Philippians 4:4-7
Brothers and sisters:
Rejoice in the Lord always.
I shall say it again: rejoice!
Your kindness should be known to all.
The Lord is near.
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Rejoice! That's what we heard today. I say Rejoice!
Today is Gaudete Sunday. When you went to Mass today, you saw the rose vestments. They are there to remind us that we need to Rejoice. The Lord is near.
How can we rejoice right now? For some of us, life isn't going awesomely. Friday was an outright terrible day. Innocent children were slaughtered in their elementary school. People are dying, families are suffering. This only adds to the stress of Christmas coming, families colliding together and school picking up JUST in time. But we are supposed to rejoice.
How dare you call us to rejoice? God must not get it. He must not understand it. There is no way He can command me to do that and understand what I face down here. The uncertainty of my future, the fact that everything sacred seems to be under attack.
Sometimes life seems like such an overwhelming task that it seems impossible to rejoice. The closer that we draw to Jesus, the harder it gets.
Sometimes the more that I know, the more I wish I didn't know.
Brothers and sisters, life is overwhelming. It's huge and looming. There is absolutely NO way that we can handle it on our own.
Paul reminds us, Rejoice, and do not be anxious in everything, but with prayer and petition and with thanksgiving present your requests to God. The peace of God which transcends all human understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
God wants us to rejoice because He has it under control.
All the suffering, the pain, the ridiculousness we endure are a Gift from Him. We must be thankful because without Him, we cannot bear it.
Suffering is an opportunity to shed the layers of this world and clutch onto Jesus; He who endured the cross for you.
Without tragedy and pain, it would be really easy to ignore our need for a Savior. It's only human.
The Peace of God is so much bigger than any tragedy or obstacle. When tragedy strikes, it takes away the distractions and the stupidity that separate us from Him.
Tell God what is on your heart. He needs to hear it. But, you need to be ready to listen. He is going to give you a great and amazing gift. But, you need to be ready in your mind heart and spirit to receive it.
It is so tempting and so human to get upset and not trust and to turn away from God when things do not go the way that we think they should go. We want to fix it and understand it on our own terms.
Brothers and Sisters, without God, nothing gets fixed. We will have no Understanding.
Let go, Rejoice! He is with you!
Be thankful. Let Him hear you and do His job of giving you what you desire in the deepness of your heart.
This life can certainly be terrible at times. But, this is the greatest opportunity to rejoice.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Vocations (10/21/2012)
Hebrews 4:14-16
Brothers and sisters:
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.
Know the plans that I have for you.
Jesus knows. He was there. He will be here and He is always in your heart.
Brothers and Sisters, you have been called by name, and before He made you in your mother's womb, he knew you.
Your God loves you. He has a plan for you. It's written in your very being. In your DNA and in your personality. In every inch that you are and every thought in your mind and on your heart.
Jesus is about to join us. Here, on His Altar. He is going to listen to you. He is going to hear you.
The Father has created you to answer a call. To respond. To listen to His almighty and all knowing voice. You may have a plan in mind for how you want to live your life. It may be what you are called to do. Then again it may be not. The key is to listen.
In Hebrews today, we learned more of Jesus, our high priest and redeemer.
He has suffered what you have suffered. He has faced what you have faced. He is both human like you and me and listening and loving His father. But, unlike you and I, He is without sin. He has faced and defeated it. He has overcome.
The Scripture tells us to draw close to His almighty throne with confidence. It's because he is YOUR savior. He won't leave you hanging. He WILL respond.
Every joy, every pain, every triumph and every temptation. Offer it to Him. He will make your paths straight. He has overcome. He will fill you with His Grace if you would just let Him.
With that Grace, you will have His confidence. You will answer your Father's call.
You are all at a critical point of your lives where you have a choice to answer your Father's Call or try to do it all on your own.
As we officially kick off our semester on Vocations, ask yourself: Am I ready to listen? Am I ready to allow Jesus to overcome the obstacles that I have in my heart?
Know the plans I have for you.
Are you listening? He is going to tell you.
Brothers and sisters:
Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast to our confession.
For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses,
but one who has similarly been tested in every way,
yet without sin.
So let us confidently approach the throne of grace
to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.
Know the plans that I have for you.
Jesus knows. He was there. He will be here and He is always in your heart.
Brothers and Sisters, you have been called by name, and before He made you in your mother's womb, he knew you.
Your God loves you. He has a plan for you. It's written in your very being. In your DNA and in your personality. In every inch that you are and every thought in your mind and on your heart.
Jesus is about to join us. Here, on His Altar. He is going to listen to you. He is going to hear you.
The Father has created you to answer a call. To respond. To listen to His almighty and all knowing voice. You may have a plan in mind for how you want to live your life. It may be what you are called to do. Then again it may be not. The key is to listen.
In Hebrews today, we learned more of Jesus, our high priest and redeemer.
He has suffered what you have suffered. He has faced what you have faced. He is both human like you and me and listening and loving His father. But, unlike you and I, He is without sin. He has faced and defeated it. He has overcome.
The Scripture tells us to draw close to His almighty throne with confidence. It's because he is YOUR savior. He won't leave you hanging. He WILL respond.
Every joy, every pain, every triumph and every temptation. Offer it to Him. He will make your paths straight. He has overcome. He will fill you with His Grace if you would just let Him.
With that Grace, you will have His confidence. You will answer your Father's call.
You are all at a critical point of your lives where you have a choice to answer your Father's Call or try to do it all on your own.
As we officially kick off our semester on Vocations, ask yourself: Am I ready to listen? Am I ready to allow Jesus to overcome the obstacles that I have in my heart?
Know the plans I have for you.
Are you listening? He is going to tell you.
Kickoff Proclaim (10/7/2012)
Hebrews 2:9-11
Brothers and sisters:
He "for a little while" was made "lower than the angels, "
that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
For it was fitting that he,
for whom and through whom all things exist,
in bringing many children to glory,
should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering.
He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated
all have one origin.
Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them 'brothers.'
He "for a little while" was made "lower than the angels, "
that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
For it was fitting that he,
for whom and through whom all things exist,
in bringing many children to glory,
should make the leader to their salvation perfect through suffering.
He who consecrates and those who are being consecrated
all have one origin.
Therefore, he is not ashamed to call them 'brothers.'
God never wanted us to be alone.
As we begin the school year and our time together, He wants
you to know.
You were never meant to be alone.
God created women to be companions to men. To draw them closer to following God. We know that a lot of times (or more like all
the time) we let each other down. We
forget appointments, to call, to check on people. We put other things as more important in our
hearts. School, sports, drama, hanging
out with other friends.
He set an expectation.
He trusted us to follow Him above all else. To obey his commandments. To surrender
anything and everything to serve Him because He is your Papa God.
And like the same way we let down our friends and our
family, and like they can let us down.
We fail. Time after time.
But He wants you to know that despite all that you do that
divides you between Him and you THAT YOU ARE NEVER ALONE.
He came down. God the
Son, below the Angels to suffer with you.
To die for you.
He makes all that you do, New. He KNOWS how you feel. He felt what you are feeling on the Cross.
He will never leave you or forsake you. His bond with you is Permanent. Through your Baptism, He has made a home in
your heart.
Like the author said in Hebrews, He came down from Heaven to
be with you. You get to see Him at Mass,
and you will see Him again tonight.
My Brothers and Sisters, He will be on His Altar, there for
you. To be with you and you alone.
Your bond with Him cannot and will not be undone. It is forever.
Offer up your problems, your joys, your sorrows to Him.
And just let Him love you.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)