Mine?

O dearest Lord, who am I to call You mine?

I am the lowest of low; I am dust. I do not even deserve for You to think on me, yet, it is Your thinking of me that keeps me in existence.

I do not deserve to be heard by You, but it is You Who are my ever-present Comforter. You allow me to pour out the trivial worries of my heart to You at any moment of the day.

I do not deserve for You to care so deeply about my soul. Who am I, that You want me with You for all eternity? That You would die for my cause and gently correct me in all my awful sins against You Who are all Goodness? You do not do so because You can gain from it, no, You guide me for my delight in You.

I do not deserve that You should do so much for me! 

Who am I, that the King of heaven and earth, splendor and glory, should have such a tender, intimate, passionate love for me? 

It is not because of me, my Lord. It is because of Who You are. 

It is Your great, selfless and most pure Love that allows me to converse with You, fall head over heels in love with You and to call You mine. Not just the King, the Lord and Judge; but my King, my Lord, my Love, Savior and Teacher.

A cry for help

"Lord, Father and Master of my life, 

permit me not to fall by them! 

Who will apply the lash to my thoughts, to my mind the rod of discipline, 

that my failings may not be spared, nor the sins of my heart overlooked;

 Lest my failings increase, and my sins be multiplied; 

lest I succumb to my foes, and my enemy rejoice over me? 

Lord, Father and Master of my life, 

abandon me not into their control!

 A brazen look allow me not; ward off passion from my heart, 

let not the lustful cravings of the flesh master me, surrender me not to shameless desires."

- Sirach 23:1-6

Show Me Something Glorious!

GLORY. It's what men fight for, do astounding things to obtain and live their lives for. Just read the Illiad  or the Aeneid, it's what drives those men to embrace battle and fight to the death; They have a deep - seeded, undeniable desire for honor and glory. Men want something more than the boring old, humdrum daily life; they want to stand out from the ordinary. We know we were meant for more. We were created for eternal glory!
Today, I stayed home sick from school and spent most of the day sleeping, working on my thesis and browsing my usual websites. *yawn*. I went outside and sat in the sun to pray my rosary and saw that today I was to pray the Glorious Mysteries. It just sort of jarred me. My Lord is the Lord of Glory. He is seated above in His throne of brilliant gold, ruling over heaven and earth. That is my Lord. When I speak to Him, I am able to get a glimpse of that Glory, get just the slightest taste. That glory is what I will ever yearn for and chase after until I shall behold it for eternity; not only behold but share in His glory!
I also stumbled upon this song today:

"Show me something glorious, show me something beautiful..." That's what we crave. We crave beauty and glory because we were created by He who is source of these things and also we are for them.

Come Now...

"Come now, let us set things right, says the Lord:

 Though your sins be like scarlet, 

they may become white as snow; 

though they may be crimson red,

 they may become white as wool.

Lord, no matter how many I speak, hear of, and experience Your Love it will never cease to amaze and leave me speechless.  He invites us, calls out to us to let Him heal! His only request in return is that we cooperate. That's it! We just have to allow Him to heal and listen to His gracious advice.

If you are willing, and obey,

 you shall eat the good things of the land;

 but if you refuse and resist, the sword shall consume you:

 for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."

- Isaiah 2:18-20

It's so simple. It's pure love.

love.

Not only did You die for me, give me Hope, give the most Blessed Sacrament, the sacraments and innumerable other gifts but You also gave Your Friendship. You are always there to listen to me. I can pour out my heart to You Who are the tenderest of healers, the most valiant protectors and the dearest Companion I will ever know. 

No matter the fears and insecurities swirling, whirling around me, there still can be found peace in the quiet of my heart. You, my Lord, will grant me the strength to fight any temptation but I must denounce my sin and accept Your aide; You will not force it on me, I must every day, every minute, every second, choose You.

My Jesus, You are indescribable. 

The Boy and The Palace

Gazing at the palace,

The little child crept

Out of the dirty street.

Where he once had slept.

Looking gave him comfort,

His needs demanded more.

A spark of hope ignited,

He dared approach the door.

Waiting for the answer,

He almost turned and fled,

Ashamed by dirty garments;

The dirt upon his head.

Now the door wide opened,

The child felt a peace.

For the one who answered

Brought him to his knees.

With her eyes so gentle,

The Lady looked on him

Past the dirt and bruises,

She knew where he had been.

She bent then raised the child

And pressed him to her breast

Not fearing that his filth

Might stain her queenly dress.

She washed and bathed the child,

And freshly dressed his wounds

Even then, more promised,

He should the King see soon!

His wounds, though cleanly dressed,

Recalled to him his past,

"How would the King of all

See me who should be last?"

