Sunday Wisdom

I love the Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount! It brings me peace because after all the beatitudes are really just declarations of God’s grace, and that brings me hope.  In reading today’s gospel I was struck by three beatitudes. Blessed are the meek, blessed are the merciful and blessed are the peacemakers. 

Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the land.
If someone referred to you as meek would you be offended or would you be encouraged?  This is a hard one because most of our world sees someone who is meek as weak, submissive or deficient in courage.  Jesus Himself was meek and humble of heart and I certainly do not consider Jesus to be a coward.  To be meek is to accept our strengths and weaknesses and use our gifts to serve others; to have a servant’s heart. Jesus was submissive, but not to others, only to the will of His Father.  Now that is a good role model.

Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown.
Mercy is simply treating people better than they deserve and offering forgiveness even if they don’t ask. Mercy is about offering love, not blame or judgment.  Jesus loves and forgives all of us, more than we deserve, that is mercy. When we put others first, especially those who rub us the wrong way, we are showing God’s mercy and the world, at least our world, becomes a happier more peaceful place.

Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God.
This beatitude is so closely related to showing mercy because peacemakers work to reduce conflicts, often by offering forgiveness and not blame. Our world is filled with division, division in our politics, our religions and in our own families.  In God’s kingdom, there is no conflict, only love and unity of heart reigns. Now that sounds peaceful. 

So today, seek the Lord’s will in your own life. Ask Him to guide you to use your gifts to build up the kingdom of heaven. And even if you don’t see His blessings right away, believe they are just around the bend and trust in Jesus’ promise to be with you always.

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time, be blessed, Renae

Come Follow Me!  Three small words, but what an impact they can have when we put them in action.  This gospel is so full of inspiration; The Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry, The Fulfilling of Prophecy, The Call to Peter, Andrew, John and James, The Opportunity to Forgive and Be Forgiven and Jesus’ Healing Ministry.

Wow! Can you imagine dropping everything you are familiar with, leaving your family, your home and your possessions, just to follow a stranger? Now that is bold; that is radical!  As hard as that must have been for the Apostles, I can only imagine who incredibly blessed they became on their journey. Traveling each day in the Presence of Our Lord, that has to be life changing.  Oh, I am sure it was hard, and some days they must have felt like giving up, but they didn’t. They continued their journey with hope and trust in Jesus. 

Following Jesus is radical and we too are being called to travel in His Presence.  No doubt, some days will be easy and some difficult. And while we may not have to leave our home or our families, we are being called to spend more quiet time in prayer with our Lord. Trust me, it will be life changing. 

What are you being called to do for our Lord?  Perhaps you are called to start a prayer group in your community, send a hand-made card to someone in need, organize a clothing drive for the homeless, share some kindness with a stranger or befriend a co-worker.  Whatever you feel called to do, take it to prayer.  Ask the Lord what He needs you to do and then listen to where He is calling you.  Be patient, hopeful, and trusting, after all the Lord’s mercy is never ending.

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time, be blessed, Renae

In today’s readings and gospel we are reminded to be patient, have faith and wait for the Lord.  Well, that is so much easier said than done.  How many times in our lives have we been patient waiting for the Lord to answer a prayer.

There are many times we have to remind ourselves that God’s timing is not our timing and just because we don’t get what we want, or it takes longer than we think it should, does not mean God is not listening.  He hears our every prayer and is working on a solution that will be the best for our souls and for those around us.

Depending on what you are going through physically, mentally or spiritual being patient and waiting on the Lord is hard and sometimes the darkness of doubt and fear overshadows the light of Christ in our world.

If you have ever had doubts, do not despair because you are in good company. Even John the Baptist had doubts.  The good news is that Jesus is always aware. He was aware of John’s doubts and He is aware of ours. Do not lose hope and be encouraged because Jesus did not rebuke John for his doubts. Actually, just the opposite, He praised John to be “the greatest of all those born of women.” He treated John with love and compassion and He will do the same for us. 

Jesus always knows our struggles, He knows our love for Him and our desire to walk in the light of hope. So if you are having doubts this Advent season, then give it all to Jesus. Lay it down at the foot of the cross.  Allow Jesus to reassure you, to love you, to strengthen your faith and bring you back into the light of hope. 

My prayer today is that we will all allow Jesus to be present in our lives so we can feel His love and mercy. Jesus’ perfect love for us truly will dispel all doubts and fear. Jesus I Trust in You!

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time, be blessed, Renae

Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King.  Yes, Jesus is the King of my universe, how about yours? 

I find today’s gospel filled with hope. Why? Because I say Jesus is King of my universe, but my actions don’t always show it. Oh my desire to do good and be Christ to others is there, but in my human brokenness, I stumble, fall, and fail. 

