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