Don't Keep Him To Yourself

There are a lot of people who say their relationship with God is between that person and God only. They do not like to share their experiences of Him with anyone. I think that sharing your relationship with God is a good thing. I have found that when you share your experiences with others you not only help people to know God who may never have really given Him a second thought, but maybe you will be able to help others hearts want  to turn to Him more or maybe turn to Him for the first time. When you have someone special in your life one of the first things you do is tell others and share that relationship with people. You are happy and excited and would like others to know about that person. You are not ashamed to let others know about them. Same thing here with your relationship with God. Share all you can about all that He has done for you in your life. You are giving Him glory by your witness. If people see how excited and happy you are to have Him in you life had that you keep close to Him you may be able to help someone that just might be in need of Him but was maybe to afraid to get close to Him or try to have relationship with Him. When others see how He has moved in your life that could be the moment that the other person will make a choice to want to get to know God and that key moment just might help to save their soul from something they may be going through that would otherwise make them lose their soul. I say let everyone know about your love for God and how good He has been to you. One of the greatest gifts you could ever give to someone is that witness of God in your life. That other person could just be needing that key moment of your sharing that will save them for eternity and help them to love our creator with all their hearts too. Peace  T

Losing A Beloved Creature

Death is a hard thing to deal with when it comes to a family member, a friend or even a pet. You can turn to friends and family to help comfort you and that is a great thing. Turning to God in a time like this is even more important. No one else can understand death or why a person or pet has to die. Its hard to find real comfort in a situation like this. God is the only one who knows when death will happen to someone we love or our beloved pet that has brought so much companionship in our lives and unconditional love. I think that God puts people into our lives for a certain reason and we may not know what that reason is but when its been accomplished then sometimes its time for that person to be taken out of our lives by death or walking out of our lives. God created all things and He puts His creatures into our lives such as pets. We are charged with watching over them, protecting them and caring for them. In turn they show us love back and are great companions for us. We are meant to treat Gods creatures with respect and love especially when He has entrusted that creature to us. When it is time for God to take that creature back we need to try and give it back to Him with total trust that the time He meant for that creature to spend with us is over. We should feel very blessed to have been entrusted to being the care taker of that creature. I know its hard for a lot of people to lose a loved one and that goes for pets as well believe me I know. Our pets show us love and scenes when we are feeling sad, mad and happy. They have some kind of awareness that is in tuned to us and why shouldn't they, we are all created by God and have that connection of love. When the time comes that God is taking back that little creature from you and you know you have done the best job you could at taking care of that creature, make sure you thank God for Him entrusting you as care taker of that special creature and give thanks that that special pet was in your life for as long as was allowed. I know I will always treasure the time that was given to me with my special little creature and she will always be in my heart. Love never ends, it lives on always.

Read, Ponder, Imagine.

There are some people that do not like to read the Bible because they find in boring or they don't understand it at times. I will admit that some parts of it are a bit hard to understand but it is far from boring. The word of God is alive through all of time. What I like to do when I read the Bible is read it carefully. Then I like to ponder on what I just read to help it sink in. Then I like to imagine the whole scene I just read. How the people looked, how they lived and how the area might have looked.  Getting a living scene in my mind as I read through the Scriptures helps me to really get a good concept of what is going on or what lesson is being focused on. I find that when I do this it takes me back in time and then the Scripture comes alive for me in a special way. At first it may not be easy to do but once you are able to do it you will be surprised how into the Bible you will get. What is awesome is that it not just applied to that time but it applies to the present time. It is awesome to know that these people were listing to Jesus in the flesh on the Sermon on the Mount or during one of the big gatherings as he preached or at the wedding at Cana. Its amazing to know that we can be taught by Jesus or the Apostles as if they were right in front of us. Try to imagine the sounds, the smells, the landscapes and throng of people and I grantee you that your Bible reading will be such a profound experience that your reading of the Scriptures will take on a new level of meaning for you in your heart. Peace. T

