Love is Hard; Give Freely

THINK

"Love consists of a commitment which limits one's freedom - it is a giving of the self, and to give oneself means just that: to limit one's freedom on behalf of another."

~St. John Paul the Great (Karol Wojtyla, Love and Responsibility)

Love is hard. No doubt about it—it’s not all sunshine and roses. Love is a choice, a decision, a daily denial of self on the behalf of someone else. We freely choose to limit our freedom, to sacrifice in order to serve. It’s rather amazing isn’t it? The capacity for human beings to give and bless one another?

PRAY

God, I am so grateful for all I have to give away to the people you have asked me to love. Help me to be aware of the opportunities to serve and grant me the grace and strength to take advantage of every one.

ACT

Someone needs you today. Someone needs a few moments of undivided attention, or a chocolate chip cookie baking afternoon, or a backrub. Someone needs you to set aside what you want to do and do something better – for both of you. Give freely.

~*~*~

I like to pray when I run in the morning. Often, I listen to Divine Office and pray Morning Prayer or the Office of Readings. Then, I just take up a conversation with God. I'd love to pray for you! Please leave your prayer requests below and we can pray for each other, no matter how we spend our morning prayer time. Meet me back here Monday and I'll share the ponderings from my #morningrun.

Winner! St. Luke's Brush Giveaway

Oh happy day!  Judith has won the St. Luke's Brush Advent giveaway. Judith wrote: 

“Oh my, how lucky - or blessed! I have been struggling with an issue and everywhere I turn I come upon Isaiah 55:8-9. “His thoughts are not our thoughts...
Hoping and praying I win. Thank you, Elizabeth.”

Judith, please email me and so I can connect you with the good folks at St. Luke's Brush. 

It's  too late to order before Christmas delivery. I know, so sad. All these dolls are handmade and art takes time. Easter is early this year, folks, so if you had your heart set on one for Christmas and you procrastinated, order for Easter baskets right now while you're thinking about it!

Pray Before Every New Task

THINK

At her canonization on July 7, 1946, Pope Pius XII said about St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, "Although her constitution was very frail, her spirit was endowed with such singular strength that, knowing the will of God in her regard, she permitted nothing to impede her from accomplishing what seemed beyond the strength of a woman."

One wonders how she did it. She accomplished so much, worked so hard and so well for God. How did she find the strength? From where did she mine the energy to do all that she did?  St. Frances Cabrini quotes are few. Apparently, she didn’t waste a lot of time talking. She did say this, however, and maybe that’s the answer to question of “How?”:

"We must pray without tiring, for the salvation of mankind does not depend on material success; nor on sciences that cloud the intellect. Neither does it depend on arms and human industries, but on Jesus alone."

PRAY

From the Collect:

God our Father, who called Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini from Italy to serve the immigrants of America, by her example, teach us to have concern for the stranger, the sick, and all those in need, and by her prayers help us to see Christ in all the men and women we meet. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

ACT

Today, try to remember to pray before every new task. You’ll forget. It’s not a habit. But it could become one, if only we do it again and again, as the Holy Spirit reminds us.

~*~*~

I like to pray when I run in the morning. Often, I listen to Divine Office and pray Morning Prayer or the Office of Readings. Then, I just take up a conversation with God. I'd love to pray for you! Please leave your prayer requests below and we can pray for each other, no matter how we spend our morning prayer time. Meet me back here tomorrow and I'll share the ponderings from my #morningrun.

the cathedral that is a canopy of trees

Think

 "Why must people kneel down to pray? If I really wanted to pray I’ll tell you what I'd do. I'd go out into a great big field all alone or in the deep, deep woods and I'd look up into the sky—up—up—up—into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I'd just feel a prayer."

--L.M. Montgomery in Anne of Green Gables

Pray

Holy Spirit, guide my feet. Take me to the places you've created to nourish my soul. Let me go there, breathe deep there, and inhale You. Let me never take for granted the cathedral that is a canopy of trees beneath a glorious autumn sky.

Act

Go outside. Find a place where you can appreciate the simple beauty of the natural world. Inhale deeply, exhale prayer.

~*~*~

I like to pray when I run in the morning. Often, I listen to Divine Office and pray Morning Prayer or the Office of Readings. Then, I just take up a conversation with God. I'd love to pray for you! Please leave your prayer requests below and we can pray for each other, no matter how we spend our morning prayer time. Meet me back here tomorrow and I'll share the ponderings from my #morningrun.

Undo the Knots & Calm the Chaos

THINK

“As soon as we are alone,...inner chaos opens up in us. This chaos can be so disturbing and so confusing that we can hardly wait to get busy again. Entering a private room and shutting the door, therefore, does not mean that we immediately shut out all our inner doubts, anxieties, fears, bad memories, unresolved conflicts, angry feelings and impulsive desires. On the contrary, when we have removed our outer distraction, we often find that our inner distraction manifest themselves to us in full force. We often use the outer distractions to shield ourselves from the interior noises. This makes the discipline of solitude all the more important.” 

-- Henri Nouwen

Solitude: 

We crave it and then, when we have it, we fill it with iPods, and smart phones, and radios, and all the worlds they open for us. We invite the noise into our silence, because we are uneasy in the quiet of our own thoughts. And yet, solitude holds the very tools we need to repair the chaos in our souls.

PRAY

Come, Holy Spirit! Help me to be comfortable in the silence of my own heart. Keep me company there. Undo the knots and calm the chaos. Teach me to be at ease in the silence of our companionship.

ACT

Make time to be silent for as long as possible today. Turn it all off. Be truly grateful for the time, even if it’s just a few moments. Tomorrow, try to go a little longer. 

~*~*~

I like to pray when I run in the morning. Often, I listen to Divine Office and pray Morning Prayer or the Office of Readings. Then, I just take up a conversation with God. I'd love to pray for you! Please leave your prayer requests below and we can pray for each other, no matter how we spend our morning prayer time. Meet me back here tomorrow and I'll share the ponderings from my #morningrun.