Softly, just Be love

“A God who became so small could only be mercy and love.”  - St. Therese

                A thought came to my mind as I was driving home from a prayer meeting Saturday morning, during Advent – just be love.  I was moved to tears by Father Pat Martin’s homily.  I didn’t care if anyone saw me crying in the choir bleachers.

            Father Pat talked about God’s goodness, love, and mercy upon us, even when we don’t deserve it.  This truth hit a chord deep inside me.  Twice now, in the past week, in prayer, Jesus and Mary blessed me with all the gifts and all the fruits of the Holy Spirit, even though I am so far removed from deserving them.  It is only out of God’s great goodness, mercy, and love that He blesses me.  The reason that God blesses me, as Father Pat said, is because God loves me!

This truth soaked into my heart and soul.  God loves me!

            Lately I have been most happy when I am emptied of myself, and allow Jesus and Mary to act through me.  I see myself, in prayer, like a little girl sitting on Mary’s lap, while Jesus speaks and acts through me.  Jesus told His Heavenly Father, in His agony in the garden, “not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39)  Jesus emptied Himself to do the will of His Father.

            To prepare my heart this Advent for the coming of Jesus on Christmas Day, I was called by the Lord to empty myself, to surrender my will, so I could do God’s will.  I heard on Catholic radio that the main reason we go to Mass is because we offer ourselves as a sacrifice along with Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross.  That made a lot of sense to me.  So, the next time I went to daily Mass, I surrendered my will to God as my sacrifice.  To confirm my surrendering, I saw with the eyes of my heart, Jesus, standing next to the alter with His feet in water.  He was holding a white Resurrection cloth, ready to baptize me in the water, in the Holy Spirit!  Later, during the Glorious mysteries of the rosary, Mary promised me that she would lead and guide me.  I prayed that I would only do God’s will in my life, every moment!                                      

            I’ve been understanding lately that God is already dwelling inside those who are cooperating with His Holy Spirit of love.  I don’t have to wait until I’m in heaven to be in union with God’s love!  God’s kingdom is already unfolding on earth every time someone recognizes God’s goodness, love, and mercy.

            I am like a house that God dwells in.  “Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but only say the Word, and my soul shall be healed.”  The kingdom of God is made of many houses, many souls, where God dwells in His love.

            I’ve been thinking about living life in the present, moment by moment, now that my fourth child is in college, and only my youngest child is living at home with my husband and I.  I’ve been thinking about living life slowly, mindfully – being aware of God’s holy presence, of God’s love for me every second of my life – allowing God’s goodness to dawn upon me – letting go of my miseries in God’s ocean of mercy – breathing in God’s new life in my heart and soul – just being still in the knowledge of God’s love for me – just being loved by God, just having my being in God’s love, just living in God’s love, just being love – just be love!

            If I could just be love, then all my thoughts and actions would be rooted in love.  “…that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”   (Ephesians 3:16-19)

            Just be love.  I don’t have to be anything else, but love.  I believe God wants to flood the world with His love.  God wants each and every precious soul that He created to know His love for them.  God wants us to be His love for each other.  God calls us just to be love!

            Frustrated after a couple of days of failing to be love, I got up in the middle of the night to pray.  Jesus invited me to enter into His Sacred Heart.  I asked Mary to intercede for me for the grace to do this, since I am so unworthy.  Jesus brought me to God Our Father.  I saw with the eyes of my heart a humongous Heart in the air, a mile wide, and a mile high, and as thick as the length of a football field!  It was God Our Father’s Heart, so enormous!  Wow!  When I crawled back into bed, I heard these words in my heart, “I want our hearts to beat as one!”  I understood that God wants everyone’s hearts in the whole world to beat as One!

            Two nights later, in prayer, I could see with the eyes of my heart that Jesus brought me the sun, and put it in my heart!  Then Jesus spoke to my heart, saying, “My Light in you is brighter than the sun!”  Praise God!

            At Christmas Eve Mass, as I was standing in line to receive Holy Communion, a little boy broke loose from his mother and scampered in front of me.  The man standing in line to my right, scooped him up in his grand-fatherly arms and held him for awhile before telling him to go back to his mother.  When I received Jesus in the host I saw with the eyes of my heart that Jesus was a little boy, just like the boy who ran in front of me!  In my mind, I held little Jesus in my arms, and embraced Him, and loved Him!  No wonder my heart needed to be softened with God’s goodness, love, and mercy during Advent – little Jesus was coming to BE with me!

