Beautiful reflection on love….

http://www.carmelites.net/multimedia/the-daily-disconnect-podcast-march-6-2020/

https://hannahstears.org/2020/03/05/be-a-witness-of-hope/

There are times I wish I could have done so much more in this life and then God shows me that when I follow Him that I become like a dandelion that has gone to seed. Those seeds that blow in the wind as Spring appears are our prayers, sacrifices, and life examples. Our living witness that become new flowers in another soul, planted in new soil. (I) We will never know the good we have done until this life is over, yet God sometimes gives us glimpses of HOPE this I have found in a beautiful ministry, so rich in FAITH, and HOPE.

PLEASE check out this growing community for those carrying the cross of infertility at: Springs in the Desert.

We are never truly alone!

GOD BLESS YOU 🙏

https://springsinthedesert.org/2020/03/05/thoughts-on-embers-a-lenten-reflection/

Matthew 6 7-15

Jesus said to his disciples: “ In your prayers do not babble as the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your father knows what you need before you ask him. So you should pray like this:

‘Our Father in heaven,

May your name be held holy,

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done

On earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

As we have forgiven those who are in debt to us.

And do not put us to the test,

But save us from the evil one.’

Yes, if you forgive others their failings, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours; but if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your failings either.”

Dear Little hearts,

Today’s reading at Mass brings us back to the very heart of Christ, his mind and his prayer. In our Lenten journey we so often have good will, enthusiasm, and in our endeavour to respond to Christs call search and take on too many spiritual practises or prayers. It is not the quantity of what we pray or read but how much of ourselves we surrender to the Lenten journey, and how much love we invest in what we do.

All down through the ages millions of Christians have prayed and lived out the Our Father, long before the Rosary came to birth, ‘Paters’ were prayed to enable the soul to focus upon God and to embrace all others in that prayer.

For an example in our own tradition, as Poor Clares, and in other Monastic traditions, for those who could not read ( for whatever reason) or whom at times were unable to pray the Divine Office, ‘ Paters’ (Our Father’s) were to be prayed instead. The same practise is still ours today. Many great saints St Francis, Teresa of Avila, and others prayed the OUR FATHER in such a way as it became a truly contemplative prayer and this can be within the reach of us all.

All it needs is space and the desire to ‘go deeper’ deeply reflecting upon each line and making it our own.

This prayer was Jesus’s gift to us all, it unites us as Christians and it brings us to a greater love of God as Father.

God is a God of peace, so be at peace, pray from your heart and do not allow anxiety draw you into thinking, this is not enough, what else can I do in Lent, what else can I read, listen too, don’t take on overload with spiritual things but rather invest a deeper love into what you already do.

We each have our way to God, listen to HIM, and what you feel within you that the Holy Spirit is genuinely leading you into …. that follow, that could be a specific reading, retreat, etc etc after all that would then be HIS WILL, but do not of yourself simply because you think on the spur of the moment it would be a good thing take on the works and then get spiritual indigestion which can bring you to that state where inwardly you scream, I can’t do this it’s all too much.

Be generous with your God, Yes, but discern what he really wants or is asking of you this Lent.

Behold- Hold- Enfold.

Lectio Divina

Prepare. ( Silencio) -We prepare by making ourselves aware that we need to come to stillness, surrendering to the silence, and then pray from the Heart, in our own words, to the Holy Spirit to guide us and help us through this time of prayer.

Read. (Lectio)- Now read the text slowly, then pause- read it again, allowing the Holy Spirit space to breathe, then pause, and read it or even sing it out aloud. When you find that your heart connects with some word, phrase, verse in particular, allow time for that verse to speak its own message.

Reflect. (Meditatio)- Re-read the Passage , the verse over again, and then reflect quietly what this word is saying to you at this moment, …….. sit in silence thinking upon the word, what is it saying to you in your life now. Try and enter in to the scene.

Pray. (Oratio)- Now pray with the text in your own simple words, respond to what God has given to you in this word, tell God what your response is, enter into a conversation, an exchange with him, pray with this word as you feel the Holy Spirit is enlightening you.

