Freedom

"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him." G.K. Chesterton 

Today is Memorial Day and the Feast of the Visitation.

Thank you to all of our troops; those who have served and those who are serving. 

We remember all of the men and women who gave their lives for our freedom. 

Freedom isn't free.

"Freedom is the power, rooted in reason and will, to act or not to act." CCC 1731

Freedom is a selfless gift. 

Thanks be to God for the gift of our freedom! 

Freedom to practice our beautiful faith! 

Thanks be to God for sending His Son to set us free!

"When, in the wombs of their mothers, John the Voice and Jesus the Word met, the women raised their own voices in praise. Elizabeth praised Mary and her Child; Mary turned the joy of them both into a hymn of praise to God." Magnificat Reflection 

It is through selfless love that we are truly free.

 May we always remember to give thanks and praise to God for our freedom! 

Image by Valentino Funghi  

The Holy Trinity

Tomorrow is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity! 

I love the Mass readings for this weekend! 

Brothers and sisters; For those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a Spirit of adoption, through whom we cry, "Abba, Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.  Romans 8:14-17 

There is power in the name of the Holy Trinity!  

Power and protection in the sign of the Cross! 

Glory to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; to God who is, who was, and who is to come. Alleluia! 

God the Father, thank you for being our Father! 

God the Son, thank you for being the Son of the Most High!   

Holy Spirt, the Paraclete, thank you for being both Spirit and Truth!

We offer our sufferings and joys in the name of the Most Holy Trinity. 

Holy Spirit lead us to the Father through the Son!

May our lives bear witness to the faith in all that we do! 

Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirt, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.  Matthew 28:19 

To God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be the glory! 

Hope in You

 "Hope is an actual noun, hope is a concrete reality that we hold in hand, a reality that we can put both of our hands around and feel it hold us, steady us." Ann Voskamp 

Hope can be difficult to grip at times, but the Holy Spirit is sent to steady us.

We cling to hope through the gifts of the Holy Spirit!  

The Holy Spirit will give us knowledge and wisdom to understand.

He will help us understand what we cannot comprehend. 

The gift of Counsel will help us when we do not know what to say. 

The Holy Spirit will give us the gift of fortitude so that we will be courageous when all hope seems lost.

The gift of Piety grounds us in our faith as we hold on to hope.

 And last but not least, Fear of the Lord, the Holy Spirit will bless us with this gift as we surrender our hearts and place our hope in Him! 

"From Mary we learn to surrender to God's will in all things. From Mary we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary we learn to love Christ her son, the son of God." Pope St. John Paul II 

Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we trust in You! 

We hope in You! 

Image by Ronak Valobobha 

Change my Heart

It is the feast day of St. Augustine of Canterbury today! 

"Hope has two beautiful daughters: their names are Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are." St. Augustine of Canterbury   

This quote really spoke to my heart. Our little community grieves and gathers together with heavy hearts, angry hearts, sorrow filled hearts and broken hearts...But also courageous hearts.   

I went to Mass this morning with my mom. 

The beautiful homily by Fr. Reuben inspired me.

Jesus changed the blind man's life by healing him. 

He wants to change our lives too.

Instead of choosing anger, I want to choose courage.

Jesus is calling us to look at our hearts.

Change our hearts, Lord! 

"With God's grace every one of us can change." Fr. Mike Schmitz, Bible in a Year  

Do not wait for tomorrow.

Change my heart TODAY, O God!   

 "Take Courage; get up, Jesus is calling you." Mark 10:49

Image by Pawel Czerwinski 

Special thanks to Fr. Reuben, Fr. Mike Schmitz and Carolyn, my fellow blogger friend,

for inspiring this blog "Change of Heart!"  

Strong of Heart

"Cheerfulness strengthens the heart and makes us persevere in a good life. Therefore the servant of God ought always to be in good spirits." St. Philip Neri 

Strengthen us, Lord! 

When it is easy to feel overwhelmed and weak,

Make our hearts strong! 

When sad and grieving,

Console our hearts, God!

Fill us with joy! 

 "A heart filled with joy is more easily made perfect than one that is sad." St. Philip Neri 

Come, Holy Spirit!

Help us to persevere in faith! 

Help us to persevere in hope!

Help us to persevere in love! 