            Jesus is pure love!  In order for me to be love, I need Jesus to be love inside me.  I need Jesus to be Himself inside me.  Praise God that we can receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist!

Jesus spoke the following words to Saint Faustina’s heart, “I expect from you, My child, a great number of souls who will glorify My mercy for all eternity.  My child, that you may answer My call worthily, receive Me daily in Holy Communion.  It will give you strength…” (Diary, 1489)  I can’t help thinking that my call, our call, is to be love for one another, and the most effective way to do this is to allow our hearts to be softened, so that we can worthily receive little Jesus Himself, the source of all goodness, mercy, and love, into our hearts!  Jesus, please be love in our hearts!  Jesus, please be YOU in our hearts!  Thank You, Jesus, for coming to us as a little boy to be with us on Christmas Day, and every day!  Praise God!

Purple Roses

                

                Mary, my holy Mother of God, has been waking me up in the middle of the night to pray for the forty young women of grace in our parish.  One night, her sweet presence was very strong.  She invited me to enter inside her Immaculate Heart.  I asked her for the grace to do this, since I am so unworthy.

                Mary spoke to my heart.  She said, “I clothe you in my Spouse, the Holy Spirit.”  I saw, in prayer, with the eyes of my heart, how she placed a light blue, transparent mantle, or robe, over me.  There were beautiful roses of grace on the bottom edge of the robe.

                Then Mary brought to me her Son in the form of a Holy Eucharist Host.  She gave me a spiritual communion!  In prayer, in my mind, I ate the Body of Christ, the Body of my Lord Jesus!  Praise God!

                Then I saw, with the eyes of my heart, forty Holy Eucharist Hosts imbedded into my robe.  Mary asked me to pray forty Hail Mary’s, which I did.  For each Hail Mary prayer that I prayed, Mary gave one of the Hosts, a spiritual communion, to one of the forty young women of grace!

                I noticed that there were forty gorgeous pink roses on the bottom edge of my robe.  Mary asked me to pray forty more Hail Mary’s so that she could give a rose of grace to each of the forty young women of grace.  I did!  I love being obedient to Jesus through Mary!

                Then Mary put forty small white daisies into my robe and asked me to pray forty more Hail Mary’s for each of the forty young women of grace.  With each daisy, Mary gave purity, humility, docility to the Holy Spirit, and holiness, to each of these precious daughters of God!  Praise God!

                I could see, with the eyes of my heart, that Mary’s mantle was covering all forty daughters of God.  I saw all the forty Hosts, forty pink roses, and forty white daisies in the bottom edge of her mantle, praise God!

                Then Mary presented me to her Son, Jesus, and He placed a blue-gray nun’s habit over the robe of the Holy Spirit I was wearing.  I could see, with the eyes of my heart, that the robe of the Holy Spirit was like an inner liner for the nun’s habit.  I could see the edges of the Holy Spirit robe under the nun’s habit, and the edges had roses of grace on them.  How beautiful!  Thank You, Jesus!  Thank you, Mary!  I love You, Jesus!  I love you, Mary!  Praise God!!

                In the middle of the next night, Mary called me to pray again.  This time, in prayer, Jesus held me in His arms like a little girl.  He invited me to enter inside His Sacred Heart.  I asked Mary to intercede for me for the grace to do this, since I am so unworthy!

                Jesus brought me to God, my Heavenly Father.  I felt very humble and small, and emptied of myself, and filled with Mary’s Immaculate Heart, and Jesus’ Sacred Heart.  My greatest desire was to do God’s Holy Will every moment of my life.

                God, my Father, blessed me with a halo, like the angels wear!  The halo helps me to know God’s loving Will!  I asked Mary to intercede for me so that I would always know God’s Will, and always be obedient to God’s Will.  Praise God!!!

                This morning, five days later, I prayed the Joyful Mysteries of the holy rosary in front of my “Our Lady of Guadalupe” statue in my bedroom on the tile floor.  Before I began the rosary, in prayer, I repented of my sins at the foot of the Cross.  I saw with the eyes of my heart, Jesus, standing in front of me.  He picked me up like a little girl, and held me to His Chest, and hugged me, and loved me.  I cried.  I was so sorry for my mistakes and my sins.  Jesus just loves me, and forgives me!

