Understanding God's Will

Knowing God's will is a complex theological issue debating for centuries.  It is also as simple as smiling to those who pass our way.

My dh and I have been discussing knowing God's will - reading St. Alphonsus Ligouri's "Uniformity with God's Will" for Lent (available on-line at www.ccel.org).  We were talking about how the path of knowing God's will goes from the broad to the delicate.  

Early on in our marriage God had to use a broad brush with us as we came to know and understand the Church's teachings and His will.  We had some really big stuff to bring into line - from understanding marriage as a sacrament to issues on family planning.  Over the past two decades He has continually taken a brush to our lives helping us to become more and more subtle in our lives of holiness.  

Much like our children - who first scribble with the fat crayons, move onto the standard Crayola and when ready we allow them markers.  God has been painting the life He wants me to lead.  At times I am a willing subject, others not so much.

The challenge with these delicate issues is that they can be a bit tricky.  The reality is that while were is much we all need to consent to - the hierarchy of truths - there is latitude in the some o the small stuff.  For example, while contraception is never right, TV might not always be always wrong.  

Hearing God speak of the subtleties of our soul is not easy.  We can hear the trumpets that blast in our heads with the 'big' stuff but the smaller stuff often comes with a whisper.   Make time for silence in your life so you can hear God's whispers as He delicately creates you into His complete creation.

Today's Gospel is all you need....

Luke 9: 22-25 

Jesus said to his disciples, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised."  Then he said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.  What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose for forfeit himself?"

If we could only do this - pick up the cross He has given us and proceed up the road.  We will fall - facing the rejection He himself endured.  We will fall, again and again.  But we will pick up and continue.  

Living a life of virtue is a struggle.  We know this.  On many days we fall into bed battered and bruised from all the mistakes we will make, but still we walk.  

The difference is loving the fight and never the fall.  He knows we will fall and sends grace and the angels to watch over and protect us when we do.  But He watches and sees if we will arise - that is our choice.  Will we rise and try again or will we stay in the muck and refuse.

Let us give Him cause for joy and rise to walk again.

Ash Wednesday and a Restless Heart

Today we begin our return to God.  Turning from what distracts us from Him, His will and, in the end, our own joy.

This we need to remember - our joy, our deep interior joy comes only from doing His will and fulfilling our vocation as defined by Him.  When we chose to ignore that, defy that or prevent it from happening we are in truth hurting ourselves.  But this is hard to accept and believe, isn't it?

We 'think' that by doing what makes us happy, by keeping ourselves and our needs and desires met and fulfilled we will be happy.  And we are - for brief moments - but then we ache again.  This ache in our hearts, our souls and our minds comes from the prayer of St. Augustine's Confessions - "Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee".

Too often we create this restless heart ourselves.   We know what we should do but refuse to do it.  Let this Lent be one of seeking Him before ourselves, His will above our own and knowing that in doing so, we will be restless no longer.

Consider reading Uniformity with God's Will by St. Alphonus de Ligouri this Lent.

LOVE2LEARN BLOG: Catholics, Homeschooling, and Copyright Infringement

Please remember that the Little Flowers Girls' Club is a trademarked name with copyrighted material. Purchases go to allowing more materials to be available. Here is a great link to finding out more about respecting copyrights and small publishers. 

LOVE2LEARN BLOG: Catholics, Homeschooling, and Copyright Infringement

Two Items of Note

1.  Blessed Damian of Molokai is to be a saint!  This a great news.  He has always been a favorite saint of mine as I am of Belgian heritage (my Dad), my dh's middle name is Damian and my youngest son, Damian Joseph is named in this new saint's honor.  His story is inspiring and encouraging especially now in our own hard times when we can feel that what God is asking of us is impossible.  Please read (or re-read) his story for yourself and your children.  

2.  Today's gospel (Mark 9:14-29) could be our mantra on a daily basis - Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.   For we do believe, don't we?  But we also don't believe.  This is a fight we struggle with every day.  What we BELIEVE fighting against what we see and what we feel - our UNBELIEF.  Perhaps we can ask Bl. Damian to help us stay where we believe and not linger in our areas of doubt.

Stretching ourselves

Yesterday's post about the tough stuff we do as parents came from a comment I read in the newspaper.  A parent was being interviewed and made the oft-heard comment, "I'd do anything for my kids, I'd die for my kids!"

I agree wholeheartedly but I had to wonder.....How many parents will say that are willing to die for their kids but wouldn't consider praying with their kids?  How many  parents will go to extreme means to give their kids anything they ask but won't take them to church?  How many of us would buy our children whatever they want but can't seem to tell them about Jesus??

I know I use this path of questioning sometimes when I head off to confession.  What was I willing to do for my kids over the past weeks/month and what wasn't I willing to do??  I have come to realize that when it comes to my kids it is truly a fight between the sins of commission and the sins of omission.  The things I do -lose my patience, yell, grump and complain - and the things I didn't do - witness selflessness, offer to pray with them, show them Jesus fight for first on the list.

I am truly willing to die for my children but I struggle daily to die to myself for them.

God Bless,

Rachel

I wrote yesterday's blog - Rachel

I will start signing my blogs so there is no confusion.  While I took some of the compliments for myself, I understand the writer believed that Joan had wrote the post and I concur w/ all of her comments.  Joan is truly worthy of all praise.

God Bless,

Rachel