The Perfect Prayer

~~~ Isaiah 55:10-11 ~~~ Psalm 34 ~~~ Matthew 6:7-15 ~~~ 

In praying, do not babble like the pagans,

who think that they will be heard 

because of their many words.

Do not be like them.

Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

We are not babies...We are not pagans...

We can speak; there is no need for us to babble.

Babble means to talk foolishly, too fast,

 in an incomprehensible way.

Jesus teaches us what it means to pray

 in today's Gospel reading from Matthew.

God is not hard of hearing, 

we do not need to talk louder and louder.

We do not need to give God an endless litany

 of our needs when we pray.

Your Father knows what you need 

before you ask him.

Jesus teaches us to pray...

the Our Father.

To really pray the Our Father we must

 have some level of comprehension.

The words of the Our Father are not meaningless words...

they are not a mere string of foolish words.

The Our Father may be the perfect prayer.

The words of the Our Father are perfect because

they were given to us from Jesus.

These words are not to be taken lightly.

These words hold the potential to greatly impact our life.

It is fitting that in the first week of Lent 

we are given the Lord's Prayer.

This prayer is capable of changing us...

This prayer is capable of cleansing our heart...

This prayer is capable of replacing our 

heart of stone with a new heart...

This prayer is capable of creating within our soul

 an attitude of humility and gratitude.

Our Father who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name,

thy Kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Let this familiar prayer

fall afresh upon your heart during this Lent.

If you desire to have a fruitful forty days

let this prayer transform you to be more like its author.

May you be Blessed with the best Lent ever...

with a changed heart.

~~~Peace~~~

Instructions for Holiness

~~~ Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18 ~~~ Psalm 19 ~~~ Matthew 25:31-46 ~~~

'Amen, I say to you,

what you did not do for one of these least ones,

you did not do for me.'

This reading from Leviticus and the Gospel 

from Matthew are closely connected today. 

The Lord gives Moses a complete list 

of what it takes to be holy...

no stealing, lying, swearing, speaking falsely,

no fraudulent behavior, cursing,

not acts of dishonesty.

Slander is condemned as well as hatred

 and holding a grudge.

Be holy, for I, the LORD, 

your God, am holy.

For some people this list is just

 too overwhelming.

It is mostly negative and we live in the 'feel good' era.

The instructions to become as holy as God

 seem to be a bitter pill to swallow.

God, however. is the reflection 

of this extensive list in Leviticus.

His reflection is the resulting goodness

of the very holiness we long to attain.

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

His words, no matter how challenging they are,

lead us to the holiness that he believes we can reach.

Holiness is our goal...

Holiness is what keeps us 

faithful to his commands...

Holiness gets us a place in heaven.

Jesus is very specific with his words in the Gospel.

Stating emphatically that when we treat 

others with kindness and love;

 it is God whom we are serving in disguise.

'Amen, I say to you,

what you did not do for one of these least ones,

you did not do for me.'

The positive message is what you did do 

for the least ones you really did for Jesus.

If we sincerely want to be more holy

 then we must operate within the

 'spirit and life' of Jesus.

Let the words of my mouth and the thought of my heart

find favor before you,

O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

During this first week of Lent let us try to see others

 as a reflection of the holiness of God.

Put aside everything that is a distraction from the words

of God to be holy as he is holy.

Blessings in knowing that God

 would not ask us to do the seemingly impossible 

without being right there by our side.

May you have the peace of the Lord.

One Bite

First Sunday of Lent

~~~ Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7 ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ 

~~~ Romans 5:12, 17-19 ~~~ Matthew 4:1-11

One does not live on bread alone,

but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

One bite from the fruit of the tree

 of good and evil

cast us all into the darkness

 of temptation and sin.

One bite of sweetness made us 

feel ashamed of our own beauty.

One juicy bite caused us 

to run and hide from the voice of God. 

One bite...

Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Cleanse me Lord.

Before you alone I confess my guilt.

Before you I acknowledge my offenses.

Cast me not from your holy presence.

Give me back a willing spirit to remain steadfast

in loving you with all my heart and soul.

Cleanse my heart with a contrite spirit.

Give me back the joy of knowing you will always love me.

Teach me to embrace the power of your words.

Your words are more than bread alone.

Your words bring healing and forgiveness.

Your words have the power to cleanse

 and heal the broken-hearted.

Your words are more nourishing than one bite 

of the fruit of the tree of good and evil.

I invite you to let this be a Lent

sustained by the reassuring words of the Lord.

For He will send the angels to sustain you.

One bite is nothing compared

 to the living words of God.

Blessings along the journey.

