Bringing Peace to the Impossible

 “Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.  Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’”

–Matthew 1:18-21

Joseph didn’t let himself become overwhelmed by his pain and confusion. Instead, he was proactive in bringing love and peace to a seemingly impossible situation. It’s possible that, from his perspective, divorcing Mary without anyone knowing why would free her to marry the baby’s father and thereby protect her from shame and certain death by stoning. Joseph’s selfless solution meant that he would lose her as his spouse, but he would also save her life. Notice that it wasn’t until after his decision to protect Mary that the angel came to reassure him of God’s plan. Joseph didn’t pray, “God, give me proof that Mary’s telling the truth and then I’ll protect her.” He acted in love and hope for her first; he found a way to bring peace to his circumstances. The angel saw his integrity and love, and relieved him of his fears.

Together, Mary and Joseph held fast to hope -- the confident trust that God would make things work out for the best. They let Love be their guide as they gratefully accepted shelter in a stable, fled from Herod, and returned to Galilee to raise the child Jesus. Hope was their inspiration, Love led the way, and Peace followed.

If you’re struggling, resist the temptation to let fear and anxiety overpower you. Feel them, and then place your hope in the Prince of Peace. Follow Joseph’s example: find a way to be proactive, and bring love and peace to the situation. Let God’s Love guide your actions, one step at a time. Trust that He may want to accomplish something through you and your circumstances.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” –Romans 15:13

 “Lord, inspire me to bring peace to even my most difficult circumstances.”

 

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Making Room for Christmas

God’s Gift of Love was born on Christmas Day. During Advent, we prepare our hearts to receive more of His Loving Gifts on Christmas while sharing them with others:

While you carefully consider what to give to someone special… while you’re making, baking, or buying a gift that will make them smile… while you’re giving them your time, energy, and funds... you’re sharing God’s Love and making room in your heart for more.

When you’re kind, patient, and cheerful with the harried cashier… when you over-tip the stressed-out wait staff…. when you let someone go ahead of you in line and even strike up a friendly conversation with them… you’re sharing God’s Love, Peace, and Joy, and making room for more.

When you put something in the red kettle… when you participate in a community Giving Tree… when you give in any way to people in need… you’re offering God’s Love and Hope, and making room for more.

When you bake Christmas cookies for your coworkers or family… when you participate in a gift exchange… when you decorate your work space or home… you’re sharing God’s Love and Joy, and making room for more.

When you send out Christmas cards or e-cards, and include a person with whom you’ve had difficulty… when you ask God to bless them… when you open the door to the possibility of smoothing the bumpy road between you… you’re offering His Love, Hope, and Peace, and making room for more.

When you listen to Christmas music… when you thank God for coming to Earth to show us the way to heaven… when you ask Him to bless each person as you wrap their gift or address their card… you’re giving them and yourself His Love and Joy, and making room for more.

“Lord, prepare my heart this Advent to receive more of Your Love, Hope, Peace, and Joy this Christmas.”

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A Wedding, a Baptism, and Christmas

 In the 2002 romantic comedy, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," Toula and Ian fall in love and want to get married. The problem is, Toula and her family are Greek, her father wants her to marry a Greek man, and Ian is not Greek. Ian wants to show Toula how much he loves her. He wants to share his life with her; he wants to share in everything that makes her her. He will do anything to be with her forever. So, he decides to become Greek.

In the scene of Ian's baptism into the Greek Church, the priest prays and dunks Ian's head under water three times. Toula and her brother Nicko are standing nearby, watching. Toula murmurs to her brother, "I'm just waiting for him to stop the ceremony and say to me, 'You are so not worth this.'" Nicko looks over at her, smiles, and says, "Yes you are."

Though there's an obvious difference of scale between them, we may draw an analogy between this part of the movie and Jesus' coming to Earth. God loves YOU so much that He became one of us; He shared in our humanity in every way except sin. Jesus, 'Immanuel,' 'God With Us,' lived among us and showed us His Love. He wants you to be with Him for all eternity and so He offered Himself as a sacrifice for you and for your salvation. While we prepare to celebrate Christmas, we also see His cross and resurrection. Through them, Jesus showed us that Love is more powerful than evil, and that even death itself couldn't put an end to Him -- His Spirit is still with us. In all of this, He lets us know, 'I'm doing this for YOU. I love you so much that I want you to be with Me forever. I'm offering Myself for you. You are so worth it.'

"No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven -- the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." --John 3:13-17

"Lord, thank You for becoming one of us and crushing the power of death. Help me to love as You love."

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Celebrating Thanksgiving

 Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

This Thanksgiving, may you celebrate the wondrous blessings of a home, a meal, and those priceless gifts we call family and friends. If you’re struggling, if ‘celebrate’ is the last thing you feel like doing, may the people around you wrap you in their love and appreciation. May all of you give thanks for the irreplaceable gift of YOU!

May you hold in the depths of your soul a Spirit of Gratitude for God’s immense love and grace. May this spirit of gratitude be a sentiment that is deeper, richer, and more joyful than a mental ‘attitude of gratitude.’ May you be graced with peace as you recall reasons to celebrate and blessings to be thankful for: friendship and kinship, food from God’s loving creation, and time to savor all of it.

May this special Day of Giving Thanks remind you of God’s goodness and fill you with joy!

 “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” –Psalm 150:6

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.” –Psalm 136:1

 

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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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