"We must pray incessantly for the gift of perseverance." St. Philip Neri  

Make us strong of Heart! Amen. 

Image by Andres Siimon 

Act of Faith

Today is St. Padre Pio's birthday! 

"The most beautiful act of faith is the one made in darkness, in sacrifice, and with extreme effort." St. Padre Pio  

Come Holy Spirit and be the light in our darkness. 

Come Holy Spirit and receive our sacrifices.

 "Jesus tells me that in love it is He who delights me; in suffering, on the other hand,  it is I who delight Him." St. Padre Pio 

Come Holy Spirit and help us to do all things with extreme effort. 

We cannot do this life alone. 

We invoke You, Holy Spirit, to draw our hearts near. 

The Holy Spirit knows our hearts. 

He is with us on this journey. 

To comfort, console and bring peace. 

To promise us life eternal!  

"Let us become saints so that after having been together on earth we will be together forever in Heaven." St. Padre Pio 

"How consoling it is to know that we have a spirit who, from the womb to the tomb, never leaves us even for an instant, not even when we dare to sin. And this heavenly spirit guides us like a friend, a brother." St. Padre Pio 

 

Come Holy Spirit

 Come, Holy Spirit

 By Saint Mary of Jesus Crucified 

This morning I was feeling low in spirits because I did not feel the presence of God. It seemed to me that my heart was like iron, I could not think of God; I invoked the Holy Spirit saying: 

"It is you who made us know Jesus. The Apostles spent a long time with him without ever comprehending him; but the fire you sent down on them made them understand him. You will also make me understand him. Come, my consolation; come, my joy; come, my peace, my strength, my light. Come, give me the light to find the spring where I can quench my thirst. One ray of your light is enough to show me Jesus as he is. I ask you for no other learning, nor any other wisdom than the knowledge of how to find Jesus and the wisdom of remaining with him. O Most Holy Spirit, when you sent forth the ray of light, the disciples were transformed; they were no longer what they had been before; their strength had been renewed, offering sacrifices became easy; they then got to know Jesus better than they had ever known him when he was among them. Source of peace and light, come and enlighten me. I am hungry, come and feed me. I am poor, come and enrich me. Holy Spirit, I abandon myself to you."

I believe in the Holy Spirit! 

This is my prayer.

Come, Holy Spirit!

I do not know how I ought to pray but I trust that my prayers will be heard. 

Come, Holy Spirit!

Even though my prayer is silent, the Holy Spirit knows my heart.

Come, Holy Spirit!

The Holy Spirit is like the wind. We cannot see the Spirit but we can feel the Spirit. 

Come, Holy Spirit!

Whisper, Holy Spirit, words of comfort in times of distress. 

Come, Holy Spirit. 

Fill the hearts of your faithful. 

Come. Holy Spirit. 

Send forth Your Spirit, Lord! And they shall be created! 

Come, Holy Spirit!

Renew the face of the earth! 

Be our consolation! 

Come, Holy Spirit!

Instruct our hearts! 

Come, Holy Spirit!

Amen.

With heart felt prayers for the Spencer and Stubbers family. 

Pentecost

Tomorrow is Pentecost, the birthday of the Church! 

We celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles! 

"The Spirit comes with the tenderness of a true friend and protector to save, to heal, to teach, to counsel, to strengthen, to console." St. Cyril of Jerusalem 

We too are His disciples! 

The Holy Spirit is sent to help us!  

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Sprit, because the Spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the will of God. Romans 8:26-27 

We are given the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit to help us. 

They are: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety and Fear of the Lord. 

We pray to be strengthened by the Spirit through His gifts. 

We are given the Holy Spirit for a reason. 

He will intercede for us! 

He knows our hearts and is present to us when we call upon His name. 

Come, Holy Spirit! 

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth! O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Sprit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ our Lord, Amen.   

Asking The Holy Spirit to be with a family who really needs our prayers right now! The husband/father to seven kids is still missing after a boating accident. Come, Holy Spirit!    

Image by Maik Garbade  

Charcoal Fire

 I want to share in today's blog this beautiful talk that my friend, who is a Sister of Life, shared with me.   

 Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there was many fish. The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!"  John 21:4-7

When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there." John 21:9   

Why is the charcoal fire so significant? 

