Month: July 2013
Hardships
1000th post
This is this blog’s 1000th post.
May God increase your hope until you can have great faith in the unseen and invisible truths of our faith, the inscrutable and unfailing love of God for you.
Roma
I am in beautiful Roma for three weeks. I thought I would have regular internet access, but that proved to be wrong. So I will be scarce in posting until after August 3. You are all in my prayers at every church we visit.
Praying for a long time
“Sometimes it seems that we have been praying for a long time and still do not have what we ask. But we should not be sad. I am sure that what our Lord means is that either we should wait for a better time, or more grace, or a better gift.” (Bl. Julian of Norwich)
Taking the first step
Be not afraid!
Witnesses to Hope is close to its 1000th post. This is the first post I ever put up. I think the reasons are obvious.
BE NOT AFRAID! (John Paul II, October 16, 1978 and many, many times afterward . . .)
“We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his son, Jesus.” (WYD 2002, Toronto)
When life feels a bit much
I have been thinking of this Elizabeth of the Trinity quote a lot the last couple of days, so I thought I would repost this piece from a few years ago. It’s still relevant:
I haven’t posted in the past two days because life has been full of more important things. As many of you know, we run two Emmanuel Houses: homes for older adults who are no longer capable of living alone and have limited support and no resources. This week three of the residents have been in the hospital and one at home passed on to be with the Lord. Two of our Sisters who work there are on vacation. It’s times like these when life can feel like it’s a bit too much. Yet we know that all is in God’s Providence. I meditate often on these words from Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity: “Everything that happens is for me a message of the excessive love of God for my soul.” And as Amy Carmichael would say: “Everything means everything.”
I love thinking about the words: “excessive love.” Wow.
Never oneself
Adrienne von Speyr has something insightful to offer regarding prayer and contemplation:
Whoever wishes to accommodate oneself to a new, living relationship to the Lord should consider that the Lord always spent a great deal of time reflecting upon the Father, but none in reflecting upon himself. The object of contemplation is always God, never oneself.
I would propose that we would gain what we really seek in prayer if we followed this advice.
Don’t panic
Witnesses to Hope 