                Jesus drew me into His Love and His Peace, into His Sacred Heart.  I asked Mary, my holy Mother of God, to intercede for me for the grace to enter into Jesus’ Sacred Heart, since I am so unworthy.  Jesus walked beside me and held my little hand.  He brought me to see Mary, His Holy Mother.  As we were walking, I noticed the smell of roses.  I looked down, and we were walking on beautiful dark purple roses.  I could only see the heads of the roses since they were packed tight against each other.

                I understood that the deep purple roses were for the forty young women of grace!  The purple color comes from the fusion of the blue grace from Mary’s mantle, that she wears, and the red Precious Blood from Jesus’ Sacred Heart.  The purple roses represent the fusion of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  It is the union of the Love of Jesus and the Love of Mary!

                Mary is blessing each of the forty young women of grace with this beautiful Love of Jesus and Mary!  These forty purple roses also represent these forty daughters of God filled with the love of Jesus and Mary!  Praise God!!!

Purple Baked Goods

                It all started with a group email request from my dear friend for purple baked goods.  She was facilitating a Young Women of Grace retreat Friday and Saturday at our parish, and needed to feed these hungry teen-agers, ages twelve to eighteen.  I had fanciful thoughts of experimenting in my kitchen with red and blue food coloring.  That was my will, but God had other plans for me, and I ultimately swung by the bakery at my local grocery store, instead.  I walked into our main church office on Friday morning to drop off the cookies I bought, and I learned that there were forty of them – forty young women!  Wow!  What a great turn-out!

                Having done my duty, I thought my obligation was finished.  Little did I know, my involvement with these forty young retreatants was so not over!  Later that afternoon I decided to check which time slots were still open for our once-a-month, twenty-four hour Eucharistic Adoration.  I noticed that there was a big opening from 2:00 a.m. – 4:00 a.m. on Saturday morning!  I debated signing up for either one, or two hours, and wondered how I was going to leave my home without disturbing my husband and son.  I have never committed myself for two hours before…I finally decided to take a leap of faith that God would pave the way for me, and keep me awake that second hour!

                Ah!  I love Eucharistic Adoration!  I sat in God’s holy presence, His unconditional love, and ocean of mercy for over an hour, just soaking Him into my heart and soul.  No words.  Just love.

Then a fellow parishioner entered the daily chapel to pray also.  I still had forty-five minutes, so I decided to pray my rosary, the Joyful Mysteries.  I was praying the rosary the way Saint Louis de Montfort prayed it, with the short phrases in the middle of each Hail Mary, to stay attentive.  While I was praying, I was thinking about the forty young women of grace.  When I got to the third mystery, the “Nativity of Our Lord,” Mary, my Holy Mother of God, spoke to my heart.  She wanted me to do something for her.

First, Mary showed me four of the young women, wearing blue-grey nun habits, so holy!  Their backs were turned to me, so I couldn’t see their faces.  Their love for God was like a breath of fresh air!  Then Mary showed me how she was sheltering all forty of the young women with a corner of her Heavenly Mantle, protecting them from all evil and all harm.  Mary spoke to my heart.  She said, “Bring them to me... be a mother to them.”  I realized that Mary spiritually placed them under my charge, to pray for them always!  I was also aware that I needed to humble myself under Mary’s loving guidance, and be completely dependent upon her.  That is the only way for me to know when, and how, to bring these precious daughters of God to Mary, and nurture their faith.

The rest of my rosary prayers became very special.  For the third mystery, the “Nativity,” Saint Louis de Montfort’s phrase after saying, “Jesus,” in each Hail Mary is, “born into poverty.”  I saw how Jesus was being born into their hearts, one heart for each bead on my rosary.  When I got to the tenth bead of the decade, I realized I needed to pray thirty more “Nativity” beads, because there were thirty more daughters of God needing prayers for Jesus to be born into their hearts!  My hands backed up three times over the ten beads to fit in three more decades.

