Right now, I have four small dogs surrounding me. They follow me around throughout my day.  What unconditional love they bring! We humans are not as free giving. While the innocence of an animal remains intact, our somehow fades away, more so as we add one more age to our being each year. We begin to judge others, limiting who it is that we like or dislike. Approaching friends or strangers to give a hug is limited, perhaps depending on our mood that day.  Yet, our pets give us love constantly, so strings attached. Maybe today, each of us can live a little like these sweet four legged creatures, reaching out to someone, letting them feel the warmth of the Holy Spirit resting in our souls.

Which Path?

Henri Nouwen, a priest who decided to spend his calling at a home for the mentally challenged, wrote of his experiences in several of his books. One of the adults wrote a beautiful poem about hope:

Hope means to keep living
amid desperation
and to keep humming
in the darkness
Hoping is knowing that there is love,
it is trust in tomorrow
it is falling asleep and waking again
when the sun rises.
In the midst of a gale at sea,
it is to discover land.
In the eyes of another
it is to see that you are understood.
As long as there is still hope
There will also be prayer
And God will be holding you
in God's hands.

How beautiful this is! Instead of getting wrapped up in the complexities of life, he sees hope. I cannot ever say enough about hope, as it is what we must continually  strive for  in every choice we make. We must  not allow ourselves to get caught in a maze.  Success can be reached, though it may take awhile before we take the right path.   Pray to the Holy Spirit, feeling His gentleness and patience as we go along our individual paths, feeling the freedom our Lord has given us.

While taking my teen to school this morning, she said she and her dad, who is out of town, now had a different place to let her off in the mornings. I asked her if I should turn left at the light, with her saying yes.  As I was turning left, she called out a big no, I was supposed to be turning right. I was now going the opposite way than planned.  We were laughing. I told her she said to turn left.  She agreed, but that really meant I was to turn right, which made us laugh all the more so.

What a great way to begin the day, with a bit of laughter.  We so often forget to do this, getting wrapped up in the mundane activities we go through each morning to start our day.  Instead of thinking of laughter, we are thinking of how we must hurry, getting frantic. The 'hurry' aspect stays with us throughout the day. We have forgotten to laugh.

Think of memories you have to bring out the laughter. I shared a memory with a group recently. One of my children was in the kitchen, following a recipe for a school project. She was doing her preparations by the open kitchen window. My husband and I were sitting on the porch outside of this window.  Another of my children walks into the kitchen, noticing egg shells are in the mixing bowl. We hear the question being asked of why were there were egg shells in the mix, the response was that the recipe asked for egg whites!  No matter how many times I tell this story, I start laughing before I can get out the final line. On that particular day, my husband and I had to cover our mouths so we wouldn't be heard laughing, offending the cook. Of course, the cook now takes this cooking lesson in stride when the teasing begins.

May you, too, bring some sunshine to your day, thinking of past memories.  May the Blessed Holy Spirit fill you warmth, love and laughter as you think of them!

Endurance

     A favorite Bible passage of mine is Romans 5:3-5, "We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts, through the Holy Spirit, which has been given to us."
     It is hard to understand at times how we can rejoice in our sufferings.  I had a seven year old girl ask me why there had to be so much sadness in life. I did my best to explain to her how we get stronger every time something sad does happen to us. I said after knowing sadness, we do not take anything for granted in life. Rather we start seeing life as something very precious.
     It is a hard to understand this, no matter how young or old we are. We can only pray to God for strength to get us through our daily endeavors. It is not easy.  But, we must remember we have not been abandoned; the Holy Spirit is there, providing us with love and care. His power of love and care is beyond words. It is up to us to accept what He provides, as we continue to go about facing what each day brings.

