I am certain of a few things in this life

First of all, I have not been thankful enough for the many blessings God has given throughout my life.  Every second has been one of goodness no matter what circumstance surrounded me.  He permeates my being.

Secondly, I have not taken time to know Him better.  I’m always petitioning and rarely listening.  My prayer is to know Him and love Him more and more.

Finally, I am blessed by the grace of knowing my unworthiness.  By no means am I fully aware.  It is just the beginning of a grace so desperately needed.  It is a baby step from, “I’m not so bad” to “I’m not so good.”  Now I better understand His perfection through my weakness.

Weakness ~ I am but a tiny speck floating through this world.  For some reason at times I choose a raft that leaks, an uncovered vessel.  Before me is a ship to shelter me and carry me through these storms.  It floats in an ocean of Divine Mercy, the only hope of my salvation.

Prayer of Surrender

"Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess You have given me: I surrender it all to You to be disposed of according to Your will. Give me only Your love and Your grace; with these I will be rich enough, and will desire nothing more."       
                                                                                                                                                                            † Prayer of Surrender by St. Ignatius of Loyola †

Eternity, here and now

It’s one of those things where intellectually you are aware, but one day it hits the mark.  Like a lot of people, it’s easy to get into the mindset that “eternity” will happen then…somewhere in the future.  I’m not sure how it happened to me, but recently it did hit home - we are living in eternity right now.  Eternity doesn’t start with a physical death, it starts with conception.  Here we are in the midst of it, some working to make a living, some retired, some in school.  And in our free time, we’re shopping, watching TV, playing sports, etc…  Right now we are sitting, standing, walking or sleeping in eternity.  This earth is by far the short part of our journey home, and I ponder how we miss so much.  It makes me reflect on how much time I waste, stuff I don’t need and what really matters.  And I’m still distracted in knowing what God really plans for me.  Having lived over half of the average lifetime, it’s not always a calming thought.  However, there is this core feeling of peace, but I wonder, am I deceiving myself? 

By God’s generous grace, I have started relishing the time with family and friends.  The moving from one stop to the next, the getting from one place to another isn’t as important.  And when I hold my sleeping grandchild, I know that is where I’m supposed to be.  It’s the fleeting seconds of unselfishness, the momentary appreciation of the loves in life and God’s gifts that make us restless.  We know we should be focusing on eternity, not then but now.

Father of Truth

Father of Truth Prayer


Father of Truth, behold Your Son, a sacrifice pleasing to You. Accept this offering of Him who died for me; behold His blood shed on Golgotha for my salvation. It pleads for me. For His sake, accept my offering. Many are my sins, but greater is Your mercy. When placed on a scale, Your mercy prevails over the weight of the mountains known only to You. Consider the sin and consider the atonement; the atonement is greater and exceeds the sin. Your beloved Son sustained the nails and the lance because of my sins so in His sufferings You are satisfied and I live.  St. Charbel (from the chaplet)
 
This is such a beautiful prayer.