For the fourth mystery, the “Presentation of Jesus in the Temple”, Saint Louis’s phrase for each Hail Mary is “…Jesus, sacrificed.” I prayed forty Hail Mary’s for each of the forty daughters of God, for their sacrifices to the Lord that they will make during their lifetimes.

  For the fifth mystery, the “Finding of Jesus in the Temple,” Saint Louis’s phrase for each Hail Mary is, “…Jesus, Saint among saints.”  I prayed forty Hail Mary’s for Mary to make each daughter of God a saint!

 This is my prayer for each of these very special young women of grace:

Mary, Sweet Mary, my Holy Mother of God, I humbly and lovingly place these young women inside your Immaculate Heart.  Mary, Holy Virgin, please bathe them in the Wound in your Son’s Sacred Heart, in His ocean of divine mercy and love!  Mary, Queen of Angels and Saints, please offer them up to Jesus’ most holy and precious Blood.

Jesus, my beloved and merciful Savior, I humbly and lovingly ask that You please allow Your most holy and precious Blood to fall upon the hearts, minds, and souls of these chosen daughters of Yours.  Jesus, meek and humble of heart, please consume them in the fire of Your love; baptize them in Your Holy Spirit of Love; be born into their hearts and souls, that they may be born into Your love; and dwell in them, that they may dwell in Your love.

Mary, our Blessed Mother, please help these blessed daughters of God to see God’s love for them today, and every day!  Amen!

Lectio Divina Reflection for Luke 6:43-49

"A Tree Known by its Fruit" and "The Two Foundations"

 1. A word or phrase that attracts me: "A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good" (vs. 45a); "who dug deeply" (vs. 48); and, "does not act" (vs. 49).

 2. What I see or hear the Lord is showing or telling me: Come to Me, listen to My Words, and act on them.

          "A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good." The only way I can truly be a good person is to come to Jesus, listen to His Words, and act on them. The Lord is showing me how very important it is for me to spend time with Him in prayer and reading His Holy Word every day. I need to nurture my relationship with Jesus and Mary. I need to abide in God's Word. "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." Colossians 3:16

          "...who dug deeply." These words jumped out at me. All I can see, with the eyes of my heart, is Jesus standing at the very bottom of my soul, digging, tilling the soil, breaking up the hardness in my heart, reaching down into my memories, into my wounds, and filling in my brokenness with the love and healing of His Precious Blood, and the cleansing purity of His Holy Spirit, the Water of Life.

          "...does not act." The Lord is telling me to come to Him, listen to His Words, and act on them. This is not easy, the acting part, when I would rather stay hiding in my shell. It's easy to act when I know it's God's will, and I'm filled with His Love, His Joy, and His Strength to do it. It's hard to act when my heart is not in the right place, and I am in need of forgiveness and healing. My actions need to be grounded and rooted in God's love, and in His Holy Word.

          Jesus told Saint Faustina, "Give away everything at the first sign of a demand, even if they were the most necessary things. Do not ask for anything without consulting Me. Allow them to take away even what is due you - respect, your good name - let your spirit rise above all that. And so, set free from everything, rest close to My Heart, not allowing your peace to be disturbed by anything. My pupil, consider the words which I have spoken to you." (Diary, 1685)

          Jesus told Saint Faustina not to ask for anything without consulting Him. I love Saint Faustina's intimate relationship with Jesus! Our Lord was asking her not to act before praying to Him first. The Lord is showing me that I can trust Him to guide me in prayer to know how to act according to His Will, His Word, and His Love!

3. What the Lord is asking me to be or do today, this week, or forever! - "I'm gonna sing when the Spirit says sing!...I'm gonna pray when the Spirit says pray!...I'm gonna love when the Spirit says love!...I'm gonna shout when the Spirit says shout!...and be happy all the day long!"

Luke 6: A Tree Known by Its Fruit.

43 “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.

44 For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles.

45 A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.

The Two Foundations.

46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command?

