Through the Eyes of God the Father part 2

I believe you began to show him how it would all unfold. You both knew what was coming. And, too soon, it did. You understood Judas’ actions as part of the plan. You watched as Judas went to the authorities and betrayed your Son. You heard him arrange for 30 pieces of silver. Your Son- sold. Then your Son gathered them together for their Last Supper. Jesus sent Judas on his way. It was all beginning to unfold. Your heart began to ache as you watched your Son memorialize the offering of His body and blood in bread and wine. It would represent him because his life on earth would be coming to an end soon. Your Son learned humility from you and his Mother and foster father. Your heart must have been moved as he washed his disciples’ feet. I guess you memorized his every movement, thinking “we need to talk. We need to spend some time together soon.
…to be continued

Through the Eyes of God the Father part 1

God our Father, you gave us the life of your only child, you own Son. You must have been happy at his birth. You didn’t want him to be born in a castle, I’m sure. So you celebrated with angels, a drummer boy and kings. We got that part of your message easily because it’s a gift for us. I like gifts, especially one so special. Your precious Son obeyed his parents and served them until he was finally baptized by John. At that point you just HAD to burst forth! You had been quiet the whole time. “He everyone, this is my Son!” How fatherly an act. How proud of him you were at that moment. Then you watched him go about performing miracles and preaching about you. You two shared hours of prayer together, quietly communicating during the middle of the night.
…to be continued.

Turn to God, others, and self

During Lent we might want to reflect on Teshuva (Hebrew for repentance, from shuvah, “to turn”). Each of us is given the chance, again and again to turn toward God and Lent is a good time to look at our lives and make decisions about how we might once again turn toward God, toward self and turn toward others. We can take some time for reflection and thought about each of these elements and how we might turn. “How will I turn toward myself during Lent?” I wouldn't normally think about that question. “How will I turn toward others?” “Who are the others and how can I turn toward them?” In thinking about the “other”, we think of people who may irritate us, or a boss or co-worker who is difficult to get along with. What can we do to turn toward them?

"We should have only one ambition: that people see that we, despite our limits, are people who really love the Lord, who are in love with him and who do not create an abyss between that which we say and that which we really are," Cardinal Ce told the pope and Vatican officials early in a retreat. To me that means we live our lives as people of integrity.

Plain Ole Blog

I'm kinda new to the whole world of Blogs and blogging ~ as evidenced in my own. Not wise to all that shines, clicks and rattles. Have no idea how to do all that...must have been absent that day. The recent blog awards caused me to search around in Blog world and I'm duly impressed! The Ironic Catholic, Curt Jester and a few others really WOW me.
My own blog is....well, its design is boring. Someday I'll learn blog-ese and that will be great. In the meantime I appreciate the readers' patience with my Plain Ole Blog. Yet, somehow, it speaks of simplicity to me. Not an excuse, really. It's just an example of how my mind works I guess. I only want to share my personal prayer and thoughts with anyone who chooses to read it...and perhaps they might share their own. That's what it's like to be a part of a spiritual family.
But I admit it would be nice if the reader was visually pleased, too! Kudos to all you Super Bloggers!

Someday we'll be home.

Dear Friend
“Someday we’ll be home.”
God challenges you and me to live in the opposite way this world lives; counter culture. What others value, we don’t. What others have as their goals, we don’t. And I know you are as OK with that as I am. We’re different and that just has to be ok. This life is just a journey in which we’re supposed to touch as many lives as we can and show them a good example of God’s love by the way we live. It’s a difficult journey sometimes and sometimes it feels long. Remember the saying “He ain’t heavy. He’s my brother.” That’s what this journey is like. We can do this because of whose we are.
And someday we’ll be home. And it will all be worth it. And you and I will be together there and it will be HOME. Home is where you feel like you belong. You’re with the people you love and they all love you. There’s an abundance of kindness and patience, depth and sincerity. But beyond all that, it’s where we’ll finally see Jesus face to face (I can hardly write those words comfortably because I know I am not worthy).
For now tho, it’s all about the waiting and how we’ll do that. I’ll pray for your waiting and you pray for mine.
Thank you.

Praise Prayer

I praise you Creator of the universe! Wonder Maker! Artist Divine! Your works are beautiful. The human body, birth, the changing of seasons, human’s ability to connect with the Supernatural thru prayer, miraculous healing, humans who can live virtue to an heroic degree. Impressive work, my God! You show your divinity best thru simplicity. Your greatness is displayed in humility. Your power in pure faith. There are no others like you, my Lord.
You teach us how to be at peace by trusting in you. You gave the example in Gethsemane. “Your will be done, Father.” After that surrendering prayer you remained calm. You didn’t struggle or resist. You allowed those whom you created to torture you because you needed to show us how much you love us. There is so much to learn from the example you gave us. The world cannot contain your goodness. We humans do a poor job of being your reflection. I thank you for your Word, which instructs us, and to which we can always turn for guidance. So generous of you to leave us with something we can pour over and reflect on.
I thank you too my very giving Lord for allowing us to connect with you so imtimately by consuming your very Body and Blood. How much closer could you allow us to be? So simple these gifts are but so immensely profound an act – to eat your Body and Blood in bread and wine; thereby becoming one with you. Divinity and humanity co-mingling. Is that allowed? Can it be done? Do Kings share their lives with paupers? Only in You, my God. You are glorious and worthy of all praise and thanks.

1 Cor 13

Not long ago Sunday’s Gospel was 1 Cor 13. “Love is patient, love is kind…” You know the one that’s read at every wedding. But it reminded me of the definition of who I must be. “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength” “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If I can speak in tongues but don’t love I’m only noise. If I’m smart enough to know everything, that wouldn’t matter. All knowledge is useless when Jesus finally comes. No one will need information. It will be useless.
“When perfection comes the imperfect passes away.” If I have faith enough to move mountains I am absolutely nothing if there’s no love with that. Scripture doesn’t say I’m good for a short while. Nor does it say I could be of a little help in one specific case. Paul says I am nothing. All the information in the world and all the faith/spirituality I can dig up from within me is nothing. Nothing I do, say or think is worthwhile if I am not at the same time patient, kind, humble and persevering.
I could be a martyr (“surrender my body to the flames”) or live in complete simplicity and poverty (“give all I possess to the poor”) and that would mean nothing if I wasn’t gentle and peaceful during my life.
It’s all about who I am not what I do or have or think or believe. The big hurdle I’d have to overcome is the 18” distance between my head and my heart.

wish I knew how to put this on the sidebar....this will have to do for now.