Love Is... Preparing for Thanksgiving

One of the biggest reasons we love Thanksgiving – and there are many – is that it’s rooted in gratitude. We share a meal with people we love, to thank God for the blessings of each other and our country. We may start the day with Mass or other church service (‘Eucharist’ comes from the Greek word for ‘thanksgiving’). We may participate in a Run to support a nearby soup kitchen: Go to https://runsignup.com/Race/OH/Akron/HomeRunfortheHomeless for one fun 4-mile race, now in its 30^th year! No matter how our day begins, when we take the love and laughter heard around the dinner table and add football, a hike or board games, we’ve got a recipe for one special holiday!

All the loving and thanks-giving aren’t reserved for next Thursday, though; you’re celebrating them now, as you cross things off your ‘to-do’ list.

Think of all your expressions of love and gratitude that are disguised as preparations: You love people when you invite them to join you for dinner. You love when you deep-clean the house, shop for groceries, and squeeze in more chairs around the table. You love when you pray for the safety of travelers. You love when you happily accept an invitation and prepare a dish to share. If you’re having overnight guests, you love when you figure out where everyone will sleep and put clean sheets and blankets on the beds. You love when you mop the floor, vacuum the carpet, and scrub the bathroom. You love when you give what you have to those who would otherwise go without. It’s all love, and it all brings a little bit of heaven to earth.

 “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God” (2 Corinthians 9:12).

So in the coming week, while you’re crossing tasks off your list, thank God for all of it: your family and friends, a home to clean, food to prepare, and plenty to share. Remember that you’re already celebrating thanks-giving, well before the holiday arrives.

“Lord, as I prepare for Thanksgiving Day, may everything I do be rooted in love and gratitude to You.”

 

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Faith Is Power

  “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” –Luke 17:6

Imagine:  trees uprooting themselves and moving to another location. That’s impossible! Yet Jesus’ point is that, when we put our faith in Him and His loving power, what we think is impossible can become possible. What do you wish was possible? Maybe it’s to break out of a cycle of sin or forgive that particular someone – including yourself? Maybe it’s overcoming an addiction, finding gainful employment, or being healed? Whatever it is, ask God for His grace and power to help you make it happen.

Faith gives us courage to believe the promises of Christ. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Believe that God loves you and wants you to spend eternity with Him! Believe that Christ made that possible through His own death and resurrection, which proved that Love is more powerful than the evil that tried to destroy Him.

Faith helps us trust God, knowing that His ways are not our ways. We may ask God for greater faith and then seek out His wisdom. As Augustine of Hippo said, “I believe so that I may better understand. I understand so that I may believe.”

Faith doesn’t solve all our problems for us, and having faith doesn’t mean we’ll never worry. Think of Mary and Joseph traveling for a day toward home from Jerusalem and then discovering that 12-year-old Jesus wasn’t with the large group (see Luke 2:41-50). Of course they were worried! They were also proactive: they asked their fellow travelers if anyone had seen Him and then went back to Jerusalem to look for Him. They certainly asked God to protect Him and guide them to Him. After a few days they found Jesus in the temple, conversing with the rabbis. He was surprised they had worried: ‘Didn’t you know I was right here the whole time?’

Imagine Christ saying to you, “Follow their example. When you’re worried or struggling, come to Me. Trust that I’m always here, right beside you. Have faith in Me and My love for you. I want you to know true joy; I want to ease your burdens. Ask Me to show you the next step. Let Me pour My wisdom, strength and courage into your soul. Let Me fill you with My peace.”

“Lord, I believe in You. Increase my faith. Help me trust in Your loving power so that, with You, I can do the impossible.”

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Gifting Each Other With Prayer

 

“I’ll pray for you.” What a wonderful gift we give to someone when we ask God, the Creator of the universe, to help them in whatever way is needed for that particular situation. This is what we call ‘intercessory prayer.’ We give ourselves the same gift when we pray for ourselves.

I believe God designed prayer to be both spiritual and intellectual; I believe that prayer is most powerful when we pray for something specific, and visualize what we are asking God to accomplish as if it has already happened. Even while praying recited or repetitive prayers, like the rosary, we might picture the scene or the person we’re praying for. Here are a few examples you might want to try that have been taught to me over the years:

Someone’s physical health is poor? While you ask God to heal them, picture that person’s body being healed. Picture them in their home or hospital bed or wherever they are. Picture an army of white blood cell “soldiers” battling their illness. Picture Jesus laying His healing hands on the person as their body heals. Picture Him calming their fears, taking away their pain, and helping their body relax. 