The gentle Queen, she smiled

And led him to the court,

Past those who did rejoice

For him, now free from hurts.

Now, once into the court,

The boy fell down in awe,

Such splendor and such glory, 

The poor boy never saw.

The King began to speak

(voice warming to the bones)

Bade the child come to

Him and sit upon His throne.

The boy then kissed His feet

And cried of praise and thanks.

He wept with sheer relief

And joy, knowing darkness past.

A "tip" and a song.

Jealousy and envy are sins I've always struggled with; I have a bad habit of automatically comparing myself to people I see which started in grade school but the past few years I've been trying to stop it so it's been getting better. I found something, while reading St.Francis de Sales, that has been a huge help this past week and I thought I'd just share it here. He spoke of immediately 'healing the wounds' of sins you commit against others. For example, if you say something rude to somebody, you should try right away to not only apologize but do something extra nice. I've been using this a lot. When I think badly of people or find myself getting jealous of them, instead of getting angry at myself for messing up again, I now try to pray for those people. Pray that God grant them even more things and lead them even closer to Him. It may sound simple but it's so effective because it's so challenging. 


Also, the title of my last post "Lord, I'm amazed by You...how You love me." is a song I really like so I just thought I'd share it here:

Lord, I'm amazed by You...how You love me.

How dearly You love us! You created us not because You needed to. You didn't even gain leisure by creating us to praise You because You are wholly perfect; nothing could possibly be added to You Who are. You are everything infinitely, perfectly, lacking nothing. You made us because You knew we would delight in You and fall head-over-heels in love with the Lord of all creation. "He knew there were lesser beings capable of enjoying Him and He made them." - Frank Sheed, Theology and Sanity. How pure and completely selfless is the love of our God! =) And the more we draw near to Him, the more we will fulfill our purpose as His creatures; to bring Him praise, glory and honor. 

This God (Who doesn't need us and could stop existence at any instant) loves us and wants us to delight in Him so much that He sent Jesus Christ to us! Wow, just wow.  He sent us a Redeemer - He wants us to delight in Him that much. My God...I am astounded, amazed, left speechless by You!

Do not try to hide your failings, short comings and struggles from Him. Admit that you are infinitely less but know that: "He made things He knew. He did not get to know the things He made." - St. Augustine. He already knows you fully! Past, present and future. Hiding your soul only blackens and darkens the soul. Expose yourself to the One who knows you entirely; by bringing your sins to the Light, is the only way to be cleansed and renewed. It also glorifies Him by fully trusting in His love and mercy.

Ramble..Sadness & Joy.. Ramble

 "Is any among you sad?" asks St. James, "Let him pray." (James 5:13). Prayer is a sovereign remedy, for it raises the soul to God, who is our only joy and consolation.. 

- St. Francis de Sales

Prayer heals. 

Prayer raises us from earthly chains to God, in Who there is perfect freedom and joy. As hard as the devil will try to make you, never forget your ever present, loving and gracious God, nearer to you than your next breath.  

My God? 

Wow, how is it that I can call the King and Creator of all 'mine'? 

*sigh* 

The most powerful, awesome God of the universe loves each and every one of His creatures children uniquely, tenderly, and so very dearly. gosh. Who can be sad thinking of that?

:] 

My God, please keep me ever mindful of Your ever-present love and protection. Thank You for remaining faithful when I so often doubt and hide from You.

SheIsCatholic

Hey! I just wanted to share a really good YouTuber :)

http://www.youtube.com/user/SheIsCatholic

Where I Belong

Gosh. I'm just in one of those music moods. So many awesome people give their loves away to His service and by letting God work through them they write such moving, heart felt, amazing lyrics that help other people grow closer to God. 

"This body's not my own
This world is not my own
But I still can hear the sound
Of my heart beating out
So let's go boys, sing it loud

And on the final day I die
I want to hold my head up high
I want to tell You that I tried
To live it like a song.
...
I still believe in us together
You and I we're here together now
Together now
Forever now"

Beloved.

I've listened to this song many times but never payed much attention to the lyrics - they're truly wonderful. Our God works through His creatures so amazingly :]

Love of My life
Look deep in My eyes
There you will find what you need
Give Me your life
The lust and the lies
The past you're afraid I might see
You've been running away from Me (yeah now)

You're My beloved
Lover I'm yours
Death shall not part us
It's you I died for
For better or worse
Forever we'll be
My Love it unites us
And it binds you to Me
It's a mystery

Love of My life
Look deep in My eyes
There you will find what you need
I'm the Giver of life
I'll clothe you in white
My immaculate bride you will be
Oh, come running home to Me (yeah now)

You're My beloved
Lover I'm yours
Death shall not part us
It's you I died for
For better or worse
Forever we'll be
My Love it unites us
and it binds you to Me (yeah now, now)

You've been a mistress, My wife
You're chasing lovers that won't satisfy
Won't you let Me make you My bride
You will drink of My lips
And you'll taste new life

You're My beloved
Lover I'm yours
Death shall not part us
It's you I died for
For better or worse
Forever we'll be
My Love it unites us
And it binds you to Me
It's a mystery

On Virtue.