Talk on Mercy by Sr. Maria Kateri, Sisters of Life

(Sr. Maria Kateri is quoted and my reflections follow in bold font.)

"After hearing it is the Lord, Peter jumped into the sea and quickly swam to the shore. He then began running towards the Lord. But then, I imagined that Peter suddenly stopped. Why? Because his eyes fell upon the charcoal fire. As he stared at the fire, tears flooded his eyes, the memory of that night of his threefold denial was triggered and so was his agony. " 

Fear can paralyze us if we let it but the Lord tells us not to be afraid. 

He tells us to come to Him. 

"Although Peter had been forgiven, still he had not forgiven himself and this was a great burden he was carrying, a deep wound. Jesus wanted to heal Peter of this and so appears on the shore, just as the Lord wants to bring His healing mercy to each of us and appears on the shores of our lives."

Are you denying yourself forgiveness?  

Jesus wants to forgive you and He wants you to forgive yourself. 

He wants to give you His healing mercy. 

"Peter had denied the Lord three times. Now he is given an opportunity to make reparation by professing his love three times. The Lord knows Peter's great heart and with compassion He understands that Peter fell due to weakness and fear - like so many of us. So, the asking of Peter's love is not so much because the Lord needed to hear it but because Peter needed to say it. Love is more powerful than denial. There is healing in affirming his love for the Lord." 

Healing happened for Peter at the charcoal fire. 

"How awesome that the same scene where Peter fell - a charcoal fire - to be the scene where He healed him. the painful memory will be replaced by a loving memory." 

His love endures forever! 

His mercy endures forever! 

"This mercy is revealed in this beautiful beach scene of Jesus and Peter around the charcoal fire. I imagined Jesus stretching out his hand to Peter, when He asks a third time if Peter loves Him. This recalls the time when Peter walked on the water with Jesus but then began to sink and the Lord stretched out His hand, offering His saving help. Here, around the charcoal fire, as Peter professes his love for the third time, he takes the Lord's outstretched hand and looks into His merciful eyes. Then the Lord embraces Peter. Resting upon the Lord's beating heart, Peter stopped beating himself up. Healing. Mercy. Peace. "    

A new fire is lit within Peter! 

A fire that no longer burns but spreads light! 

He accepted the Lord's embrace! 

Will we accept His outstretched hand and look into His merciful eyes? 

The Lord wants to heal our charcoal fires with His merciful love.

 Will we let Him? 

Image by Nathan Lindahl 

Focus on Humility

My bible study group is studying the Gospel of John through The Walking with Purpose Study Guide. In Chapter 3 of John's Gospel, we read about John the Baptist's humility. 

I am not the 'Christ', but I have been sent ahead of Him. He who has the bride is the groom; but the friend of the groom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the groom's voice. So this joy of mine has been made full. He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:28-30  

Quiet your heart and enjoy His presence... Take a moment to contemplate John the Baptist's humility and focus on Christ. 

Lord, I want to be like John the Baptist - filled with a desire to see less of me and more of you in my heart. Help me to be filled by your Spirit so that my own selfish desires will diminish. Help me to want to see your will fulfilled in my life. I need you to give me this desire; I can't create it myself. The pull to have my own way is so strong! I also struggle with a deep desire to be loved by those around me. I want to lead people to love you, Lord, not me. Please help me do this so that you may receive all glory.  Touching the Divine - Walking with Purpose 

Increase in me the desire to decrease, Lord! 

Increase in me the virtue of humility.

Help me to rejoice in the joy of others. 

Help me to rejoice in You!  

Help me to change my focus!  

St. John the Baptist, pray for us! 

"When we keep our eyes on Him and align our hearts with His will, God is able to work out His purpose in our lives."

 Touching the Divine - Walking with Purpose 

 

Offering to You

 "Suffering without Christ is painful. Suffering with Christ is redemptive and will transform the world." Fr. Mike Schmitz 

Imagine a world so transformed by daily offerings! 

How do you begin your day? 

Everyday we are given the opportunity to give God our day.

The good and the bad. 

When we make these offerings we are uniting our hearts with Christ.

Some days are harder than others, but each day can be turned into an offering of prayer.

We can offer up our sufferings to the one who suffered on the Cross.

The one who wants to transform our hearts! 

