I am in My Father

            “I am in my Father and you are in me and I am in you,” Jn 14:20.

“This is precisely what we were all made for. We feel a deep longing in our souls because at the moment, we are here on earth, physically separated from our heavenly Father and from the Trinitarian love we crave. Jesus promises that we will all be together for eternity but while we live here on earth, He gives us two ways to be one with Him: 1) the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the pure spirit of love that He sent to be with us after He ascended into heaven and, 2) the Eucharist, His blessed body and blood in a form we can see, touch and actually take into our bodies and assimilate into every cell. Jesus knows our longing for Him - it is like His longing for His Father. He didn’t abandon us when He ascended, He left us spiritual and physical parts of Him so that we could all be one, to help satisfy this deep longing we all have. We must remember that we are all one through Jesus.      

                “Our hope lies in the resurrected Lord. That is our source of joy. We live a holy life here, following the Ten Commandments out of love for God, preparing us for the future eternal life with our resurrected Lord. Our love for Him keeps us persevering and loving Him, living a holy life to honor Him and to prepare for a future with Him. When we love Jesus, we also love the Father and He loves us as well; and even though we don’t see Him and don’t understand, we walk here with the Holy Spirit who guides us, instructs us and helps us live in this holy love. We can never lose hope. The Lord resurrected, conquered death and lives on preparing a place for each of us for all eternity. This what we hope for, to be reunited with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit through Jesus, to be in Him as they are in each other and as He is in us.”

Help me Wander the World

                “My Lord, my God, my heavenly King, Your ascension into heaven gives me great joy and great hope yet I too would be standing there, looking intently at the sky, hanging on every last word You said, as You ascended on a cloud into the sky. I wouldn’t be able to take my eyes off the last place I saw You The voices of the men in white garments asking me why I am still standing there looking into the sky wouldn’t avert my gaze. I would be transfixed, waiting, just as I often find myself now in prayer. I am waiting for You and there are times I don’t want to move from my spot, like a loyal dog waiting for his master’s return.

                “Dear Lord, help me remember that You haven’t left us as orphans. You are with us always through the Holy Spirit. Help me remember that You dwell in the hearts of all Your people. Help me look for You just as earnestly in the world You created all around me and in all Your people. Help me remember that if I stay transfixed in one spot, I will have missed Your presence in a million places. Help me remember Your final words to Your disciples as You ascended, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,” Mt 28:19 and to fulfill that mission, I have to wander throughout the world.

                “May I also be filled with hope as I remember Your words, “And behold, I am with You always, until the end of the age,” Mt 28:20. Help me remember that You will return just as You ascended and may I be able to recognize and greet You with intense joy and love as my heavenly King wherever and whenever You choose to reveal Yourself.”

Holy Spirit, Inflame our Souls

“My Lord, my God, my heavenly King, as we near Pentacost Sunday, my thoughts focus on the gift of the Holy Spirit. I don’t fully understand it, but I am very grateful for this gift You freely give to all humanity. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for Your beloved apostles and Your blessed Mother to watch You ascend to heaven. They must have been filled with emotions of awe, joy, and splendor mixed with sadness, longing, hope and a great sense of reverence. The sense of hope must have been the strongest though because that is what keeps us looking to the future and the promise of us all being together once again.

“You know the longing in our hearts and minds so You didn’t leave us as orphans, You sent the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the Advocate, to guide us, to shape us, to permeate our souls and to be with us at all times as we live out our lives on earth. The Holy Spirit unites us and forms us into one body, the Church, and unites us to You and through You, to the Father. The Holy Spirit inflames our souls with the great love that flows through the Trinity. My feeble mind cannot clearly define how the Holy Spirit works or what exactly it does but my burning heart longs for You through the Holy Spirit. I am enlightened and strengthened by the Holy Spirit every day as He reveals Your presence in everything I encounter.

“Oh Holy Spirit, blow through my heart and soul, open all my inner senses and inflame me with holy passion. Make us all one and may our hearts beat as one holy Catholic and apostolic Church that loves, honors and glorifies our Lord, our God, our heavenly King.”