Rest ( Contemplatio) Now abide- rest in His Presence, allow him to enfold you in his love, just be!! Words at this stage are not needed, or if they are whispered words of love and praise between your hearts. The time that you allow for this is your choice.

*The latin terms used here are of course from the Benedictine Tradition and give one a good framework, but the steps of :

Behold- (read), Hold-( ponder in the heart), Enfold (Embrace, let the silence of love speak, surrender to the Lord, dwell in His love ).

These three steps are easily remembered and practised, but both approaches have their place.

……………………………………

community@marianhouseoftheholyspiritpcc.org

Listen to Made for Love Ep 9: Love that is Fruitful in Infertility by USCCBClips on #SoundCloud
https://soundcloud.com/usccbclips/made-for-love-ep-9-love-that-is-fruitful-in-infertility

‘You have seen how I bore you on eagles wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore if you will obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my own possession among all peoples; for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Exodus19 4-6a.

Dear Little hearts,

The beginning of the first week of Lent, the reading above comes from morning prayer of the Divine Office for today, in all the Lenten readings seek to see the love, the great love behind all Gods words, the mercy and compassionate and how he longs for us individually and as his people.

With our loving prayers for you all.

Behold- Hold- Enfold.

Lectio Divina

Prepare. ( Silencio) -We prepare by making ourselves aware that we need to come to stillness, surrendering to the silence, and then pray from the Heart, in our own words, to the Holy Spirit to guide us and help us through this time of prayer.

Read. (Lectio)- Now read the text slowly, then pause- read it again, allowing the Holy Spirit space to breathe, then pause, and read it or even sing it out aloud. When you find that your heart connects with some word, phrase, verse in particular, allow time for that verse to speak its own message.

Reflect. (Meditatio)- Re-read the Passage , the verse over again, and then reflect quietly what this word is saying to you at this moment, …….. sit in silence thinking upon the word, what is it saying to you in your life now. Try and enter in to the scene.

Pray. (Oratio)- Now pray with the text in your own simple words, respond to what God has given to you in this word, tell God what your response is, enter into a conversation, an exchange with him, pray with this word as you feel the Holy Spirit is enlightening you.

Rest ( Contemplatio) Now abide- rest in His Presence, allow him to enfold you in his love, just be!! Words at this stage are not needed, or if they are whispered words of love and praise between your hearts. The time that you allow for this is your choice.

*The latin terms used here are of course from the Benedictine Tradition and give one a good framework, but the steps of :

Behold- (read), Hold-( ponder in the heart), Enfold (Embrace, let the silence of love speak, surrender to the Lord, dwell in His love ).

These three steps are easily remembered and practised, but both approaches have their place.

……………………………………

This below was the Holy Fathers Ash Wednesday sermon and well worth repeating and reflecting upon, please keep Pope Francis in your prayers as is somewhat unwell with heavy cold at present.

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS

Basilica of Santa Sabina
Ash Wednesday, 26 February 2020

We begin the Lenten Season by receiving ashes: “You are dust, and to dust you shall return (cf. Gen 3:19). The dust sprinkled on our heads brings us back to earth; it reminds us that we are dust and to dust we shall return. We are weak, frail and mortal. Centuries and millennia pass and we come and go; before the immensity of galaxies and space, we are nothing. We are dust in the universe. Yet we are dust loved by God. It pleased the Lord to gather that dust in his hands and to breathe into it the breath of life (cf. Gen 2:7). We are thus a dust that is precious, destined for eternal life. We are the dust of the earth, upon which God has poured out his heaven, the dust that contains his dreams. We are God’s hope, his treasure and his glory.

Ashes are thus a reminder of the direction of our existence: a passage from dust to life. We are dust, earth, clay, but if we allow ourselves to be shaped by the hands of God, we become something wondrous. More often than not, though, especially at times of difficulty and loneliness, we only see our dust! But the Lord encourages us: in his eyes, our littleness is of infinite value. So let us take heart: we were born to be loved; we were born to be children of God.