Turn To God

Turing back to God in this day and age is something I consider very strongly. There are a lot of things in life that can bring you down or lead you in the wrong direction. Turning in and relying on yourself is not always a great Idea. People often feel alone and on their own. When you turn to God for help and abandon yourself to Him completely you will not feel alone. He will guide you and lead you in directions that are good for you. You will also be on the right path of life and not of death. To many people feel alone and confused. Just drifting around in the wind in all directions. That is not good.  It makes you feel unsure of life and what your purpose is. We are here to know, love and serve God. We are not the ultimate, God is and when you let Him lead you, you will not be disappointed. You nor I have to go through life on our won with no help. It is fine to let others help you, no doubt about that. But when you leave God out and follow man only chances are you will be lead wrong. Now is the perfect time to turn you heart to God and depend on Him. He has created you and me and we need to never throw Him out of your life thinking we can do this without Him. Giving myself to God and depending on Him has helped me to get my life together and I can say that I do not  get depressed or very worried since I rely on God to lead me and help me as I go about life. It is beautiful to rely on Him and even though you do not see Him physically you will feel Him in your heart and see Him with the eyes of you soul. You can not rely on your physical eyes on this one. But with the eyes of your heart ans soul believe me you can see Him and He will make Himself known to you. God loves you because you are His and He waits for each of us to turn to Him and and love Him without reserve and put Him first in your life. If you put Him first in your life He will give you everything else you need to make it in this life. Please turn you to Him ans set your heart on Him and you will not be disappointed. You can count on Him always. Peace. T

Offer It Up

Offer it up was a statement that took me a while to understand. When I had a problem, pain, a difficult situation some people would tell me to "offer it up." My thought was "huh what are you talking about?" When  I finally understood what it meant, that is exactly what I started to do when difficulty or pain came into my life. I understood it to be that you can take these opportunities to suffer with Jesus. We could never of course go through what He went through for us but in a small way we can join our sufferings to His and this will give us the strength we need to get through our difficult times. It helps me to be able to not complain so much and endure it with a little more patients than normal. Instead of wallowing in misery, I am able to say "I join my suffering to yours Jesus for sinners, those that are persecuted or for our Church." Not only do we have an opportunity to suffer along side Jesus in our little way but we also have the opportunity to use our pain or suffering for a grater purpose, like a prayer. Don't be surprised if your pain may increase a little. Just know that God is working with what you are giving to Him for a greater purpose. What an awesome opportunity to be used by God in this way. If we allow ourselves to be a vessel He can bring great good out of what we offer to Him and in union with Him. You also may find that you will not have a tough time getting through your pain or suffering. You may also find that you will be able to get through it with more patients than normal because you are joining yourself with Jesus willingly and out of love. I cant think of any better way to get through pain and suffering than going through it willingly out of love with Jesus. Peace T

The Stations of the Cross Helps You Focus on Jesus

The Stations of the Cross is has been a good devotion for me to pray every Friday. It helps me to thin more in depth of the Passion of our Lord. When you concentrate on each station in depth you get more of an understanding of what Jesus went through for us. There may be times when you feel dry but keep on making every effort to pray through the entire prayer. One you start to feel in your heart all of the sufferings that Jesus went through for you, you will start to have a change in your heart and become more aware of what you are ding and how you are acting. For me it makes me try all the harder to please Jesus and keep my self on track with Him. We owe everything to God but with all the distractions the world has to offer we lose at times our path to God. The Station of the Cross is a good way to keep yourself not only close to God but it helps you to want to make every effort to walk on the right path with Jesus. You will start to love Him even more because you will start to realize how much He loves you by freely going through all those sufferings for the salvation of your soul. For me it makes me not want to have let Jesus go through all that He did for nothing. Its a shame that He payed the price for a countless number of souls only to have a lot of them turn away from Him and just seem to throw it back in His face. For me I dear not do such a thing and so the Stations of the Cross help to keep me in line with God and Jesus who is the source of my love, life and reason for living. Maybe for others who get into this devotion will have their lives changed in a dramatic way and help them to be more aware of how they should be going about life. Never miss an opportunity to grow in the love of God and never cease to allow your love for God to grow stronger. Don't let anything get in the way of that. The Stations of the Cross will help you to accomplish that missing love in your heart that only God can fill. Peace  T

