numbers.

When we help another with their cross, we are denying ourselves of self pity.

You cannot escape the cross and follow him at the same time.
If you try to ignore the cross; following Jesus is out of balance with the true Christian life.

When we embrace our cross with outstretched arms we are in alignment with the
Passion of Our Lord.

I invite you to look at the cross and the crown of thorns believing that Jesus understands. He will bring others into your life to help ease the burden. He will turn your sorrows into joy.

A couple years ago I took this picture in the narthex of our main church. The sun was shining through the stained glass window creating a soft blue glow across the thorn branches.

This kaleidoscope image reminds me that when we help each other carry their cross we can tend the thorn piercings. We sometimes miss the beauty in our crosses as we resist their reality. The thorns here are placed on the delicate blue from the stained glass.

This color was only possible because of the sun shining through the window.

Beauty can shine through our crosses too.

Look for the traces of color as you carry your cross and follow him.