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~~~

Digging in the Dirt

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

If you are to choose life...if you are to follow Jesus...

you must also take up your cross.

Choosing life may even mean digging into the dirt;

 searching for the smallest sign of life.

Have you ever been digging

 in the soil only to find a long wiggly earthworm?

Choosing life is not always about being green and growing.

Choosing life can get down right dirty and smelly.

Today I have set before you

life and prosperity, death and doom.

The truth about life is that we often 

do not realize it is happening.

For Jesus, choosing life meant carrying the cross

 plus having every kind of torture imposed upon him.

We have the tendency to run away from our crosses

 under the belief that they do not lead to life.

The truth is each of your crosses has the potential to give you life.

Our crosses are much like a geode.

It is only when you crack it open

 are you able to see what is locked inside.

Without the cross what would the Resurrection be?

The trials and tribulations you experience in your lifetime

are creating amazing beauty within your soul.

It is in your times of anguish that real life is possible...

but it is up to you to choose this life.

You have the choice to see them as 'life' or to view

 them as utter destruction.

If, however, you turn away your hearts

 and will not listen...

You must die with Christ in order to take part in his life.

God does not force you to choose life,

he offers it to you every day.

Lent is the perfect time to look upon the dry parched world

believing that underneath it there is life to behold.

Trust in the Lord to give you the courage 

to 'choose life' even in the darkest of times.

There is a special Blessing waiting for you today...

look for it...choose it...claim it for your own.

~~~Peace~~~

Blessing or Curse?

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

I have set before you life and death,

the blessing and the curse.
Choose life...

What kind of life are you choosing?

Does it change from year to year?

When is it acceptable to choose death? or is it ever?

To believe in the Resurrection then we must choose death.

Without dying we cannot experience Resurrection.

Jesus chose to live a human life.

Jesus chose to die to his human life to show us the way to salvation.

We have a choice between blessing and curse.
Which will it be?
Will life be a blessing or a curse?
Will death be a blessings or a curse?
Our attitude effects our decisions.
How we look at things in our life will influence
the choices we make.

And the choices we make will influence
 how we look at things in the future.

Both life and death can be beautiful, if it is in God's plan.
For the present, God is blessing us
as we live our life according to his plan.

Choose to make life a Blessing from God.
Peace.

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.

Choose Life

Deuteronomy 30: 15-16, 19-20

(New Living Translation)

 “Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster.  For I command you this day to love the LORD your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy."

Praying today for the unborn aborted children and their parents. It is with sadness that I pray today. I pray for those who made the choice to abort their unborn child. I do not know their reasons. I do not know their fears. I do not know their hearts. I do not in most cases know their names, but today I pray for them.

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life."

As I sit in Adoration I hear the Rosary being led aloud in solemn respect for life. Prayers being lifted up for those who know not what they have done and prayers for those struggling with their decision. In my experience with women's retreats, sooner or later a woman must come to grips with her decision to terminate her pregnancy. Sometimes she was too young and her parents made the final decision for her...maybe even against her will.

At some point it no longer works to keep burying this horror deep inside. There is hope if you find yourself facing the reality of what you have done. I was fortunate to find out about Rachel's Vineyard.

www.rachelsvineyard.org  Rachel's Vineyard is the world's largest post abortive ministry.

I urge you to seek help if you are carrying the emotional and spiritual pain of abortion.

It is never too late to ask for forgiveness from God.

We have the most wonderful merciful forgiving God. There is nothing we have done including abortion that he will not forgive. He loves you and wants nothing more than to make you whole again. He wants nothing more than to remove the hidden shame from your heart. He wants nothing more than to care for you and to show you how to love yourself and your aborted child.

As I sit in Adoration a young mother comes to pray with her two young children. I sit not in seclusive silent soaking prayer, but rather amidst the joyful babbling of little children. It just seems as if God is saying this is why you are praying here this morning...for the tiny voices that were never to heard by their parents. It just seems fitting. I am sure some sitting here are annoyed and wish this mother would take her children elsewhere. I admire this mother for coming to pray when she could have just as easily stayed at home with her children. Perhaps she is thanking God for the gift of her children.

I cannot judge those who have committed abortion. I believe they need our love, care, and compassion. There but for the grace of God go I. I thank God for the gift of my own children.

I also pray today for those who are unable to conceive as they live with the reality in our society today of the disposable human life.

Original photo: Mother holding newborn in her hands.

This Kaleidoscope image captures for me the pure light and love of the child's soul.

Lifting up in prayer those who need it most!