Humility Before God

Being Humble before God for some may be a little hard but before others it can really be a chore. Being humble does not mean you need to be a door mat. True humility can bring you closer to God and make you rely on Him and His guidance more. We like to take charge of every thing and think that we know best for ourselves when in reality most of the choices we make hurt us or get  us into deep trouble. St. Francis thought of himself as little and next to nothing before other and especially before God. He as mocked and ridiculed but he did not stick back at those people. He thanked them for there admonishments. How hard is that? Very hard. If you are able to treat those who talk about you or make false climes against you with kindness or at least with some kindness you might be surprised that they may just stop and appologis because they will recognize they are in the wrong or that they have hurt you. It helps to be able to practice being humble by praying for God's help to change you heart towards others. God will help you in so many ways that you would never have thought of if you pray to Him and ask His guidance in honest and senescence prayer. There is nothing that he can not get you through. I know my patience has been tried many time just like everyone else. But I have been able to use these kinds of incidences as a form of penance. Offering your silence or a kind return on your part to that person can be set for a penance of some kind for yourself or maybe for another. Sometimes I like these moments because with God's help you can turn something bad into something useful such as a penance. Try it some time and believe me you will not only be able to deal with the situation better but you will also be able to gain a penance for yourself or for someone else. After all when Jesus was being scourged at the pillar, crowned with thorns,  carrying his cross or being crucified  He did not stick back bu prayed to God for those who mocked, ridiculed and hurt Him. What an awesome example He laid out for us to follow. Peace T

Practice Forgiveness

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiving you, so must you also do. And over all these put on love, that is , the bond of perfection. (Colossians 3: 12-14)

Forgiving someone who has hurt you or done you wrong is very difficult. I know for me it was almost unthinkable at one time. If some one hurt me or wronged me my reaction was wrong you back and never peak to you again. As I got closer to God all that changed. I was able to finally see that it is important to forgive others and still love them because they are a part of the human family and a creature of God. We may not always like someone however we should be able to love others because they are fellow human beings. When you are able to reach that point forgiving people is a little bit more easy. Just as the passage says "you must forgive as God has forgiven you". How can we expect forgiveness from God when we can not even forgive another person who God has created. I may not like what some one has done to me but I know in my heart that I could not hate that person and I must forgive them if I plan to really and whole heatedly follow the teachings of Christ. It doesn't mean to become a doormat, but we should never hesitate to forgive  a person as soon as possible. Holding on to forgiveness only means that you will hold a grudge and fester on inner misery until you are able to show forgiveness. I know for a fact that if I wait a while to forgive some one I do not feel comfortable and I harbor a bit of meanness and animosity towards that person. That is no way to live. Some people will start to lash out in anger or spew mean and cruel remarks that only lead to a deeper division and pull you further away from God and His teachings and commandments. That is no way to live. Full of anger and hate. Practicing forgiveness no matter how hard it seems will help you draw closer to God and be more charitable towards others. The world is full of hate and bitterness. It is full of the "I" syndrome. Forgive others for the love of God and His creatures. Why not be an example and a light to others who see you being loving and respectful of others. You may also lead someone to God by your good example. Live in true humility and love as God has created you out of love. Peace T

