If you do a Google search on God-shaped hole, you come up with many explanations about the origin of the term; from a quote from a book by Blaise Paschal to St. Augustine's famous "our hearts are restless, O Lord, until they rest in you."
I have been contemplating this empty space in us that only God can fill, and I come up with my own explanation.
If you look in a full-length mirror you can see how large the space that God longs to fill is. It is our whole being.
He longs to fill our mind with His word; Sacred Scripture. He wants us to learn about Him and His ways so that we will follow them.
He longs for our eyes to look upon His creation both in nature and in each other and be in awe, so much so that we refuse to look upon things that are abhorrent to Him so as not to offend Him.
He wants our mouth to be full of Him; praying without ceasing, singing His praises, bringing Him to others whom we meet by a kind word or an "I'll pray for you."
He wants our ears to hear only that which is life-giving and affirming. We don't need to be a part of gossip or trash talk.
He wants our heart to be full of love for Him and to long for heaven and union with the Beloved.
Our hands are to be His hands on earth. We can find a thousand ways to serve Him if we only look for ways to incorporate the corporal works of mercy into each day.
Our arms are His arms for hugging a crying child or a friend in need.
Our feet are His feet. They take us to His Church for Mass, to hospitals and nursing homes to care for those who are lonely and ill. They take us to soup kitchens were our help is needed to serve the homeless and hungry.
Our whole being cries out for God to fill us with Him so that we can be His light in the darkness of the world.
Dear Lord Jesus, fill me with You! Let all who encounter me know that you are the center of my life. Amen.
www.thatslife12.blogspot.com
Showing posts with label Mass. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mass. Show all posts
Monday, March 6, 2017
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Ordinary Sanctity
Sanctity is the state of being holy or saintly.
In my last blog I talked about being called to be ordinary. This does not mean that I am not called to sanctity. Mother Angelica, founder of EWTN said, "We are all called to be great saints--don't miss the opportunity!"
Scripture tells us, "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matt:5:48)
So, while the majority of us are called to live ordinary lives, this does not give us permission to be less than God wants us to be.
How do we achieve that to which we are called? Several ways:
Prayer. Pray every single day. Don't let it be a sloppy prayer either. If you are only going to pray a little bit, make it GREAT!! Get down on your knees. Breath in peace and let your mind focus on God. (He's always waiting to hear from us!)
Practice ACTS:
Acclamation---praise God and adore Him; realizing that He is Almighty!!
Contrition--tell Him where you messed up and be sorry. Tell Him you're sorry for hurting Him.
Thanksgiving-- thank Him for everything--joys as well as sufferings.
Supplication--ask Him for what you need.
Mass: go to Mass more than on Sundays. Every single day Christ is there in Holy Communion waiting to come to you. Try to attend Mass at least one more day during the week. You will find that as you let Christ feed you with Himself, that you find it hard to stay away.
Confession: Christ instituted the Sacrament of Confession for a reason!! We need it! He knows we need it. Go! You'll be glad you did. Afraid? Embarrassed? Been a while? It doesn't matter. Pray for courage and go. It will lead you closer to Him.
Do something for someone in need. Needs come in all sizes: donate food to a food bank, make a meal for a new mom or someone recovering from surgery, tutor an adult who cannot read, bring Communion to a shut-in, pray for someone who is dying. It doesn't have to be huge, it just has to be done.
Read your Bible. If you don't have one, go buy one; a NICE one. Start with a Gospel. Read what God has to say to you. It's a beautiful thing!
Read about the life of a Saint. There are so many amazing Saints from which to choose; Saints who were children, Saints who were men, Saints who were women, Saints who had visions, Saints who were hermits, Saints who were martyred. Start anywhere.
The road to sanctity is within reach. All you have to do to get on the road is have the desire. God will lead you. Start today!
In my last blog I talked about being called to be ordinary. This does not mean that I am not called to sanctity. Mother Angelica, founder of EWTN said, "We are all called to be great saints--don't miss the opportunity!"
Scripture tells us, "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matt:5:48)
So, while the majority of us are called to live ordinary lives, this does not give us permission to be less than God wants us to be.
How do we achieve that to which we are called? Several ways:
Prayer. Pray every single day. Don't let it be a sloppy prayer either. If you are only going to pray a little bit, make it GREAT!! Get down on your knees. Breath in peace and let your mind focus on God. (He's always waiting to hear from us!)
Practice ACTS:
Acclamation---praise God and adore Him; realizing that He is Almighty!!
Contrition--tell Him where you messed up and be sorry. Tell Him you're sorry for hurting Him.
Thanksgiving-- thank Him for everything--joys as well as sufferings.
Supplication--ask Him for what you need.
Mass: go to Mass more than on Sundays. Every single day Christ is there in Holy Communion waiting to come to you. Try to attend Mass at least one more day during the week. You will find that as you let Christ feed you with Himself, that you find it hard to stay away.
Confession: Christ instituted the Sacrament of Confession for a reason!! We need it! He knows we need it. Go! You'll be glad you did. Afraid? Embarrassed? Been a while? It doesn't matter. Pray for courage and go. It will lead you closer to Him.
