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.”

Am I Prepared to Bow Before You?

“My Lord, my God, I humbly bow my head and place myself in Your holy presence. I know I want to be here with You and yet sometimes, I hesitate because I feel I am not ready and I am unprepared to bow before You, to open my heart and to receive all You wish to send me. The enemy clouds my mind with these thoughts of unworthiness and unpreparedness. Are we ever truly ready to bow in Your presence? Ready by our standards is so far from ready by Your standards.

“You say to come to You all those who are weary and need rest. I foolishly think I am too tired to hear and absorb Your words, I think my exhaustion clouds my understanding - I will wait until I am rested. I forget that it is in the state of exhaustion that I am most ready to hear Your voice, too tired to listen any more to the distracting voices of the world and hungry for the clear sound of Your truth. I forget that You will give me the rest I need in my heart and soul as I bow before You. Your rest is far more effective than my rest. You rejuvenate my soul and invigorate my heart to pick up my mat and rise again.

“You say come to me those who are sad and mourning and wish for joy and peace. I foolishly think I am too focused on my own sadness to come before You. I think I must not bring my self love and self pity before You. I think that I alone can take me out of myself and that secretly feeds my pride. I also try to hide my sadness, I think I have no right to be sad, but by trying to look away from the sadness, to suppress it somehow instead of facing it with You, I bind myself to the sorrow and remain self serving. I forget that You want to take my sadness and help me grow with it, transforming me and turning my gaze from inward to upward to You. You beg me to come to You with that sadness and mourning so that You can illuminate its cause and transform it into joy.

“You say to come to You all those who are lost and let You light the path You have chosen for them. You earnestly call out to me especially when I am lost, despondent, wandering, questioning, wondering how to take the next step and to recognize the path You wish for me. I foolishly think I am too confused and scattered in my thoughts to bow my head and listen. I foolishly think that somehow, I can turn myself in the right direction first and then I will find You. My pride becomes my guide instead of You and I foolishly wait to ask for Your help until I am really lost in the dark. I forget that You cry out to me long before I try to find my own way, to guide me before I become lost or unsure of which way to go.

“You say to come to You all those who stumble and fall so that You can lift them up. I foolishly hesitate as my pride tells me I shouldn’t have fallen in the first place. Somehow, I think I am supposed to be better than that and yet, I forget the humility that joins us all as sinners who frequently fall. No, You don’t want us to fall but You know that we will and You want to help us, to cover us in Your mercy so You can lift us up again and again. When I fall, I am reminded of how much I need You. If I don’t turn to You when I fall, then I foolishly think I don’t need You and I try to step up on my own.

“Oh dear Lord, though I never feel prepared to bow before You, help me always to run to You. Help me to bring the worst of me and to place it at the foot of Your cross and to ask for Your loving touch. That is all the preparation I need. Help me to avoid “over preparing” myself. Instead, may my preparation be simply to allow myself to be transformed by You, with You, before You, in You. The only preparation I need is to bow my head and humbly say, “God I need You.”