Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Get through the "noise" to what truly matters

Prayer for the Day

Heavenly Father, through Your Son, please allow me to get through the mundane “noise” today and show me what really matters to you. Help me to love You with my whole heart, mind, soul and strength and to use that strength to reflect Your image to others. Amen

Reflection

Have you ever noticed how we are often scrupulous about minor matters and neglect the greater ones? We are often more concerned about appearances and opinions of others than what is in our heart and the purity of our thoughts and intentions. I think that’s what Jesus was telling the Pharisees in the verses where He begins “Woe to you!” (Mt 23:23-26)

We are made in God’s image. Anything and everything that is good about us--in our nature, our natural personality--IS a gift from God. We are a reflection of God. Our natural abilities are natural only because God put them within us by design and choice, as a reflection of God’s nature for our benefit and for the benefit of the world.

And all of that true nature is only true because it's a gift from our Creator. Everything that's natural -- everything we were born with -- because if God hadn't chosen to give it to us, we wouldn't have it. THAT is the definition of "gift."

It’s been said, “The only way to preserve any gift of God is to give it away.” Each of us has God given gifts that we are asked to share with others. Paul received the great gifts of knowledge, understanding and discourse from God and he lived his life by giving those gifts to others. Jesus took on human existence so he could give his life for us. What an awesome gift!

At the end of each Mass the celebrant says “Go now to love and serve the Lord.” That is a declaration to go out and share our gifts with others. What we do for others might not reverberate around the world, but even the simplest undertaking, such as smiling at the bank clerk, is a gift. Everything we do is extremely worthwhile and important to the ones we serve.

So I guess my advice would be to “Go now to love and serve the Lord” …by loving and serving each other.

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"I demand from you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to your neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.

I am giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbor:
the first — by deed, the second — by word, the third — by prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy.

Many souls ... are often worried because they do not have the material means with which to carry out an act of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permissions nor storehouses, is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul.

If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment with their mercy".