Do something for someone in need. Needs come in all sizes: donate food to a food bank, make a meal for a new mom or someone recovering from surgery, tutor an adult who cannot read, bring Communion to a shut-in, pray for someone who is dying. It doesn't have to be huge, it just has to be done.
Read your Bible. If you don't have one, go buy one; a NICE one. Start with a Gospel. Read what God has to say to you. It's a beautiful thing!
Read about the life of a Saint. There are so many amazing Saints from which to choose; Saints who were children, Saints who were men, Saints who were women, Saints who had visions, Saints who were hermits, Saints who were martyred. Start anywhere.
The road to sanctity is within reach. All you have to do to get on the road is have the desire. God will lead you. Start today!
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Jesus In My Pocket
One of the loveliest things about being Catholic is getting to receive Jesus; Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in the Mass.
However, there is a special way for the sick, elderly and homebound to receive our Precious Lord even though they are unable to attend the Sacrifice of the Mass.
Eucharistic Ministers, those individuals trained to distribute Communion at Mass, may also take Communion to the homebound.
By means of a pyx, the Eucharist can be properly transported to the people in need.
My parents are, lately, unable to go to Mass. It is my honor to be able to bring Jesus to them each day.
I don't have a fancy pouch for my pyx so I have to slip it in my pocket. It's lovely to receive our Lord in Communion and then to carry Him close to me for a few extra minutes until I get to my parents' home.
So grateful for the Church, its Sacraments and the ability to bring Jesus to those in need.
I love having Jesus in the Mass. It's also kind of neat to have Him in my pocket!
However, there is a special way for the sick, elderly and homebound to receive our Precious Lord even though they are unable to attend the Sacrifice of the Mass.
Eucharistic Ministers, those individuals trained to distribute Communion at Mass, may also take Communion to the homebound.
By means of a pyx, the Eucharist can be properly transported to the people in need.
My parents are, lately, unable to go to Mass. It is my honor to be able to bring Jesus to them each day.
I don't have a fancy pouch for my pyx so I have to slip it in my pocket. It's lovely to receive our Lord in Communion and then to carry Him close to me for a few extra minutes until I get to my parents' home.
So grateful for the Church, its Sacraments and the ability to bring Jesus to those in need.
I love having Jesus in the Mass. It's also kind of neat to have Him in my pocket!
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Year of Faith
Today, 10/11/12, the Holy Father celebrated Mass to officially begin the Year of Faith.
There are many ways to participate. For starters, pray!! If you are not in the habit of praying daily, start now. The Lord's Prayer is the perfect prayer because it comes from Jesus, himself. It's a great place to start.
If you do pray already, do you do a morning offering?
Here is one I like:
Oh Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of Mass throughout the world. I offer them for the intentions of your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, the reparation for sin and the union of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops, of all apostles of prayer and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father for this month. (I add) and for the intentions of Our Lady.
Do stop to pray at noon. The Angelus is a great one for the middle of the day.
What about the hour of mercy: 3:00 (a.m. or p.m.) A six minute Chaplet of Divine Mercy is easy.
How about Mass? Do you go more than once a week? Try to get there on a weekday. Jesus is always ready to nourish you with His word and Himself.
Try a different church for Mass, perhaps a National Shrine or your Cathedral.
I would encourage you to read Porta Fidei, Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Letter for the indication for the Year of Faith. (He's worried about us!!)
The catechism in small daily chunks is being offered to you at Read the Catechism in a Year | flocknoteflocknote.com. The site is a bit slow right now because of traffic volume but once you get there just give them your email address and they will send you a chunk a day to start reading. (I already read mine for today and it's not too long!)
Prayers for you this Year of Faith. Let's live it!!
There are many ways to participate. For starters, pray!! If you are not in the habit of praying daily, start now. The Lord's Prayer is the perfect prayer because it comes from Jesus, himself. It's a great place to start.
If you do pray already, do you do a morning offering?
Here is one I like:
Oh Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of Mass throughout the world. I offer them for the intentions of your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, the reparation for sin and the union of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops, of all apostles of prayer and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father for this month. (I add) and for the intentions of Our Lady.
Do stop to pray at noon. The Angelus is a great one for the middle of the day.
What about the hour of mercy: 3:00 (a.m. or p.m.) A six minute Chaplet of Divine Mercy is easy.
How about Mass? Do you go more than once a week? Try to get there on a weekday. Jesus is always ready to nourish you with His word and Himself.
Try a different church for Mass, perhaps a National Shrine or your Cathedral.
I would encourage you to read Porta Fidei, Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Letter for the indication for the Year of Faith. (He's worried about us!!)
The catechism in small daily chunks is being offered to you at Read the Catechism in a Year | flocknoteflocknote.com. The site is a bit slow right now because of traffic volume but once you get there just give them your email address and they will send you a chunk a day to start reading. (I already read mine for today and it's not too long!)
Prayers for you this Year of Faith. Let's live it!!
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