Something to read when you are having trouble forgetting and letting go . . . “When Winds Blow and Love Tries to Hold On” by Ann Voskamp.
It is bliss
I am re-reading Ida Friederike Görres’s book on St. Thérèse, The Hidden Face. I read the sentence below this morning, a general statement about a happy childhood. What struck me is that it is, in fact, the description of the experience God means for all of us to have as we grow into the stature of being His child. It is such an excellent description of the love of God for us:
It is bliss simply to be someone’s child, child of a father, of a mother, living, moving and having its being in a love which is unmerited, unmeritable, anticipatory, unconditional and immutable.
No matter what our own experiences of our parents, this is still absolutely and unequivocally true for each of us as a child of God the Father. If you have a minute, read the sentence again slowly, pondering each of those words: “unmerited, unmeritable, anticipatory, unconditional and immutable.” There is a lifetime of meditation there. Let yourself taste a bit of the bliss.
The storehouse of our mind
When you find yourself in the middle of a trial, is there a verse from Scripture that wells up from your heart to sustain you? I hope that is the case for you. Amy Carmichael writes about the importance of filling the “storehouse of our mind” with the riches of the Scriptures so that we may find strength in time of need.
1 Cor 1.3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort.
In one of his letters, Adolph Monod tells how he found in his hardest moments that it was enough to take firm hold on a single promise. It sustained him the the sorest difficulties. He loved the words Father of Compassions, as 2 Corinthians 1.3 has it in French.
When one is in great pain or trouble, or caught suddenly by fierce temptation, it is the word of strength or comfort that is set deep in the memory that takes life. It speaks in a new tone, and becomes to us at that moment more than we could have ever believed it would be. John 14.26 explains this: But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost . . . He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
So let us fill the storehouse of our mind with the treasure of God’s word. Every day offers opportunities. When we go to bed tonight, let us think, “What treasure did I put in my storehouse today?”
” . . . slain with such fire of love”
“St. Catherine of Siena ‘speaks of the crucified Jesus as “slain with such fire of love. . . as seems insatiable. Yet still he thirsts, as if saying: ‘I have greater ardor and desire and thirst for your salvation that I am able to show you, [even] with my Passion.’ ” Catherine could only descrive the God she encountered as ‘crazed with love.'” (from Mother Teresa’s Secret Fire by Fr. Joseph Langford)
Seeing ourselves through the eyes of God
Magnificat has added a monthly feature written by Heather King (Parched) commenting on a particular feast of the month. I thought I would share an excerpt from her piece on the Presentation:
To present our experiences at the temple is to sacramentalize them. To present our experiences is to recognize that all experience, from the smallest to the largest, has a supernatural dimension. We offer our experiences on the altar of the fact that we are loved just as we are, and that everything that happens to us is an opportunity to draw closer to Christ. We present ourselves at the temple because our lives, our work, our sacrifices are not ourown.
Before we present ourselves at the temple, we see ourselves through the eyes of the world. After we present ourselves at the temple, we see ourselves through the eyes of God.
Outside of the temple, for example, I am an aging spinster, alone and unloved. Inside, I am a woman rich in insight, wisdom, and friends. I’m reminded that I have a unique and special mission. Before we ‘present’ our drug-addicted son at the temple, we are crazy with worry. We feel like failures as parents, that our life’s work has gone for naught. After presenting him at the temple, we remember that we have given our very best, that love is never wasted or lost, that our child is in the hands of God. In fact, that is exactly what Mary and Joseph did with Jesus.
The Shepherd knows what pastures are best for his sheep
From a devotional book first published in 1884. (Don’t you love old books?) Here is the entry for January the thirty-first.
Prov 3.6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.
Ps 23.2 He leads me.
In “pastures green”? Not always; sometimes He
Who knoweth best, in kindness leadeth me
In weary ways, where heavy shadows be.
So, whether on the hill-tops high and fair
I dwell, or in the sunless valleys, where
The shadows lie, what matter? He is there. (Henry H. Barry)
The Shepherd knows what pastures are best for his sheep, and they must not question nor doubt, but trustingly follow Him. Perhaps He sees that the best pastures for some of us are to be found in the midst of opposition or of earthly trials. If He leads you there, you may be sure they are green for you, and you will grow and be made strong by feeding there. Perhaps He sees that the best waters for you to walk beside will be raging waves of trouble and sorrow. If this should be the case, He will make them still waters for you, and you must go and lie down beside them, and let them have all their blessed influences upon you. (Hannah Whitehall Smith)
“But take comfort”
A bit of a balm for those who are fearful:
Jer 39.17: But I will deliver you on that day, says the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid.
What is the thing you most fear and most earnestly pray about, the thing that you most dread? If you love your Lord and yet know your own weakness, it is that something may happen to sweep you off your feet, or that your strength may be drained and you may yield and fall, and fail Him at the end. The lives of many are shadowed by this fear.
But take comfort. The God who knew the heart of His servant Ebed-melech knows our heart too. He knows who the men are (what the forces of trial are) of whom we are afraid. And He assures us and reassures us. The Bible is full of “Fear nots.” You shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. (Amy Carmichael)
“Nothing could frighten me”
Do you ever find yourself often afraid of that which could be the best for you? You fight against the very one who would be your biggest help. Today’s Sunday-poem addresses that very thing.
The Voice
I am afraid of silence. I am afraid
Of my own soul. I am afraid of hearing
A voice–one voice above all voices–made
Clear in the silence. I shall grow old fearing
This silence that goes with me wherever I go.
I cannot keep it in or bar it out.
Always within, around, above, below,
It beats upon me. I am hedged about
Most utterly. Surrounded. Yet I raise
Even now a futile barrier of sound
Against the voice in silence I dispraise,
Against the voice I dread that hems me round;
To which, did I but listen, I should be
Afraid of nothing. Nothing could frighten me.
Sr. Maris Stella
A good old hymn
Sometimes an old hymn is just what we need to lift up our hearts and souls. So many of the old hymns are laced with Scripture, and singing them speaks much deeper to our hearts than we know. (God’s word always goes much deeper than we know.) Here is a beautiful rendition of O God, Our Help in Ages Past (with subtitles so you can sing along!).
The reason why singing is such a splendid shield against the fiery darts of the devil is that it greatly helps us to forget him, and he cannot endure being forgotten. He likes us to be occupied with him, what he is doing (our temptations), with his victories (our falls), with anything but our glorious Lord. So sing. Never be afraid of singing too much. We are much more likely to sing too little. (Amy Carmichael)
What God can bring out of a storm
There are a lot of solar storms at the moment, but look at the stunning beauty produced by them: Solar Storms Trigger Northern Lights. The point being: think about what God can bring out of the storms in your life. Think about it.
Witnesses to Hope 