A call to prayer

Many are fasting for various reasons these days, especially right now in the middle of Ramadan.  As I finished reading a book on fasting, The Roots and Fruits of Fasting by Mary Ruth Swope, I ran into 5 people who told me they were fasting.

I pray when and if we fast, we let the feelings of hunger, the rumblings within act as an internal bell tolling and calling us to prayer, calling us into deeper communion with our Lord.

Joel 2:12
Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.

Pray Outside the Dimension of Time

My friends, I think we need to remove ourselves from the DIMENSION of TIME when we pray.  This is where our sweet and holy Lord resides and longs for us to join Him in prayer.  Removing TIME from our prayers removes one more constraint that He placed on Himself, with the knowledge that we would set Him free.

Rise above our vast timeline, rolling it up in your mind into a ball and praying over all generations, past, present and future, trusting that He knew that YOU would sit by His side, and pray a blessing over all of His children from generation to generation.

Hope is NEVER lost, for to Him every moment is NOW.  He set us free and He patiently waits for all of us to join Him in prayer and set Him FREE!

Romans 8:2
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

Encircled

I saw an interesting rainbow yesterday.  It actually looked like it was inverted – instead of arching down towards the earth, encircling the earth, the ends appeared to go up as if encircling something in the sky.

From what I found online, the physical explanation is that I must have seen a higher order bow, the 3rd or 4th reflections of the light within the water droplets sending the light forward and creating a bow that encircles the sun.

Keep watch my friends, for we know neither the day nor the hour.

Revelation 4:3
And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne.

 

PRAYER

In the Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena, St. Catherine asked our Lord what fruit souls receive?

His response to her was “The fruit which I destine for them, constrained by the prayers of My servants…”
Treatise on Divine Providence, page 11

Our Infinite, Mighty and Sweet Lord allows Himself and His Gifts to be CONSTRAINED by our prayers for each other.

His Infinite, Mighty and Sweet Gifts, Graces and Fruits flow freely to those for whom we pray – start at home, pray for your spouse, your children, your family, your neighbors and watch as our Lord fills them with His Good and Holy Graces, and also changes and expands your heart as He greatly desires for us to pray for everyone and at all times.

Pray, pray, and pray more my friends – for with deep, humble and heartfelt prayer for others and the world, we set free our Infinite, Mighty and Sweet Lord from the constraints He has given Himself and open the door for His Infinite Ocean of Grace and Mercy to pour down on the whole world!

Ephesians 6:18
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

His Gardeners

My waking thought on a Monday morning back in September was…

“I would wage that the care and pruning of the tree of life is one of the greatest undertakings.”

It was such a interesting, yet out of the ordinary thought to have as I woke up that day, that I immediately wrote it down in my journal.  Since that early Monday morning, I have held this thought close and pondered it many times.

I think right now in this present moment He calls us to be His gardeners – caring for and pruning His tree of life in ourselves and in each other.

John 15:12
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Connected

I think deep down we all know that we are somehow connected whether we acknowledge this or not.  The connection isn’t immediately visible in this world, and yet many of us feel it and know that it is there.  Those who have accessed this deep knowledge in times of silence or brokenness or even great joy, experienced this connection and wanted to share it with everyone and thus many creations and inventions have been born from what we know within, spoken and written languages, roads, art, books, mail, morse code, televisions, telephones, and now the internet – connecting our whole world.

Yet – anything we create here is a simplistic, broken and eventually a corrupt copy of what truly exists, what is real yet invisible!

Let us use our inventions to spread LOVE despite their brokenness, but let us NOT allow them to overshadow the true and real connection that is buried deep within each of us – you will find it in the SILENT and INFINITE DEPTH of each PRESENT MOMENT.  Within each moment it waits to be discovered – a buried treasure whispering to us – Come, come and see!

Matthew 13:44-46
The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Double Doors

Can you see them?

Look up at just right angle and you will see high on the Hill of Calvary there is a set of double doors created just for us.  The lintel and center post is covered in the blood of our Passover Lamb, our sweet and precious Jesus.

His Cross holds these doors open for us… and through this opening He calls to us, beckoning for us to come, come in and see!

RUN my friends, run to His Cross, run through the doors while He holds them open for us!

John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Isaiah 45:1-4
Thus says the LORD to His anointed,
To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—
To subdue nations before him
And loose the armor of kings,
To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut:
‘I will go before you
And make the crooked places straight;
I will break in pieces the gates of bronze
And cut the bars of iron.
I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
That you may know that I, the LORD,
Who call you by your name,
Am the God of Israel.
For Jacob My servant’s sake,
And Israel My elect,
I have even called you by your name;
I have named you, though you have not known Me…

Matthew 25:1-13
“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps,  but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

“At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’ “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’“But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’ “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’

“So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.

Expressions of His Love

We are all expressions of God’s Love – each existing only as a silent dream, that when whispered from His Heavenly lips came to life.

We are all wounded and broken in some way by this fallen and fragmented world, yet still beautiful as the very act of living expresses His Great and Infinite Love.  Welcome all who come to you gently knowing that this sweet, precious, and broken being is an expression of His Love and as you send them forth – send them floating down the river of prayers flowing from your heart, easing their pain and yours for a moment or maybe a lifetime.

Psalm 46:4
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High.

Strong Roots

Remember – it is trees with the strongest roots that bear the most glorious fruit!

My friends, dig deep into the Gospel, connect with others in prayer, silent or vocal, believe Him and in His wonderful promises, and LOVE – only then can you bear fruit worthy to be set before the King.

Colossians 1:9-10
… we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s  will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.

The Golden Touch

If we could realize the merit concealed in the actions of each moment of the day… if we understood that surrender to the will of God is the true philosopher’s stone that changes into divine gold all our occupations, troubles, and sufferings, what great consolation would be ours!

I read this the other day in The Joy of Full Surrender by Jean-Pierre de Caussaude (chapter 9, Holy Made Easy) and I immediately thought of King Midas.

I’m sure you have heard of King Midas.  He was a king of great fortune who wished for – The Golden Touch, for everything he touched to be turned to gold.  Initially he received his wish with great joy, running through his castle turning everything to gold, but his joy quickly turn to fear as he realized even the food he tried to eat turned to gold before reaching his mouth, and finally his fear became true horror when he turned his own daughter to gold by giving her a hug.

Isn’t it crazy how quickly the desires of our flesh that seem good, can be twisted and turned into horrors?  Yet with the eyes of faith, a heart of love, and a true desire to fully surrender to the Will of God, we all gain The Golden Touch and everything we do is changed into divine gold in His Heavenly Realm.

Matthew 6:19-21
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done!