Will we let him? 

Don't even wait for tomorrow, pray right now!

This is my offering for You! 

"What is most essential and pleasing to God is that we remember Him and forget ourselves." St. Teresa of Avila 

Strive to be Holy

"Do not be afraid to be holy! Have the courage and humility to present yourself to the world determined to be holy, since full, true freedom is born from holiness." St. Pope John Paul II 

The more people strive for holiness, the more likely people will want to be holy. 

It just takes one person to make holiness look attractive.

Look at St. Pope John Paul II! His faith was contagious! He loved life! Young people were drawn to the Catholic faith because he proved that one can be fun and adventurous but still holy.  

"Never say 'What great things the saints do', but: 'What great things God does in His saints!'" St. Philip Neri   

Holiness isn't a vocation. Meaning, holiness is not a calling just for some people.

Holiness is a calling for each of us! 

How we live our lives is how we answer that call.

How are we going to present ourselves? Who are we representing? 

Whether it be among friends, at work, at home or wherever, strive for holiness! 

"Holiness consists simply in doing God's will, and being just what God wants us to be." St. Therese of Liseux 

 He wants you to strive to be holy! 

Image by Chris Liu 

Hope and Take Heart

"If for a while the harder you try, the harder it gets, Take Heart. So it has been with the best people who ever lived." Jeffry R. Holland 

Why did I begin a new blog? 

Why did I title it Take Heart? 

For these reasons:

The words, "Take Heart" have encouraged me every single day since heart failure. 

Take Heart has helped me cling to Jesus and to trust. 

In this lifetime we need encouragement to become courageous.

I want to be a voice of encouragement! 

The words Take Heart have given me hope and courage. 

I want to be brave and bold.

Trusting and filled with hope. 

I want to give my best and encourage others to do the same.

  Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord! Psalm 27:14 

Image from a Prayer Service for me while I was in heart failure in 2015.  

Love One Another

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. 1 John 4:11

Love is what holds us together. 

But love is sometimes difficult to feel or show.

Yet, the greatest commandments remain:

Love God with all of your heart and love one another as God has loved you. Matthew 22:37-39 

God is love, and whoever remains in love, remains in God and God in him. 1 John 4:16

Love has to go deeper than our feelings. 

Love has to come from the heart. 

We need to embrace His love.

We need to be confident of his love.

"It is confidence and nothing but confidence that must lead us to love." St. Therese of Liseux 

Love one another.

Be Saints

"Young people of every continent, do not be afraid to be the saints of the new millennium! Be contemplative, love prayer, be coherent with your faith and generous in the service of your brothers and sisters, be active members of the Church and builders of peace. To succeed in this demanding project of life, continue to listen to His word, draw strength from the Sacraments especially the Eucharist and Penance. The Lord wants you to be intrepid apostles of his Gospel and builders of a new humanity." St. Pope John Paul II   

Do not be afraid! 

This is what we were made for!  

We talk about wanting a better future for generations to come but no one knows where to begin. 

It begins with you and me.

We cannot change the world or the future without first changing ourselves.

We have to be brave. 

We have to do the hard thing.

We need to do the things that make us better people.

That make us want to be saints! 

Everything else in life is not eternal. 

Want to make a difference? 

"Be saints! You weren't made to fit in. You were born to stand out." Jim Caviezel 

Live for eternity! 

Be not afraid! 

May 13th

Today holds two special feast days in the Catholic Church! 

The Solemnity of the Ascension and the feast of Our Lady of Fatima! 

"The message of Fatima is in its basic meaning, a call to conversion, and repentance, as in the gospel... The call to repentance is a motherly one, and at the same time, it is strong and decisive... Mary our heavenly mother, came to awaken men's consciences to illuminate the authentic meaning of life, to call men to conversion from sin and to spiritual fervor, to inflame souls with love for God and with charity towards their neighbor." Pope St. John Paul II   

"Illuminate the authentic meaning of life!" 

This is a wake up call! 

Each of us was created and placed on this earth for a reason. 

We were not made to be self sufficient. We were made to love God.  

"Inflaming souls with love for God and with charity!"  

My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love you! I ask pardon of you for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love you. Fatima Prayer 

We are to be the hope and to share the love where there is none. 

That is our vocation! 

