Carrying Heavy Crosses

                “My Lord, my God, my Creator who knows everything, You know best what each of us needs on our journey to You. I think of those today whose burdens seem so heavy. I pray for them that rather than weaken under the weight of their crosses, that they can be strengthened and formed and thus shine with Your brilliant divine light of love.

                “I look at those heavily burdened people as Your chosen ones. You have selected them because they are able to stretch and grow while carrying their crosses, like Job in the Old Testament. You know their hearts and You know how beautiful they are. You know that by sending them down a path full of trials and tribulations, they will make it through with their hearts shaped and formed closer into Your image.

                “Dear Lord, Your journey as a man on earth began steeped in poverty, persecution and rejection as Mary and Joseph wandered through Bethlehem looking for a place to stay so Your dear mother could give birth to You, the Savior of the world. You could have paved the way of Your entrance into the world with honor, glory and protection but instead, You chose a path full of trials and tribulations and humbly set foot on earth through the womb of a woman in the quiet of a stable greeted only by Mary and Joseph and the beasts of burden You created to help serve Your beloved people. Your whole life was spent on the rocky path of trials and difficulties. The cross You carried at the end of Your human life was in essence, just a continuation of the cross You chose to bear throughout Your public ministry as You lovingly and patiently instructed Your people about Your Father’s will and great desire to spend eternity with all of humanity in great love. In Your awesome power, You could have delivered that message in such a way to instantly transform the hearts of all, but instead, You chose a more difficult way – You chose the cross. This is the example You have given us to follow.

                “Oh dear Lord, in Your wisdom and love, show us all how to be the people You created to dwell with You forever. May those You have chosen to carry heavy crosses see this as Your invitation to grow closer to You and to walk the path of trials and tribulations like You did. Instead of feeling burdened and reacting with sadness or anger, may they lovingly look up to You, allowing Your divine light to shine down on their faces. May they smile with joy and give You thanks for the crosses You have sent them. May they receive them with a grateful open heart, accepting the gift You send out of great love, knowing that it is exactly what that person needs at precisely that time. I pray that they can carry that cross joyfully into the blinding light You shine on their path to salvation and eternal life. Help me to see with Your eyes and to be like Veronica, wiping the faces of those carrying heavy crosses with love and compassion and a pure desire to help them make it to You.”

Marys and Marthas

                “Dear Lord, my loving Creator who made us all unique yet for the same purpose – to love You and to be loved by You, I humbly thank You for creating us with such diversity. There are Marys and Marthas in this world who love and serve You in such different yet vitally connected ways. (I am referring to Lk. 10:38-42, where he describes the sisters Mary and Martha who are entertaining Jesus in their home. Martha is working in the kitchen while her sister Mary listens to Jesus talking. Martha becomes a little frustrated that she is doing all the work while her sister listens to their guest.)

                "The Marys are those who stop everything to sit and listen, meditate and contemplate Your Word. They sit at Your feet with bright eyes and open ears, fully attentive, taking in every Word You send right to their hearts which are exposed, open and prepared to receive Your teaching. Marys don’t worry about what is going on outside of that exchange – they are focused on that moment of Your grace.

                “Marthas are the ones who make it possible for the Marys to stop everything and sit at Your feet. Marthas consider how best to prepare everyone else to receive Your Word. Marthas indirectly consider themselves in this process as well, but they are focused on creating an ideal environment, preparing the people and caring for You and those You have invited to share Your Word. Without the Marthas, the Marys would not experience Your blessings and grace as completely or purely.

                “The Marthas put everyone else first and for that I am very grateful. The Marys, so enriched, can then share these blessings and the beauty of these experiences of God’s teachings with the Marthas who have worked so hard to make this possible and for that I am very grateful.

                “Thank You Lord for the Marys and the Marthas who together, make Your presence manifest in everyone’s lives. Thank You for creating a balance of personalities in Your people so we can work together to create heaven on earth and to live out Your will in our lives as brothers and sisters united in Your name. I truly love the Marys and the Marthas as they both help us to see and hear You in our lives. Together, they complete the path to live out our purpose in life – to love You completely and to be loved completely by You.”

