STILL hanging in my mind is the image of being a little drop of vapor, suspended in the Sky of God. At any moment I could fall to the ground were it not for His grace and love holding me there. It is pride and self-will which make me too “heavy” to remain in this Cloud. Likewise, it is being “like a child” that gives me the lightness of heart to float freely in God’s favor.
Let anyone who thinks he is standing upright watch out lest he fall!–1 Corinthians 10:12
Scarred, but not broken
Weak, but not tepid
Hungry, but not famished
Zeal consumes my soul
Love devours my heart
Mercy conquers my spirit
Sword in hand
Faith in front
Eye on Christ
All for Him
THIS dryness is not God’s rejection, but only a little test to see if you trust Him still—when you’re not perfect.
It is not the Sun which moves, but the Earth. So too, we pass through seasons when we are stripped of consolations and cast into the darkness of wintry testing. Still, the Son has not moved; His Love and Mercy burn with a consuming fire, awaiting the right moment when we are ready to enter a new springtime of spiritual growth and the summer of infused knowledge.
THE Body of Christ is like a Cloud. A “mist-ical” body of Love.
Every so often a temptation comes along, or a suffering, or some tug of the flesh. It begins to pull on us, drawing us toward earthliness. If we allow self-will to accumulate like a water droplet, eventually, the gravity of the flesh, the world, and the devil begin to pull us until at last we fall from Grace…. plummeting toward worldliness.
Repentance is when self-will evaporates, raising itself once again to the Divine Will. No matter how many times we fall, God will never stop us from returning to the Cloud of Love.
But if we resist, the free-fall will continue until at last we find ourselves broken upon the Rocks of Sorrow (mortal sin). Not even this prevents us from returning to the Cloud, with a sincere and humble heart. But how much harder it is when one finds himself mingled among the dirt, debris, and toxins of the world, having allowed the soul to run between the cracks and crevices of rebellion, with the terrible risk that one has fallen into the Sewers of Darkness.
RAPID. That’s the word which best describes what God is doing in many hearts today: rapid change.
I can’t stress enough: the treasuries of Heaven are wide open! Ask, and you will receive. If we wish to be holier, to be healed, to be transformed, we need only ask in a spirit of humility and trust, and be ready to receive.
Time is so short. Jesus is pouring out as much as He can to whomever comes with open hands and heart.
A FRIEND wrote me today, saying she is experiencing an emptiness. In fact, I and many of my companions are feeling a certain stillness. She said, "It’s like the time of preparation is ending now. Do you feel it?"
The image came to me of a hurricane, and that we are now in the eye of the storm… a "pre-storm" to the coming Great Storm. In fact, I feel Divine Mercy Sunday (yesterday) was the center of the eye; that day when suddenly the skies broke open above us, and the Sun of Mercy shone down upon us in all its force. That day when we could emerge from the debris of shame and sin flying about us, and run to the Shelter of God’s Mercy and Love—if we chose to do so.
Yes, my friend, I do feel it. The winds of change are about to blow again, and the world will never be the same. But we must never forget: the Sun of Mercy will merely be hidden by dark clouds, but never extinguished.
MY FAMILY OF NINE went for a bike ride this evening. A veritable trail of bikes, training wheels, toddler seats, and child trailers.
But what was perhaps more amusing was those we passed on the sidewalks. People stopped dead in their tracks and stared at us like we were the first flock of geese returning in the Spring. Then I heard, “Look! A family!”
I wasn’t sure whether to laugh, or weep.
Polar ice caps
I HAVE mentioned before Romans 8, which describes nature as "groaning", awaiting the revelation of the sons and daughters of God. It’s as though nature is paralleling what is occurring in the spiritual realm.
During prayer a couple days ago, the melting of the Polar Ice Caps came to mind. Scientists are saying that the rapid meltdown will have an avalanche effect on other eco-systems. It seems to me that this is a parallel of things which are in motion and yet to come in the economic and social realm; that once they start, things will unfold rapidly.