"Our aim is to become good,devout,pious men and women, and to that end we must labor; then if it should please God to give us angelic perfections, we should, doubtless, be good angles, but, meanwhile, let us simply, humbly, and devoutly practice those lowly virtues, the acquisition of which has been appointed by our Savior as our daily task, such as patience, cheerfulness, a mortified heart, humility, obedience, poverty, chastity, kindness towards our neighbor, forbearance towards his faults, diligence, and holy fervor." 

- An Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis De Sales

Reading this last night really made me think. 

Yes, we should always try to be good, pure and holy before God and do all actions with love for Him but not all of us are meant for the same level of holiness. We should try our very best to be as holy as we can but that will differ between individuals. In a litany of humility I prayed during Lent it asked Jesus to grant us the grace to wish that others should be holier than we, provided we become as holy as we should. 

Grow in virtue with the intent of becoming who God created you to be; anything other than that can lead us to do gain virtue for our own glory. When people begin to want others to praise their virtue (and that's the only value in it they see), it might be a sign "Their glorifying is not of God". I found this to be a good reminder to examine my intents to make help me live for the glory of my King.

ramblerambleramble..YOU ARE INCREDIBLE!

O my sweetest Jesus, i love You! You are my Love and my Life. O my King, how could I live without You or Your abundant mercies. Whenever I fail, whenever I fall, You do not abandon me. Your love is completely selfless =] How great is our God! I am so unworthy but how could I reject such an undeniable love? All glory is Yours.

Love Is Here, Love is Now!

I love this song! It's so perfect for Easter. Thank you, my sweetest Lord, for new life in You :)  
Happy Easter, everybody!

Little flowers.

Yesterday, at at the end of Holy Thursday Mass, to move the Blessed Sacrament, the priest,deacon,altar servers and first communicants formed a procession around the church before placing It in the tabernacle. Once it was there, all of the little kids who will soon be making their first Communion each came up and placed a rose in a vase before the altar. I found it really moving. Such a simple act of love; adorning our Lord's tabernacle with what they had but with a pure love.

Jesus, I offer You all my little sacrifices that they might please You as flowers before Your divine altar in heaven.

Relax.

"But they that wait upon the Lord 

shall renew their strength; they shall mount up 

with wings as eagles."

- Isaiah 40:31

Relax. Have peace knowing the God of the universe is your Father Who will take care of you. He will never fail you - trust in His timing and most perfect plan.

Confession.

I used to be the kind of person who dreaded going to confession but now I am beginning to appreciate is as the beautiful, wonderful gift that it is. Confession heals. Confession gives the grace to quiet all evil desires and impulses; it uproots the evil which takes hold of us and reclaims us as His. It encourages us in humility and obedience. Allow yourself to be stripped of all pride and openly confess all of your failings. Here are some helpful and encouraging saint quotes on the subject:

"In failing to confess, Lord, I would only hide You from myself, not myself from You."
-Saint Augustine

 "Confession is like a bridle that keeps the soul which reflects on it from committing sin, but anything left unconfessed we continue to do without fear as if in the dark."
-Saint John Climacus

"My daughter, just as you prepare in My presence, so also you make your confession before Me. The person of the priest is, for Me, only a screen. Never analyse what sort of a priest it is that I am making use of; open your soul in confession as you would to Me, and I will fill it with My light. (1725)"
-St. Faustina, Divine Mercy in My Soul 

"In the life of the body a man is sometimes sick, and unless he takes medicine, he will die. Even so in the spiritual life a man is sick on account of sin. For that reason he needs medicine so that he may be restored to health; and this grace is bestowed in the Sacrament of Penance."
-St. Thomas Aquinas

 "Confession is an act of honesty and courage - an act of entrusting ourselves, beyond sin, to the mercy of a loving and forgiving God."
-Pope John Paul II

 "The devil does not bring sinners to hell with their eyes open: he first blinds them with the malice of their own sins. Before we fall into sin, the enemy labours to blind us, that we may not see the evil we do and the ruin we bring upon ourselves by offending God. After we commit sin, he seeks to make us dumb, that, through shame, we may conceal our guilt in confession."
-St. Alphonsus Liguori