Make Your Love Known For God

Never be afraid to show the public that you love God and are making every effort to follow Him and not the world. A lot of people are afraid of what other s will think of them when people find out that you like to live for Jesus's teachings. You might worry about what others will think or say about you. Don't worry about that.  To be counter cultural is better than going with which ever way the wind blows and what ever fad it in fashion for that week. That type of life leads to unhappiness and unfulfilled. Its gets boring and then your heart becomes wrestles. Why is this? Because you and I were made by God to love Him and serve Him. Once you throw Him out of your life dissatisfaction sets in no matter what you do. You can trick yourself into thinking you are happy with your life but deep down you really are not. There is something that is wrestles that is going on deep down. That is because in your heart God has written His Divine Law in your heart. Open yourself up to His love and law and all things will fall into place and you no longer will have a darkness hovering over you. St. Francis was not afraid to change his life in a dramatic way. People made fun of him but he was not ashamed  by that nor did he ever think of giving up and going back to his old self. He had the courage to go against how the world thought he should live because he knew that God loved him and that he truly loved God and he knew God would never leave him to himself. For myself I don't let others talk me out of loving God and being counter cultural. If I get made fun of sure it hurts but it would never make me change  the fact that I would rather live for God and not the world. All that the world hold in esteem  is counter to God and for me draws no interest. Living for God and showing other that I am not embarrassed to mention His name or talk about Him may just help someone else to rethink of the direction they are heading in. We need to be courageous in this time to show that we are not part of the world nor do we bow down to it. Living for God and His truth is and should not be something you need to or think you should hide. Or only show it in you home or in Church. You should live it all day every day and every where you go. Be a courageous witness for God and show others that you belong to Him. He will give you the strength to help you endure what others may throw at you. If it be insults or threats or maybe just being made fun of, God will see you through it. There is nothing shameful in loving God and making it known. God love you no matter what. We should be able to do the same and it should come easy. The love that is shared between you and God is stronger and more meaningful than the love you could ever share with any fellow human being. There is nothing wrong with loving some one but yous and my first love should be God. Love God and be eager to make it know that you belong to Him. Peace T

Following Jesus Can Be Difficult

Making every effort to follow Jesus and His teachings in the world can be difficult at times. Unfortunately there are a lot of people that once meet with adversity decide to stop trying to live for Christ and go back to living for the world and what the world view as acceptable. I say do not shrink and follow what the world tells you what is right and what is wrong. The word is often wrong and will lead you into a worse condition that what you may already be in. Keep your eyes focused on Christ and you will be able to make it through the tough criticism of friends, family and strangers. Sometimes they will say things that will hurt you feelings. Some people will get mad because you are standing up for truth and the teachings of Christ. Most of the time these people are in a bad place and knowing that you are trying to do the right thing and follow God they will be upset because they know that most of what they are doing is wrong. They may need some kind of justification to the wrongs they are doing to make them selves feel better. You pointing out tho them the wrong doing will make those people get a bit hostile towards you. If that is the case pray not just for them but also for yourself. you need a lot of consolation from God to be able to uphold what is right. It is no fun to have people get angry at you for trying to follow what is right but when you think about it, its a lot better to do right by God that a fellow human being who makes a lot of mistakes and often times loves to treed down the wrong path. It takes a lot of courage on your part to up hold your values and desires to please God and not man. So prayer is a huge essential in life to be able to weather those storms and proceed with your mission to work for and with God. God does not change and is never wrong or misleading but people often are. There are a lot of good people out there trying to do the right thing and it is not easy in this day and age but the Apostles faced a lot of difficulties as well for Christ and His teaching and they persevered through it and won their place in Heaven. I would rather follow Chris and His teachings than those ideas and opinions of man. So if you are living for God and facing opposition remember to pray a lot for those people and for yourself and God will see you through the difficulties. As long as you remain faithful to Him, He will in turn be faithful to you. The opinion and judgment of man means nothing, the judgment of God means everything. Be faithful. Peace. T

Letting Yourself Go to God.

Taking a leap of faith and letting yourself go with Gods guidance is hard to do at times. We are so used to doing and accomplishing thing in the physical.  Most of us have the seeing is believing mode locked into us. But once you are able to let go of that you start to see that you are not just hoping and grasping at straws in the dark. You can can tell that God is helping you in your problem or what ever situation you are going through at the time. It took me a long time to be able to see things with my heart and not with my physical eyes. When I ask for Gods help and guidance it literally like asking someone who is right in front t of your for help. I can feel Him there with me guiding me through certain time in my life when I seek His help. You have to really open your heart and know that He is going to help you and be there for you. How do you know? You know when you see Him with and hear Him with the eyes and ears of your heart and soul. Its is awesome to be able to see Him working in you life. I have to learn how to let go of my physical senses and use my inner senses. It is very hard to do at first but when you are in love with God, the kind of love that nothing will get in the way of it or take you away form it He will give you Himself in a way that you can not mistake that He is with you. Its an awesome relationship and it is very real. I start by praying about what ever it is that I need His help with then after that I let it go knowing that He is right there with me and He takes it from there. First you have to trust in Him before all others and know that He is there and will help you through things. Of course I still ask my family for advice that is completely normal and then I sit in prayer and and talk to God and let Him take care of the rest. Once you are able to do this, He will work things out for you in such a way that it can not be mistaken that He has arranged it for you and you will be completely at peace. Its very unmistakable and very peaceful.  Peace  T