47 I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them.

48 That one is like a person building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built.

49 But the one who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”

Lectio Divina Reflection for James 1:2-18

"The Value of Trials and Temptation," especially, "Perseverance in Trial"

1. A word or phrase that attracts me: "Consider it all joy...when you encounter various trials" (vs. 2); "a wave of the sea" (vs. 6); "all good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights." (vs. 17a); and, "He willed to give us birth by the word of truth" (vs. 18a)

2. What I see or hear the Lord showing or telling me: I don't need to be afraid of the storms in my life, because God is in the storms, directing them for my good. "Consider it all joy...when you encounter various trials." I love how God knows what is best for my soul. I need to have various trials to perfect my soul in love. Because my love is not perfect yet, and I'm still woefully learning how to be like Jesus, I need God to show me where I am lacking, and embrace His grace, while He painfully, but lovingly, purifies my soul. It is a joy to be so loved by God, that He is willing to take such careful measures now, to mold me through my trials, so that later my soul will be ready, full of love, perfected by God, to enter in that holy union with Him, of which my soul yearns for, and God calls me to.

          "a wave of the sea." I have encountered this wave before. It was a wave of paralyzing fear that overwhelmed and washed over my soul. But I have learned that God is in those deep waters, and His perfect love casts out my fears. (1 John 4:18)  It is OK to be a tiny pearl in a tiny clam shell in the sandy bottom of a very deep ocean, hidden in the dark. Psalm 139:12 says, "Darkness is not dark for you, and night shines as the day. Darkness and light are but one." You know, that I am there, Lord, and You are with me.

          "all good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights." I was driving from my aunt and uncle's home to my daughter's dorm room in Savannah, Georgia, to evacuate her ahead of Hurricane Irma. I was thinking about a conversation I had with my spiritual director before driving to Georgia. I said that it was so humbling to know that nothing good comes from me, that everything good comes from Jesus and Mary, and that they are already perfect in love.

          When I say things like that, the response is always something like, "but God created you out of the goodness of His Heart!" It reminds me of Genesis 1:31a, after God created Adam and Eve, "God looked at everything He had made, and he found it very good." I realized that I needed to see myself through God's eyes of love, and not to cling so much to my own understanding. The Father of lights above is the author of, "all good giving and every perfect gift." Maybe, just maybe, God gives and sees love and goodness in my soul, that He is perfecting there.  And since, "He willed to give us birth by the word of truth," my soul rejoices in being created by the very breath of God, in all His Holiness, Goodness, Righteousness, and Love!

3. What the Lord is asking me to be or to do today, this week, or forever! ...to cherish being His daughter, and to know His awesome love for me.

James 1:
Perseverance in Trial.
2
Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials,
3
for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
4
And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5
But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it.
6
But he should ask in faith, not doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed about by the wind.
7
For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord,
8
since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.
9
The brother in lowly circumstances should take pride in his high standing,
10
and the rich one in his lowliness, for he will pass away “like the flower of the field.”
11
For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass, its flower droops, and the beauty of its appearance vanishes. So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Temptation.
12
Blessed is the man who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proved he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him.
13
No one experiencing temptation should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God is not subject to temptation to evil, and he himself tempts no one.
14
Rather, each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
15
Then desire conceives and brings forth sin, and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death.
16
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers:
17
all good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.
18
He willed to give us birth by the word of truth that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

Beautiful Souls - Where I Am

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.  He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him.”  John 12:24-26

                Out of the blue my husband sent me an innocent email, asking if I wanted to attend a free conference called, “Pathways to hope – Breaking the Stigma of Mental Illness.”  I printed the flyer, and decided not to sign up until I knew what was going on at home the day of the conference.  I also wanted to pray about it, and see if it was God’s will for me to be there.

                The day before the conference, I read the above daily Mass reading from John 12:24-26.  The words that jumped into my heart were, “If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also.”  I knew immediately in my heart that Jesus was asking me to follow Him to the conference, even though I have never been to one like this before.  His words, “where I am,” had special meaning for me.  If Jesus was going to be at this conference, then I wanted to be where He was going to be!

                I was surprised that I found myself crying as the speakers gave their talks, as if I were on a retreat!  Many organizations from across our city had come together for the second year in a row to raise awareness of the mentally ill among us (and even including us.)  I was struck how very beautiful to God are the souls of those who struggle with depression, anxiety, hopelessness, etc…  I listened to talks called, “What Does Mental Health Ministry Look Like,” “Mental Health in our Schools,” “A Road Map for Success for the College Bound Adolescent with a Mental Health Disorder,” and, “Changed by Conversation.”