The words of Gandolf from The Lord of The Rings come back to mind:
In His mercy, Jesus asks, "Are you ready?"
THIS Sunday, the Feast of Divine Mercy, is a significant day of historical and cosmic proportions that I believe few in the Church realize. Pope John Paul II called the Feast of the Divine Mercy the “last hope of salvation for the world.”
He who has ears ought to hear.
(To the one who disposes himself to Confession and receiving the Eucharist that day, Jesus promises that all sin and temporal punishment will be wiped away. But I believe God will also give to the “open” soul much more.)
LIKE a car whizzing by a highway sign, it seems the Lord has been giving me brief glances into the various structures of the world: economies, political powers, the food chain, the moral order, and elements within the Church. And the word is always the same:
I FELT a strong word for the Church this morning in prayer regarding television:
Happy indeed is the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked; nor lingers in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of scorners, but whose delight is the law of the Lord and who ponders his law day and night. (Psalm 1)
Christ’s Body-—baptized believers, bought with the price of His blood-—are wasting their spiritual lives in front of the television: following "the counsel of the wicked" through self-help shows and self-appointed gurus; lingering "in the way of sinners" on sitcoms; and sitting "in the company" of late night talk shows which mock and scorn purity and goodness, if not religion itself.
I hear Jesus shouting the words of the Apocalypse once again: "Come out of her! Come out of Babylon!" It is time for the Body of Christ to make choices. It is not enough to say I believe in Jesus… and then indulge our minds and senses like pagans in corrupted, if not anti-Gospel programming. God has so much more to give us through prayer: to the one who ponders his Word day and night.
So gird the loins of your understanding; live soberly; set all your hope on the gift to be conferred on you when Jesus Christ appears. As obedient sons and daughters, do not yield to the desires that once shaped you in your ignorance. Rather, become holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, after the likeness of the holy One who called you (1 Peter)
Lord Jesus, our affluence is making us less human, our entertainment has become a drug, a source of alienation, and our society’s incessant, tedious message is an invitation to die of selfishness. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, Fourth Station of the Cross, Good Friday 2006
ON MAY 30TH, 1862, St. John Bosco had a prophetic dream that uncannily describes our times—and may very well be for our times.
… In his dream, Bosco sees a vast sea full of battle ships attacking one stately ship, which represents the Church. On the bow of this stately vessel is the Pope. He begins to lead his ship towards two pillars which have appeared on the open sea.
GOOD FRIDAY. That day when we, the fruit of the Cross, seek to console the Consoler; to comfort the Comforter; to love the Lover.
O Beloved Jesus, all I have to offer you is the vinegar of weakness on the sponge of humility. That you would receive my efforts to console you… and my gratitude for so great a gift as your very Life.
THE word fell into my heart like the first droplet of Spring from an icicle: “There is coming a “Lord of the Flies” moment.”
If you have seen the motion picture The Lord of the Flies, then read on. If you haven’t, you will need to rent it or read the book before continuing (WARNING: the film’s language is raw, but real). I honestly believe it is a picture of what is happening in the world, and what is coming, and that Christ is bringing this picture back to memory for a reason. When I watched this movie recently, keeping in mind the “word” I seemed to hear from the Lord, it blew my mind.Continue reading
WHAT the heck.
I decided to drive our tour bus down Times Square, New York City.
It was late at night. Our faces stared upwards at block after of block of bright lights, billboards, and video screens. New Yorkers stared upwards at us: six kids, faces plastered to the windows. They were as amused as we were dazzled.
Dazzled. During Eucharistic Adoration after Mass this morning, I pondered on these brights lights which lit Broadway like daytime. And the words came to me, “It is a false light.” Indeed, behind every bulb was the promise of some “thing”: visual pleasure, money, sexual gratification, souvenirs, liquor… things. But no where did I see a promise of lasting happiness–inner peace and joy which can only come from the Light of the World.
It was all alluring… but in the same way, perhaps, that a moth is drawn to a bug zapper.