To hope and to love. 

The Ascension is a promise of His love for us. 

He gives us hope as we await His coming again.

His glorification! 

"Behold I am with you always until the end of the age."  Matthew 28:20 

Photo by Mateus Campos Felipe 

Cross Reference

 "It's easy to talk about the cross but it's not easy to carry the cross." Fr. Mike Schmitz 

We all carry crosses. 

Some crosses are visible and others hidden. 

The way of the cross is not easy. 

Talking about it doesn't make it any less harder. 

It's how we choose to carry the cross. 

"Do not pray for easy lives, pray to be stronger people." Bl. Fr. Solonus Casey 

However, some days are more difficult than others. 

Last night I watched the fourth episode of Season Two from The Chosen. 

There is a scene where Jesus is walking into Jerusalem with his apostles and outside the city some prisoners are being crucified. 

Jesus stops and looks at them. 

I had never thought of Jesus being in that position before. 

What would Jesus have been thinking or feeling as he looked up at the cross? 

Did he see his future self hanging there? 

If Jesus did see his future self, he chose not to let the cross conquer him. 

He chose to look at the cross and to see and be the good. 

We are not our crosses. They do not define us. 

"We must not seek the cross in extraordinary sufferings, we must look for it in the duties, the life, the difficulties, and the sacrifices of each day and of each moment." St. Mary Magdalen, O.C.D.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6Sg9wvYEhg

The scene I am referencing begins at the 50 min mark on this episode of The Chosen. 

Picture from our pilgrimage to Lourdes 

Dare to Love

 "My dear young friends, I want to invite you to "dare to love." Do not desire anything less for your life than a love that is strong and beautiful and that is capable of making the whole of your existence a joyful undertaking of giving yourselves as a gift to God and your brothers and sisters, in imitation of the One who vanquished hatred and death forever through love." Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI  

"Do not desire anything less for your life."

Desire more! 

Desire love! 

Dare to accept this invitation! 

You are loved!  

"We become like that which we love. If we love what is base, we become base; but if we love what is noble, we become noble." Fulton Sheen 

Love needs to be shared. 

Help a friend, welcome a stranger, pray for each other...

Dare to love!

Take Heart! 

Photo by Belinda Fewings 

You are my Sunshine

"If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way." Napoleon Hill 

 That quote perfectly summarizes today!

Today I enjoyed spending time with my godson and his mom.

We played a memory card game and blew bubbles outside! 

My godson is five years old and full of energy and great ideas! 

My godson gives me joy! 

He started singing "You are my sunshine" as we walked around the barnyard. 

"Drew-B", you make me happy! You are my sunshine on cloudy days! 

You will never know how much I love you! 

"The proof of love is in the works. Where love exists, it works great things. But when it ceases to act,  it ceases to exist." St. Pope Gregory the Great 

Everyone needs a little sunshine in their life!  

Blessed Mothers' Day

 "The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God is the heart of a Mother." St. Therese of Liseux 

 Happy Mothers' day to my beautiful momma!  

And happy Mothers' Day to all mothers; to those on earth and those in heaven!   

Blessed Mother, we thank you for being a mother to all of us! 

"What a joy to remember that she is our mother. Since she loves us and knows our weakness, what have we to fear?" St. Therese of Liseux 

For some this day is hard to celebrate; however, Mary knows our hearts and understands our heartache.  

"Let us run to Mary and as her little children cast ourselves into her arms with perfect confidence." St. Francis de Sales  

Blessed Mother, you consoled the heart of your son; console also the hearts of the broken. 

Wrap your motherly mantel around all of your children.  

Pour out your Son's love and blessings on all mothers. 

Prayers of blessings and gratitude as we celebrate the gift of motherhood!  

A beautiful prayer we can all pray, "Mary, mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now." St. Mother Teresa 

Love and Suffering

 "Each and every person, each and every life has a link with him, especially the person who for any reason suffers." 15 days of Prayer with Blessed Chiara Badano   

There will still be heart break and hardship in this life. 

However, we are united with Christ through our suffering. 

There is no suffering that will not link us to Him. 

"Chiara Luce believed that God's love had taken on every earthly suffering, so that we no longer encounter suffering, but the One who had assumed it." 15 days of Prayer with Blessed Chiara Badano  

He takes our suffering upon Him. 

