Tag Archives: Catholic

Blessed

James Tissot (1836-1902)
La sermon des béatitudes
opaque watercolor over graphite on gray wove paper
between 1886 and 1894
Brooklyn Museum of Art

Blessed are we who hope in the Lord even when we are lonely, discouraged, distressed, and afraid. We know there is no solution to our sorrows and burdens except in the Lord, and we put our trust in God.

Blessed are we who understand the nature of suffering. We extend comfort to others who suffer, and offer to walk with them as they move through the pain.

Blessed are we who refuse to make enemies. We know each human person is made in God’s image, and we practice looking deeply to find love and goodness in each other.

Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. Psalm 40:5

Graced

JESUS MAFA. Miraculous Catch, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.
retrieved February 10, 2019

God has graced me with a unique personality and specific gifts and talents. Even when I do not see clearly how I am serving the Lord, I trust that my willingness to love God and my neighbor empowers me to use my gifts and talents to carry out God’s will for me each day .

But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and his grace to me has not been ineffective.
1 Corinthians 15:10

Love embodied

Without judgment, where does my love sit on the beautiful spectrum St. Paul describes? What can I do today to embody patience, kindness, generosity, forgiveness, truth, faith, hope, and endurance?

Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it is not pompous,
It is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

 

One body

If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it;
if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.
1 Corinthians 12:26

Today let me remember that everyone carries the burden of grief and suffering. May I be comfort and compassion for others.

Simply done

The Wedding at Cana

“Do whatever [Jesus] tells you.” John 2:5b

It’s so simple. Do what the Lord says to do. Love my neighbor as myself. Feed the hungry. Welcome the stranger. Visit the sick and imprisoned. Forgive those who hurt me. Do not be afraid.

Today I will remember Who is the One I follow.

Baptized into the community of love

We are called by our baptism to remember each member of our human family is beloved of God.

It is our lifework to offer compassion to the suffering, forgiveness to those who have hurt us, and comfort to those who are grieving and burdened with the stresses that arise in life.

Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God. Isaiah 40:1

Whose star

JESUS MAFA. The Three Wise Men, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.

The star of the Christ leads me by the light of love, hope, compassion, and peace to reveal God’s goodness in me, my neighbor, and the world.

Other stars in our world attract me with the promise of riches, power, ease, and fame.

And then there are the dark stars that seduce me into depression, despair, and discontent.

I must choose with the wisdom of the magi the star I will follow.

And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. Matthew 2:9b

Where love and harmony make family

Holy Family

A worldwide human family that reflects love and harmony…

…is only possible if I open my heart today and treat myself and all people with compassion, kindness, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness. It is only possible when I stop comparing myself to others and follow the Way of unconditional love.

Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. Colossians 3:12-13a

Blessed

Blessed are we who believe God so loved the world, he sent his only son to remind us that the whole human family is beloved of God.

Blessed are we who believe God’s holy Spirit dwells in each of us, that we share a spark of the divine in our being.

Blessed are we who believe we have been empowered to be God’s eyes, hands, and hearts to love and serve our neighbors.

“Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” Luke 1:45

With thanksgiving

I place my anxieties into God’s hands today. I will not be afraid for God hears me and responds with love and compassion.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your presence.

Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.
Philippians 4:6