                I was mindful of two ministries at my church, V Encuentro (Fifth Encounter – a new Pentecost evangelization outreach) and the Guadalupanos (those who spread the love of Our Lady of Guadalupe), who both sent me soul searching this summer.  For one ministry, I needed to research how the Catholic Church is meeting the needs of those in the outskirts of our communities; and for the other, I needed to pray about which committee to join.  Going to this conference was an answer to prayer!

                I don’t remember which talk I was listening to when Jesus made it very clear to me that He was not only at the conference with me, but that Eucharistic Adoration is, “where I am,” and “there shall my servant be also.”  I knew that Jesus was calling me to be with Him at Eucharistic Adoration, and invite all who battle with, or know someone who battles with, depression, anxiety, hopelessness, etc…  The Lord has been tugging at my heart every time I read the following words from the Precious Blood of Jesus Daily Devotional, “…the remaining days are great and holy.  Your adoration will be great and holy.  Come with reverence and awe and worship your God.” (25 July 1997, P.40)

                To top everything off, last Sunday’s gospel reading was from Matthew 15:21-28, about the Canaanite woman who begged Jesus to heal her daughter.  “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely possessed by a demon.” (vs. 22)  Believing that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, we can come to Him at Eucharistic Adoration, just like the Canaanite woman who came to Jesus, and give to Him our deepest needs, and our deepest desires for those who weigh heavy on our hearts.  Oh, that we would hear the same words Jesus spoke to her, “O woman, great is your faith!  Be it done for you as you desire.”  The gospel story ends with, “And her daughter was healed instantly.” (vs. 28)

                After the conference, I read, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you…You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide; so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.  This I command you, to love one another.” (John 15:12,16-17)  Jesus is calling me to love those who feel depressed, anxious, and hopeless, etc… Jesus is saying to me, “that is where I am.”  Jesus is not only hidden in the Eucharist, He is hidden inside our souls!

                O Jesus, how beautiful You are!  Thank You that You abide inside the souls of those who daily fight depression, anxiety, and hopelessness.  Thank You that You want them to be well, whole, and healed!  Thank You, Jesus, that You are so very close to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:19).  Thank You, Jesus, that You are meek and humble of heart (Matt. 11:29).  Thank You, Jesus, in advance, for all Your miracles!  Thank You, Jesus, for Your beauty in all of Your creation.  Thank You, Jesus, that You created each and every one of us in Your beautiful, holy image.  Thank You, Jesus, that we are Your beloved sons and daughters!

                Lord Jesus, we give You everything that pulls us down, everything that makes us anxious, and everything that causes us to lose our hope.  For every time we were depressed, anxious, and lacking hope, please stir our hearts to trust, have faith, and hope in You!  Jesus, You are the Lord of all creation, and the Lord of all of our lives.  O Jesus, I give you my heart, my mind, my spirit, and my soul.  I surrender my life into Your holy hands!  Please fill me, and those I pray for, with the beauty of Your love, Your peace, and Your joy.  May Your loving, holy, and precious will be done in my life, and in the lives of my loved ones.  Jesus, I love you!  Amen.

Words of Encouragement for Teen ACTS Retreat - June 29 - July 2, 2017

6/27/17      7:37 a.m.   

“Oh, My Children!  I have loved you with an everlasting love.  I have called you by name.  You are Mine!  …and I am yours.”

“When I think of you, I see you as My Dearly Beloved, My Cherished, Precious Child.  You are the Apple of My Eye.  To Me, you are a Precious Pearl.”

“I created you to delight in you.  I created you to dwell in you, to fill you with My Holy Presence, that you may live in Me, and that I may live in you.”

“I created your heart and soul to be filled to overflowing with My Love, My Peace, and My Joy.  I want you to know in the depths of your being My Love for you!”

“I will never leave you or forsake you.  I will always be with you.  I will protect you from evil and from harm.”

“Rest in Me.  Lay your head on My Chest.  I got you.”

“Surrender to Me your problems and your fears.  Give to Me your hopes and your dreams.”

“I know what is eternally best for you.  I know full well the desires in your heart.  Let me show you how I can meet your deepest needs and surpass your highest expectations.”

“All you truly need is Me.  I am here for you, always.”

“I love you, My Child, I love you.  I bless you, My Child, I bless you.  Halleluia, Halleluia, Amen!”