Prayer/Conversation

Pray is such a good way to have a conversation with God. During prayer time I feel as though I am with God and He is teaching me through the Liturgy of the Hours office or through praying the Rosary as I concentrate on the Mysteries of His life. It helps me to realize all the He went through for me and all mankind. IF I am feeling bad or annoyed about something it is during prayer that He will allow me to realize the reason why I had a certain trial during the day. During prayer time for me is when He instructs me on how I should live and act towards others. St. Francis was in constant prayer and he was able to keep close to God in his life. Jesus was in constant prayer. He always took time to go off by Himself and speak with God no matter where he was. Also another great way to converse with God for me is when I do a Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament. I will say a few prayers and then I will keel or sit quietly for a while. It was had for me to do at first but after several times it got easier. I noticed that when i stay quiet and keep my mind set on God I will be able to hear Him in my heart helping me through what ever it is I am going through and then I have a lot of peace afterwards. For me that took a lot of time to learn how to stay that quiet and be able to listen not with my physical ears bu with he ears of my heart. Not easy to do but once you learn how to do this the council you receive is awesome. Prayer can change so many things in life but there are too many people who do not take the time for this type of conversation with God and thy are missing out on so much. Life can get busy with all our problems and distractions but when you truly take time to set aside for Him things will start to fall in place and He will start to guide you in directions you never thought possible. Pray often and then listen with your heart. Its amazing. Peace  T

Praying the Rosary

Praying the Rosary is one of my favorite prayers. It is another way to keep the Gospel on your mind. The Rosary is very Scriptural. Some people may say no its not or how can that be. Well lets look at each set of the four  Mysteries that make up the Rosary. The first set of Joyful Mysteries focus on the Annunciation of the Arch Angel Gabriel and the Birth of Jesus. His presentation in the Temple and Jesus being lost for three days. The second set of Mysteries are the Luminous Mysteries which focus on the Jesus's baptism, His first miracle of turning water into wine, His proclaiming of the Kingdom of God, His Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, and His Institution of the Eucharist. The third set of Mysteries are the Sorrowful Mysteries focus on His Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, the Scourging of Jesus at the pillar, His Crowning with Thorns, the Carrying of the Cross on His way to Mount Calvary and His Crucifixion on the Cross. The fourth set of Mysteries are the Glorious Mysteries which focus on Jesus's Resurrection on the third day, His Ascension into heaven, the sending of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the Assumption of His Blessed Mother and the Coronation of His Blessed Mother. Praying Scripture throughout the week. What an awesome way to pray and think about the birth, life and death of our Lord. For me it helps to keep in mind how much God loves us that he sent His only begotten Son to us to teach us and directly and then give His life for us. If you are able to pray the Rosary along with each Scripture verse that corresponds with each Mystery you get more of an understanding of how the Rosary is in fact a Scriptural prayer. I also bet that once you start making the Rosary a part of your daily prayer, you will see a difference in your life. You will start to want to follow Jesus more and want to read Scripture more as well. What a beautiful way to contemplate Jesus. Pax et Bonum! T    

Life's Challenge as a Secular Franciscan

The challenges of life as a Secular Franciscan very at times. As an OFS we are called to live in the world but not be part of it. We are to live the Gospel in our secular state at all times.  In order to be able to do this you need to start the day with prayer. The Liturgy of the Hours is a great way to start and end the day. Praying the Liturgy of the Hours in the morning helps you to get focused on God and through out your day you will be able to keep God on your mind all day. Especially when your day gets to be very trying. As your day ends its a good idea to do an examination of conscience and then pray the Liturgy in the evening and it will help you to end your day with God again on your mind. Prayer and prayer and again prayer help to sustain our commitment as a Secular Franciscan and enables us to stay true to our commitment in the OFS.