Rejoice, because Jesus knows the human struggle and pain.  He affirmed that on the cross when He died for you and me.  He understands when we suffer and the good news is Jesus also promised He would never leave us. He never promised an easy life, but in the struggle, in the pain, we find him at our side, faithful and ready to shower us with His forgiveness and mercy!

So if you are struggling today, lay your burdens at the foot of the cross and allow the King of Glory to enter into your heart and heals all your wounds.

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time, be blessed, Renae

Today’s gospel invites us to trust that Jesus will never forsake us.  It is an invitation to a deeper belief in the resurrection, which is the foundation of our faith.

What sustains you in times of adversity?  When you are facing difficulties in life or with your health, what gives you strength?  For me it is prayer and the steadfast trust in the hope of our resurrection.

Jesus calls us to be people of hope. Try not to be discouraged by situations of this world, but rather fix your eyes on Jesus and trust in His divine love. Stay connected to God through prayer, in good times and in bad, and then when death comes it will not be the end of our connection with God.   

So today, let us put our hope in God’s promise that He will never abandon us. Allow God’s love and grace to fill us with joy and trust that one day we will be united with our loved ones in heaven.

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time, be blessed, Renae

Sometimes it is easier to see the shortcomings in others so we don’t have to face our own insecurities.  The link between humility and divine charity always helps us all to follow Jesus more intentionally.  But let’s face it, true humility is hard. Daily prayer and living a more generous and charitable life is really the key to growing closer to the Lord.

In today’s gospel the tax collector was aware of his failings and shortcomings and he opened his heart to God and begged for mercy. The Pharisee on the other hand was more interested in singing his own praises. 

Of course we should not overlook the good deeds of the Pharisee, clearly he was a spiritual man trying to do the right thing, but because he allowed pride to get in the way, he missed the opportunity to have a sincere encounter God.

Let us lift our hearts in daily prayer in honesty and humility so our hearts will be open and we will be ready to receive all the grace and mercy our Lord has to offer us.

Today, let us reflect on how we can live a more generous and charitable life and invite the Lord in, so we can be transformed by His love.

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time, be blessed, Renae

In today’s gospel Jesus invites us to experience a deeper understanding of our journey of faith through detachment.  Jesus invites us to take up our cross and journey with him and in doing so, we mature in our faith.  He did not promise that it would be easy, in fact, he warns us of many obstacles.  We will make mistakes and we will have times of sorrow, but when we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, joy will come.  When we detach from the things or the people that hinder our relationship with the Lord, we find that God’s grace is enough.

What are the things or habits in your life that keep you from experiencing God’s love and mercy?

What are you willing to give up for the sake of Jesus?

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time, be blessed, Renae

In today’s gospel, Jesus refers to the strong who will be able to enter the narrow gate. How strong are you and how do we build up our strength? Jesus did not give us a routine exercise to follow, but he did give us the church. We must continue to exercise our trust in the Lord and have faith that we are given all we need, not always what we want, but what we need to grow in love.

We need God’s sanctifying grace to grow stronger spiritually, and to grow in holiness. We need to recognize that we are not alone. God is love and he is not going anywhere, regardless of how many times we turn our backs on Him. He is not going to go love some and not others. He does not change His mind about loving us because we made a bad choice.

This is great news for us and brings us hope. God loves the good and the bad. His sun shines on everyone and so we continue to build up our strength by loving others and growing in our relationship through prayer. When we trust that God gives us all that we need, we grow in humility and recognize our need for His mercy. As we open our hearts we can then recognize that God has many more graces waiting for us; graces that will continue to build up our strength.

So go ahead, flex those trust muscles and begin building up strength to enter that narrow gate. Jesus, have mercy on me. Jesus, I trust in you. God Bless you all!

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time, be blessed, Renae

Psalm 90:12-13 reminds us that we must gain the wisdom of the heart. God does not want us to focus on material things, He wants us to know that our true value. He wants us to see through His eye so we can be the man or woman He created us to be. This is hard because we can often be consumed with vanity and personal possessions, power, wealth etc.  But God does not want us to be of this world, He wants us to store up those things of heaven. To do this we must remain open to God’s voice.

Let us all reflect today on our personal struggle with greed and material possession.   
The Lord wants to give us so much more. We all know that happiness that can be bought is only temporary.     

Jesus offers us hope. When we prioritize the things that we have and focus on our life with Christ, we will find happiness. I guess we really need to ask ourselves this question, how can I help bring happiness to others using the gifts and things I already have? 

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time, be blessed, Renae