Sunday Wisdom

Today’s gospel is all about giving from the heart. It really does not matter how much you offer our Lord, He needs nothing from us, but sacrificial giving pleases Him. Whether we offer a monetary gift or simply give freely of our time and attention, we learn to become more generous.

The Lord does not expect us to empty our bank account, but he does want us to pour out our hearts and be as generous as He is. After all He gave every drop of blood, every ounce of mercy and even His last breath so that if we so choose, are free to eternally live in His Kingdom.

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

Today’s gospel causes us to reflect on our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Love the Lord with all your heart, all your mind, and all your strength. When we focus on that deep love, then loving others is easy. We want what is truly good for each other. Only this deep personal relationship with our Lord will help us to let go of the wounds from our past, let go of our worry for the future and truly live in the present moment.

We can focus on the present moment and strive to live as the saints, one ordinary moment at a time then we too, will become saints. So let us all ask ourselves, How can I put God first in my life? How can I live one moment at a time in faithful trust? How can I better serve those around me?

I pray you all will have a peaceful day!

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

When we empty ourselves and become little, we allow God to fill us and we become so much more.  John and James kind of missed the point that Jesus came to serve, not to be served.  Jesus wanted James, John and all his followers, us included, to understand that His glory was most fulfilled when he emptied himself for others. 

So what does that kind of humility and glory look like?  How can we imitate Christ’s love? As we strive to humbly serve others, let us always live in the hope of the resurrection and recall how God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son for you and for me.

So today, let us be empty and little, so we can be filled and blessed!

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

In today’s gospel Jesus teaches his disciples about the value of surrender and detachment.  The rich man has a sincere desire to follow Jesus and have eternal life. Jesus values this, understands him and then calls him to be more, give more and follow completely.

Wealth and material things are not bad, after all Jesus permits them, but then again when our attachment to possession gets in the way of living more like Jesus then there is a problem. After all Matthew the tax collector was very wealthy when Jesus called him to give up his job and follow.

Jesus wants us all to break free of whatever is holding us back from living as disciples of Christ.  He wants us to find freedom through detachment and surrender so we can truly focus on loving God and one another.

What is our Lord asking you to let go of today? What distracts you from that high calling of freely living as one of his disciples?

Lord help me to surrender whatever is distracting me from you.

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Until next time, be blessed, Renae

God wants us to see beyond ourselves, our everyday needs, wants and desires to see the bigger plan.  Have you ever noticed in the gospels when the Pharisees or the High Priests try to trick Jesus, he just redirect them.

I think it is natural for us to think same and see only our personal wants, but God wants more for us. Marriage is not about always doing what is right or wrong; it is an act of faithful and self-giving love.  For the beginning God put together a man and a woman who were obviously both in need of grace.

There is hope for us. We don’t have to always get it right, we just have to allow the light of Christ to shine through our everyday, ordinary, and imperfect love.  There will be times of struggle and doubt, but God always wants to lift our eyes to the greatness of his bigger plan.

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Until next time, be blessed, Renae

In today’s gospel Jesus reminds us that He loves all of us equally. Did the disciples really think they could argue about who is the greatest without Jesus knowing? Haven’t they learned by now that nothing happens outside of God’s plan?

Jesus responds ever so gently. He does not rebuke them, but instead calls them to focus on being servants. So is that going to make them less competitive or will they just try to out do each other in terms of quality and impact. I can hear them now, I healed 5 people today how many did you heal?

But this is not how Jesus calls us to serve. It is like the poor woman who could only afford a coin for her offering, but it was all she had. So if you volunteer somewhere weekly, that is great, thank you. And if you only volunteer once a month, that is great too. Thank you.

Jesus only wants us to respond in willingness and love. So our willingness to welcome Jesus in prayer and in service no matter how that looks is not a waste of time and gives us the heart of a servant. Perhaps you are caring for a child, or a sick parent or an elderly neighbor. Perhaps you are praying for those within your parish and church community who are sick or who have died. Perhaps you willing to imitate Christ’s humility by allowing others the last word.

Jesus promised that those who become the “last of all and the servant of all” are the first.

So what makes you a servant?

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

In today’s gospel Jesus reminds us that He is always with us and that His ways are better than ours.  All we have to do is trust in His Divine will.  But being faithful and praying is not enough if we are not willing to put our faith into action.

St James is very clear that our works have great merit and are imperative to spreading the love of Christ.  We know God calls us to care for our brothers and sisters who are in need and in doing so we respond to the love God has already placed on our hearts.

 So today we ask the Lord to put the needs of his people on our hearts and for the grace and courage to respond.

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

Today’s gospel is about being open and the healing power of the Lord’s touch. When we open our hearts and our minds to the possibilities of loving one another more, our hearts are changed. Perhaps you are in need of physical healing today and so we pray for all those suffering with an illness and beg God for the mercy of healing.

All of us, whether we are great or small, rich or poor, influential, famous or unknown, God loves all of us equally, which is exactly what the Lord wanted to share with us in the gospel and readings today.

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

Jesus continually calls us to act on His word, to be a doer and a healer. Today’s gospel is not a ticket to stop following the rules of our faith, but a call for a deeper understanding of what we believe.  When we follow the rules only out of obligation and do not pay attention to what is going on in our hearts, we run the danger of becoming shallow.

If we are only going through the motions our hearts can become bitter and hardened.  It is not enough to honor the Lord with our lips, we must respond to His word with love and compassion for everyone. Jesus asks us to look inward, to discover those things that are within us that may be distracting us from his love and mercy. 

So today, let us ask the Lord to search our hearts and give us the grace of self-knowledge so we can love one other and build up the Kingdom of heaven here on earth.

Jesus, purify my heart today.

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Until next time, be blessed, Renae

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. In today’s gospel Simon Peter asks a crucial question, “Lord, to whom shall we go, you have the words of everlasting life.”

True enough, but what is faith? For me, faith is listening to the Lord, believing what I hear and acting on what I believe with love! Sure there are a lot of distractions and even evil goings on in our world, but the one safe way to know we are on the right track is to listen with our hearts and always act with love.

Life gets messy! Bad things happen to good people! What we must always remember is that faith is what sees us through even the darkest of times. So listen with your heart, believe what you hear and act in kindness and love.

I pray you will have a blessed and faith-filled week.

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