If someone is in need of emotional, mental, or spiritual healing, ask Jesus to shower His blessings on them. Picture Him placing His hands on their head, pouring His peace into their mind and their heart. Picture Jesus standing with His arm around the person’s shoulder, offering words of comfort and encouragement. Ask the Lord to let the person feel His love and presence.

Are there relationship problems? Ask Jesus to act as a loving mediator. Picture Him standing in the room with the people who are estranged from each other, His open hands inviting them to reconcile. Picture the tension between them fade as healing and forgiving powers wash over them, wrapping them in His peace. Picture the people smiling at, shaking hands with, and even hugging each other.

Many of our struggles are caused not only by the circumstances but by the stress we feel because of those circumstances. That’s why, in my opinion, we add power to our prayers when we pray for another’s peace of mind and heart as well as their physical health.

Jesus promised to be with us; let’s be generous in gifting each other with our prayers.

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:20

“Lord, help me to pray my prayers with sincerity so that Your will may be done and the world will come to know you and the power of Your love.”

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A Dozen Ways to Love Your Neighbor: Autumn Edition

 

“One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked Him, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these.’” –Mark 12:28-31

A DOZEN WAYS TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR: AUTUMN EDITION

Below are some simple suggestions. I’m sure you’ve done many of them already and could add your own ideas based on your particular circumstances. If you’re looking for organizations that need volunteers, a good place to start might be to google ‘volunteer opportunities near me.’ Even the smallest acts of kindness can make a big difference for someone else!

As you switch out the seasonal clothes in your closet, pick out a few nice items you haven’t worn in a while and donate them to a local charity.

If you ever have unopened food in your fridge or pantry that you know you won’t use by the ‘use by’ date, offer it to your neighbors or a soup kitchen.

When buying school supplies for your child, purchase something extra and take it to the school office for any child who may need it, or purchase a gift card for your child’s teacher.

Rake the leaves for an elderly neighbor.

Surprise a friend you haven’t seen in a long time with a phone call, text, or email, or mail them a Thanksgiving greeting card.

Obey speed limits in school zones; stop for school busses when their lights are flashing.

Send your child’s teacher a note of appreciation mid-semester; include a gift card to a local small business or a homemade treat.

Offer to volunteer at your child’s school.

If you like to knit or crochet, you may want to make hats for newborns or scarves for veterans. Contact your local hospital or the VA to find out what they can use.

Purchase a gift card to a local small-business bakery and take it to the fire station.

Donate hats, gloves, or socks to a school or shelter; include a bag of Halloween candy.

If you know of a college student who can’t travel home for Thanksgiving, or anyone else who will be alone on the holiday, invite them to join you for dinner.

 “Lord, help me look for ways to love my neighbor.”

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Suffering and Miracles

 Our friend Len shouldn’t be alive today. An active man now at age 70, he’ll tell you that 45 years ago he had a near-death experience, and 15 years ago was told he had maybe 18 months to live. Len was in so much pain that he asked God to let him die. That’s when someone suggested he see an MD in Cleveland with a reputation for treating -- and healing -- terminal cases like his. Len met with this physician, Dr. Issam Nemeh; what happened next shocked and baffled his doctors. 

The Bible is full of stories of people being cured of physical and mental ailments. Many, like the blind man Bartimaeus, were persistent in asking Jesus to heal them (see Mark 10:46-52). Even today, we hear of people being healed miraculously, outside of medical explanation. We may wonder why God allows suffering in the first place, and why some people recover and not others, with medicine or without.

 One way to look at this is to ask, “Why do athletes endure brutal practice sessions?” They suffer to reach their goal: winning. Yet not everyone wins, even if they practice.

