Sunday Wisdom

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

In today’s gospel, Jesus honors a Samaritan by making him the hero of the story, not the priest or the Levite. Jesus was making a point about love and neighbor.

Love is action.
In this parable, the law of love is written in the heart of a nameless Samarian man who through mercy shows compassion to someone in need. His compassion shows us how to love even when there is no personal gain.  His action shows us that color and creed do not matter when someone is hurting. We become united in suffering and when we take the time to walk with someone in need, we too are blessed.

The unfortunate reality is that sometimes we don’t want to be bothered and other times we don’t recognize those who are in need. But when we allow the mercy of our Lord to penetrate our hearts, we are able to look beyond ourselves, open our spiritual eyes, and see others in need.   

So who is our neighbor?
Jesus illustrates it perfectly in this parable. Our neighbor is anyone in need, regardless of their ethnic, religious, or socio-economic status. Loving our neighbor is challenging and often involves sacrifice. Sometimes we even have to reject the fear and prejudice that resides in our own hearts in order to show God’s mercy.  So maybe the better question is who will I be a neighbor to today?

Have mercy on me O God and help me to recognize those in need.

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