Dear brothers and sisters, may we keep this in mind as we begin this Lenten season. For Lent is not a time for useless sermons, but for recognizing that our lowly ashes are loved by God. It is a time of grace, a time for letting God gaze upon us with love and in this way change our lives. We were put in this world to go from ashes to life. So let us not turn our hopes and God’s dream for us into powder and ashes. Let us not grow resigned. You may ask: “How can I trust? The world is falling to pieces, fear is growing, there is so much malice all around us, society is becoming less and less Christian…” Don’t you believe that God can transform our dust into glory?

The ashes we receive on our foreheads should affect the thoughts passing through our minds. They remind us that, as God’s children, we cannot spend our lives chasing after dust. From there a question can pass into our hearts: “What am I living for?” If it is for the fleeting realities of this world, I am going back to ashes and dust, rejecting what God has done in my life. If I live only to earn money, to have a good time, to gain a bit of prestige or a promotion in my work, I am living for dust. If I am unhappy with life because I think I do not get enough respect or receive what I think is my due, then I am simply staring at dust.

That is not why we have been put in this world. We are worth so much more. We live for so much more, for we are meant to make God’s dream a reality and to love. Ashes are sprinkled on our heads so that the fire of love can be kindled in our hearts. We are citizens of heaven, and our love for God and neighbour is our passport to heaven. Our earthly possessions will prove useless, dust that scatters, but the love we share – in our families, at work, in the Church and in the world – will save us, for it will endure forever.

The ashes we receive remind us of a second and opposite passage: from life to dust. All around us, we see the dust of death. Lives reduced to ashes. Rubble, destruction, war. The lives of unwelcomed innocents, the lives of the excluded poor, the lives of the abandoned elderly. We continue to destroy ourselves, to return to ashes and dust. And how much dust there is in our relationships! Look at our homes and families: our quarrels, our inability to resolve conflicts, our unwillingness to apologize, to forgive, to start over, while at the same time insisting on our own freedom and our rights! All this dust that besmirches our love and mars our life. Even in the Church, the house of God, we have let so much dust collect, the dust of worldliness.

Let us look inside, into our hearts: how many times do we extinguish the fire of God with the ashes of hypocrisy! Hypocrisy is the filth that Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel that we have to remove. Indeed, the Lord tells us not only to carry out works of charity, to pray and to fast, but also to do these without pretense, duplicity and hypocrisy (cf. Mt 6:2.5.16). Yet how often do we do things only to be recognized, to look good, to satisfy our ego! How often do we profess to be Christians, yet in our hearts readily yield to passions that enslave us! How often do we preach one thing and practice another! How many times do we make ourselves look good on the outside while nursing grudges within! How much duplicity do we have in our hearts… All this is dust that besmirches, ashes that extinguish the fire of love.

We need to be cleansed of all the dust that has sullied our hearts. How? The urgent summons of Saint Paul in today’s second reading can help us. Paul says: “Be reconciled to God!” He does not simply ask; he begs: “We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20). We would have said: “Reconcile yourselves with God!” But no, Paul uses passive form: Be reconciled! Holiness is not achieved by our efforts, for it is grace! By ourselves, we cannot remove the dust that sullies our hearts. Only Jesus, who knows and loves our heart, can heal it. Lent is a time of healing.

What, then, are we to do? In journeying towards Easter, we can make two passages: first, from dust to life, from our fragile humanity to the humanity of Jesus, who heals us. We can halt in contemplation before the crucified Lord and repeat: “Jesus, you love me, transform me… Jesus, you love me, transform me…” And once we have received his love, once we have wept at the thought of that love, we can make the second passage, by determining never to fall again from life into dust. We can receive God’s forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance, because there the fire of God’s love consumes the ashes of our sin. The embrace of the Father in confession renews us from inside and purifies our heart. May we allow ourselves to be reconciled, in order to live as beloved children, as forgiven and healed sinners, as wayfarers with him at our side.

Let us allow ourselves to be loved, so that we can give love in return. Let us allow ourselves to stand up and walk towards Easter. Then we will experience the joy of discovering how God raises us up from our ashes.

community@marianhouseoftheholyspiritpcc.org