 Our ultimate goal isn’t to live on earth forever. Our ‘winning’ is living in perfect Love, which is eternal life with God. Our earthly sufferings can help us reach that goal. Yes, illness and other difficulties cause us great pain and distress. When we ask God to take away our pain or use it for some kind of good, or when we ask Him for the grace and wisdom to get through a particular hardship, these humble prayers acknowledge His power and move us toward Him. Whether or not we’re healed, or if our prayer is answered in a way different from what we had hoped, we have brought ourselves closer to God. When others care for us in our illness, or support us in our difficulties, they become more like Him; they show us His love. All of this can bring all of us closer to Him. That’s our goal. 

 Our sufferings can help us know that God is with us always; He is alive, loving, and powerful.

 Len was healed immediately. Dr. Nemeh stresses that it’s God, not him, Who does the healing.  You can listen to Len and Dr. Nemeh tell their story to the radio personality you may know as ‘Trapper Jack’ on this link:

https://blindfaithlive.com/the-miracle-story-of-leonard-debenedictis-blind-faith-live-episode-19/#sthash.zQDNiuAJ.dpbs

 

“Lord, remind me to turn to You when I’m suffering.”

 

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We Have Only Today

“I shall pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” ― Stephen Grellet

 All day, every day, we’re faced with hundreds of choices. Many of these seem small and insignificant, yet each choice leads to the next, which leads to the next. Our lives and the lives of the people around us are shaped by the ripple effect of our choices.

 As Christians, we’re called to be deliberate in choosing God’s way of loving and serving our neighbors over our self-serving ways. This isn’t a one-time decision but a choice we make over and over again each day. Remembering this helps us stay tuned in to what He wants, puts us in an ‘other-centered’ frame of mind, and affects everything we think about, say, and do. Even if our efforts go unnoticed or unappreciated, and even though we may never know the results of our good deeds, our task is the same. Loving and serving others is how we bring heaven to earth.

 Sometimes, though, we choose our own way. In our mistaken belief that serving ourselves will make us happy, we do or say things that hurt others. So what do we do after we mess up? How do we get past the guilt of “Why did I do that?” or “Why did I say that?” This is when we turn to God and ask for His forgiveness (and maybe the forgiveness of another person). God loves us and will welcome us back with open arms, just as the father welcomed home his prodigal son (see Luke 15:11-32). Turn back to God, and then start again with the next good choice.

 We have only today. Maybe today will be our last day, and maybe we’ll have thousands more days, but this day will never come again. Let’s remember that each choice leads to another. Let our goal be to look back on our day and see a trail of more goodness and holiness than sin and selfishness. Let’s work to build the kingdom of God here on earth, one loving choice at a time.

 “Show me Your ways, Lord; teach me Your paths.” –Psalm 25:4

 

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Give Yourself a Break

 

Parents know the value of giving their child a ‘time out’ when the child is overwhelmed. Jesus shows that it’s important for us to take breaks, too.

 In Matthew chapter 14, Jesus learns that Herod has beheaded John the Baptist. Jesus wants to be alone to grieve but the people find out where He is:  “As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick” (Matthew 14:13-14).

 And then, after preaching and healing all day, Jesus miraculously feeds thousands of people with only a few loaves of bread and a couple fish. The next verses tell us about His need for a ‘time out’:  “Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home. After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone” (Matthew 14:22-23).

 “Jesus insisted...” He made them go without Him; He wanted to be alone. He likely felt drained, and ached to talk to the Father about John’s death. He had wanted to get away since He first heard about John and knew this was a good time to go.  

 “Jesus insisted…”  Jesus undoubtedly wanted to thank His Father for giving Him the power and stamina to preach, heal, and feed the multitudes. He also needed to let the Father ‘recharge’ Him and had to be by Himself for this to happen.  

 “Jesus insisted…” Jesus knew He needed a break and insisted on taking it. We, too, have to make it a priority to take care of ourselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually. That’s not being selfish; that’s preserving the precious YOU God created! It’s important to ‘get away’ to God when you’re exhausted or hurting or even celebrating. Look for – or create -- little breaks in your day to turn to Him. Talk to Him about whatever’s on your mind and pay attention to what thoughts come back to you. Stop to thank Him for loving you. ‘Getting away’ to God is only impossible if you decide that it is. If you have small children, maybe the only time you have by yourself is while brushing your teeth. Stop brushing a moment, thank God for those children, and let Him refresh you -- for them.

 God loves you! Insist on ‘getting away’ to Him. Let Him recharge you.

 “Be still, and know that I am God.” --Psalm 46:10

 

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