~~~Peace~~~

Swimming Upstream

~~~ Isaiah 58:9B-14 ~~~ Psalm 86 ~~~ Luke 5:27-32 ~~~

Teach me your way, O Lord, that I 

may walk in your truth.

We are given the advice to 'follow your own path'...

Ralph Waldo Emerson said,

" Do not follow where the path may lead.

Go instead where there is no path 

and leave a trail." 

We hear slightly different words from Jesus.

Jesus invites us to come follow him.

Jesus invites us to merge our individual path with his.

Jesus invites us walk the path of truth 

and justice that he created for us.

The desire to create our own path as followers of Jesus 

must be to walk more closely in his footsteps.

We will always have the right to choose our own path.

Perhaps some soul searching is in order when it 

comes to finding our own path.

Jesus came to show us the way.

His path is visible to all seekers...seekers of truth.

It may indeed take more courage to walk along the path

marked by Jesus than to create our own.

Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer

and attend to the sound of my pleading.

During this time of Lent

pause for awhile...

examine your personal path...

Are you walking in the footsteps of Jesus?

In the end that is what really matters the most.

Following Jesus may at times even feel like 

we are swimming upstream.

It is true that you must walk your own path...

no one can make the journey to holiness on your behalf.

The path you choose is up to you.

Join those who follow Jesus;

you will not be alone.

May you be confident in your decision

to follow Jesus even if it means

swimming upstream.

Have a Blessed Lenten journey.

See you along the path.

~~~Peace~~~

Setting Expectations

~~~ Isaiah 58:1-9A ~~~ Psalm 51 ~~~ Matthew 9:14-15 ~~~

A heart contrite and humbled, O God, 

you will not spurn.

Ash Wednesday was just two days ago.

Marked with ashes we are reminded of how easy

 it is for us to loose our way.

It is now day three into Lent.

How are you doing?

Has your prayer life changed in any manner?

Sometimes we find ourselves not living up to expectations;

our own expectations and expectations of others.

How sincere is our desire for a heart 

contrite and humbled?

Personally I find my self re-evaluating 

my expectations over and over again,

especially when I feel that I am falling short 

of my own expectations. 

Lent gives us forty days

 to update and fine tune our spiritual expectations.

I invite you to put aside any expectations you may have 

for your Lenten journey and focus on all 

that God has done for you.

Setting unreasonable expectations 

set us up for failure.

Not meeting our ideal expectations 

gives us an excuse to give up.

If we give up on making our Lenten journey 

all that it might be is exactly what the devil wants.

During this time of Lent take one day at a time.

Each day is one more chance to come closer 

to the God who created you.

...seek me day after day,

and desire to know my ways...

The One who has unquestionable love for you.

Let go of your 'expectations'

come closer to God one day at a time.

May your Lenten journey be Blessed.

~~~Peace~~~

Discovering A Safe Place

Saint John Neumann, Bishop

~~~ 1 John 3:11-21 ~~~ Psalm 100 ~~~ John 1:43-51 ~~~

...we belong to the truth...

...a great light has come upon the earth...

...I saw you under the fig tree.

Jesus saw Nathaniel under the fig tree...

What does one do while sitting under a tree?

There are discoveries to be made

 under the protection of the fig tree.

Perhaps you will find a piece of fruit...

a seed may capture your attention.

Under the fig tree is a safe place to pause for prayer.

A place to meditate on how you 

belong to the truth because Jesus has saved you.

Even in the cool shade of the fig tree we are still part of the light.

You are kept in the light of his truth.

In this state we rest in prayer under the fig tree.

You may not find a great monument 

marking your place under the fig tree 

but it is always available for you.

Sitting under the fig tree is a place of shade...

a place of safety...

a place to sit quietly listening for 

the still small voice of God.

There is no duplicity in him.

Jesus is waiting for you to take a moment 

from your daily tasks to sit

 in the quiet shade of his fig tree.

When you are still and your mind becomes quiet 

Jesus enters into your heart.

He draws you to his light and truth.

Just like Nathaniel, you too can be changed 

while resting under the fig tree.

It only takes a glimpse from Jesus

 for his light to reach your soul.

Nathaniel walked away from his time 

under the fig tree a changed person.

He had questioned whether or not anything good 

could come from a small insignificant town...

Jesus is the one who came from that town of Nazareth.

I invite you to sit awhile under the fig tree...

allow Jesus to gaze upon you and you too will be a changed person.

Get up and follow Jesus he has plans for you...

there is work for you to do in the vineyard.

~~~Spreading Peace~~~

~~~2017~~~

Blessings for 2017

Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God

~~~ Numbers 6:22-27 ~~~ Psalm 67 ~~~ 

~~~ Galatians  4:4-7 ~~~ Luke 2:16-21 ~~~

The LORD bless you and keep you!

The LORD let his face shine upon

you, and be gracious to you!

The LORD look upon you kindly and

give you peace!

This is truly one of the most all inclusive blessings

 in the Old Testament.

As the Lord blesses he also promises to keep you.

When the Lord keeps you there is nothing for you to fear...

there is no need for worries...no reason to be anxious.

The light that shines forth from the face of the Lord

is brightness beyond comprehension.

A light  brighter than the sun.

This light purifies your heart and soul.

A heavenly blessing that purifies within the depths of your heart

is certainly to be gracious...imbued with divine grace. 

Surrounded by this great blessing

the Lord looks upon as only he can; with kindness.

The Lord always wants what is good for you.

This blessing is flowing with the peace of the Lord.

It is his peace that the Lord gives us...

it is perfect peace...

complete peace because

 it comes for the source of all peace.

This blessing comes from the one 

who is the Light of the World.

I invite you to pray with this blessings.

Visualize yourself receiving this blessing...

May his light and his peace be with you

 throughout this new year...2017.

~~~Peace~~~