He reminds us of the ultimate sacrifice which is Himself. 

"You need to have the courage to put aside ambitions and plans that destroy the real meaning of life, which is to believe in God's love an that's all." Bl. Chiara Badano 

(Love that quote!)

So we have known and believe the love that God has for us. 1 John 4:16

Faith over Fear

 "One must make a decision to "be with Jesus." "I chose Him." Chiara Luce had taken up the "holy journey" in total freedom." 15 Days of Prayer with Blessed Chiara Badano   

Today we celebrated the life of Molly at her funeral. 

She made life beautiful.

She gave people joy with that sparkle in her eyes and through her smile. 

Molly, you did everything with your whole heart. 

You chose to do your best. 

You chose faith over fear.

"This is faith: allowing ourselves to be directed for a moment in order to set out in the right direction." 15 Days of Prayer with Blessed Chiara Badano  

Molly was known for giving directions. 

She loved helping people.  

"With her faith and obedience Jesus' words ("you did it to me"), Chiara received a light that was not of this world: That I would have lost if you had not insisted [that if I had not listened to you]?"15 Days of Prayer with Blessed Chiara Badano   

Molly, help me to do my best.

To do everything with my whole heart on this holy journey.  

Help me to be a light.

 Happy are those whose strength is in you; in whose heart are the highways to Zion. Psalm 84:5 

 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11  

Surrender and Accept

"My heaven is to remain forever in His presence. To call Him my Father and to be His child. In His divine arms, I do not fear the storm. Total abandonment. that alone is my law." St. Therese  

Abandonment is acceptance. 

Accepting His embrace.

He is our Father and we are his children. 

We have to first learn how to walk before we can run. 

Parents teach their children to walk and so He does with us.

The Father's arms are reached out to us.

He is ready to catch us when we stumble or fall. 

He has faith in us.

Believe in His love for you! 

Surrender and accept! 

That's the next step! 

 "Many had 'prayed' Him, but one found the way to speak to him. She had found 'prayer,' and Jesus felt that a power had been released from him because of that humble, silent, faith-filled prayer of abandonment."  Pasquale Foresi 

One Step

"Don't spend your energies on things that generate worry, anxiety and anguish." St. Padre Pio 

"Ask Him to help you remember not to focus on the road ahead just take ONE step toward Jesus." Jane Trufant Harvey 

One step toward Jesus... I can do that. 

That doesn't sound so overwhelming!

I am trying not to focus on the things I cannot control. 

I am trying to focus my eyes and my heart on Jesus by taking one step closer to Him.

The first step I am taking is surrendering what I cannot change or do.

 Surrendering what is keeping me from my focus on Jesus!

He knows that I am tired of feeling overwhelmed and because He knows that, He patiently waits for me to take one step at a time, closer to Him.  

"Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Philippians 4:8 

 

Return to Me

I will give them a heart with which to understand that I am the Lord. They shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart. Jeremiah 24:7 

Return to Me!

God is always hopeful. 

He desires our whole hearts! 

Even when we don't understand his will, we can still give Him our hearts. 

"So take this heart, Lord, I'll be Your vessel. The world to see, Your life in me.." Broken Vessels (Amazing Grace) Hillsong   

"Whoever has God lacks nothing. God alone is enough." St. Teresa of Avila  

Good St. Joseph

Today is the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker, during the year of St. Joseph, celebrated by the Catholic Church!

St. Joseph's feast day was also celebrated on March 19th.

And rightly so! He deserves to be recognized! 

St. Joseph humbly invites us to call upon him to work by praying for us. 

 "When you invoke St. Joseph, you don't have to say much. Say, 'If you were in my place, St. Joseph, what would you do? Well, pray for this on my behalf.'"  St. Andre Bessette   

Though we do not know much about St. Joseph, we do know that he was a good man.

He was not only a good worker but a good husband and good father. 

A man of true humility and genuine love for his family.

St. Joseph, you know the words without me speaking them. 

Pray for me, good St. Joseph! 

"Be in good spirits under the fatherly mantle of St. Joseph, a place of safest refuge in trials and tribulations." St. Joseph Marello 

Photo Credit to Josh Applegate 

St. Joseph, pray for all of us!