Bubbling Joy

                “Lord, today I feel great joy bubbling up inside me. It’s that joy a child feels when waiting in great anticipation for something great to happen: like the day before leaving for Disneyland, climbing in bed on Christmas Eve, the last day of school. It is that bubbling happiness that fills your inner self and bursts out in exuberant squeals of joy. I sense You are joyfully coming for all of us, I sense You are near.

                “This bubbling joy comes from You, my life spring. Through the Holy Spirit, You dwell deep in my soul like a fresh water spring under a small lake or pond. You have to go deep down inside the water to feel the cool source bubbling up. Oh beloved Holy Spirit, keep the spring flowing freely throughout my soul, purifying every inch of me and effervescing out through my heart in great bubbles of love and joy. May the smile that creeps across my face be the top of the fountain, overflowing with this bubbling water of love and joy.

                “Lord, may the smile I give to others be a source of Your love to share with all Your people. May that smile be like a light that shines right into the hearts of others, illuminating Your great love for them. May that love then bubble up through their souls, filling them with Your purifying water, resulting in a fountain of joy and love that causes them to smile as well, and then to share that joy with those around them.

                “Oh dear Lord, thank You for giving us such a beautiful intense gift that we can’t really define, we can only experience and share with others. I smile now enveloped in bubbling joy.”

I Offer You These Tiny Hands

                “My Lord, my God, I offer You these tiny hands of mine. In these tiny hands rests the many blessings You have given me. My hands hold the hands of others in a gesture of love, a conduit to pour the great love You give me to others around me. My hands hold this pen as a conduit between us to express my love for You and for You to teach me how You express Your love for me and for all Your beloved creations. You have blessed my hands with the ability to produce art, a mere representation of the beauty of Your creations. My hands hold Your sensitivity for the animals You created to be with us. Though the animals may not understand my speech, they understand my hands and sense Your love and kindness through them. My hands long to express the great love in my heart for You through all these means. My little hands also long to touch the hem of Your robe to be a conduit for Your love, mercy, power and healing touch. My little hands long to gently touch Your arm and send You all the love in my heart through that one touch. My little hands long to touch Your cheek, the way a child lovingly and simply touches his/her parents’ face, in a simple and pure gesture of love.

                “I think of Your beautiful hands, so cruelly pierced for us, yet so willingly done so for the love and obedience You showed to Your Father. My little tiny hands seem so insignificant and pale in comparison to Yours. I see my hands gently held in Yours, an angelic enveloping shrouded in grace. I see my hands melting into Yours. I see my heart and soul melting into You in that loving holy embrace. I offer You my tiny little hands, I offer You my mortal body You created, I offer You my mind that focuses all thought on adoring and contemplating You, I offer You my loving heart that You have awakened and poured in Your love,  I offer You my very soul that You created and infused with Your love and Your presence through the Holy Spirit. My Lord, My God, I offer You all of my tiny little self.”

Free Will

                 “Lord, sometimes I hate free will. Why can’t we just be good and loyal servants to You from beginning to end? I know You created us to have free will but so many times, our free will becomes an obstacle to reaching You. It is so hard to watch my own children make a poor choice. I see where they are headed by making that choice and I want to scream, ‘NO!’ but they do it anyway. I realize that You don’t want us to be robots, preprogramed to do Your will; that is a dead empty way to live. So I get it, when we choose one way or another, the choice gains life and meaning, either good or bad. I think of the times my children randomly made a good choice completely on their own and how happy it made me, whether it was cleaning their rooms, helping me with chores or reaching out to someone in need. When it comes from their own hearts, it somehow means more. It reveals an act of love which becomes a thing of beauty.

                “I can see now how free will is so important to You for us. So how do I match my free will to You? By loving You completely? If my heart and soul belong to You, then my mind and body belong to You as well. When our hearts are joined in true love, then my will is completely focused on pleasing You. My free will turns to You like a great ship turning to its destination. The stronger my will is, the bigger the boat and the harder to steer but when the compass points to You, the sails are let out, the engines are put at full steam ahead and the ship sails straight to Your heart. If I am the captain of my ship, I command all of it to head to You, my Lord, my king, and that command is my choice freely given, a choice made out of pure love for You.

                “Okay, I guess I love free will after all.”