A Silent Night

A good day to you!  I almost wrote this inspirational note at 4AM, since I was wide awake, ready to roll. I gave up trying to sleep, coming out to the living room to sip chamomile tea.  How silent it was!  Even the dogs were fast asleep. I enjoyed the stillness and the quiet.  It became my time with God, knowing there would not be interruptions, nor having to respond to the fastness of every day life. I absorbed the silence, immersing it deep into my soul. Feeling completely content and relaxed by 5:30AM, I was able to drift off to a peaceful sleep. I thought  I would sleep well into the morning. However, at 9:30 I woke up, feeling happy and refreshed. Ah, the Holy Spirit can do amazing things!

Good Morning, God!

Today is a beautiful day out. My first words spoken in my mind today were to God, telling him good morning and thanking him for this crispy autumn air and the blue sky. I could feel my spirit starting to stir, as I noticed the blue jays stopping at our bird feeder, with others stopping at the bird bath. Though I might be at a standstill, the works of God never stop. His spreads his Holy Spirit everywhere. We are the privileged ones, being the recipients of His magnificent gifts. Let all of us go out today, feeling the strength of the Holy Spirit, and spread His love, kindness and joy to those who seem to be having a rather bad day. Bring on a smile!

Harvest and the Holy Spirit Nurturing us

 While in Mass yesterday, facing the altar and crucifix, I could peer out the large glassed window behind them. The serene land seen could show me fall had come, with the trees holding golden leaves. I had a sad moment, thinking of what had been alive is now gone for another season, when once again, it will come back to life. To me it was another sign of the resurrection.
My thoughts were only sad for a moment, as a realized how one piece of greenery is now gone, but in its place are the signs of a harvest. There are the reds and greens of chile, the beautiful brightly colored orange pumpkins, the purples of eggplant, and the golden rows of wheat. What a scene I had in my mind, during the Eucharistic Prayer. I saw how the Holy Spirit was at work once again, showing where there is sadness, there is also hope. I realized that while I continue to be nurtured by the Holy Spirit, I am also being nurtured by all the foods of autumn. A moment of thanks and a smile deemed necessary, as I see once again, He always provides!  Amen!

Spirituality Providing a Light

Spirituality can add a light to each of us. It is surrounding us, even in our darkest moments. Perhaps it seems to only be a flicker, as a candle darts its light inside a carved pumpkin. But, it never goes out.
Just as that candle is especially bright within the harvested pumpkin, the light of the Spirit is glowing brightly within us. We, too, are being nourished to be gleaned one day, for a new life, an eternity with God. Those who have gone before us never stopped receiving this wondrous light. Now, they live in exquisite brightness, as they have joined our Trinitarian God, where the glow is beyond anything we can describe. Our loved ones are being kept warm at at peace, basking in the light or our glorious Lord.

Music, The Soul and The Holy Spirit

As I write today, I am listening to Masters of Chant IV, a new age group with music which can affect your soul. You can only feel good as you hear these men sing, with the electronics in the background. It is as how the Holy Spirit can affect my soul. But the Holy Spirit lasts longer than two minutes. It is always t...here, giving me a good feeling. It provides endless music to my soul, whether it is in the middle of the morning or in the middle of the night. What an emotional and sensational feeling it gives me, always nurturing me. When you have a da

Spirituality-What It Means To Me

1. First, I would define spirituality as a 'presence' I feel in myself and in others. It appears to have a calmness about it, which radiates from within. As it radiates, it transcends its calmness to the next person. A breath is inhaled, allowing the spirituality to enter, allowing this human being to also feel the calmness.
   
   Spirituality is seen in the eyes of the carrier, as they take on a glow of happiness. As they shine, it cannot be helped but to begin to feel the same luminosity within oneself, shining with the warmness of intense love and caring. It is God's own love and caring being present, as we absorb what those eyes are telling us.
   
   Spirituality is seen in the smile. The smile which is full of blessings, thanking God for the gift of life, for the gift of feeling His presence, no matter where the smile carries us. The smile spreads from one person to the next, as God fulfills each and everyone with His passion for all of His children.
   
   Spirituality is in the way one listens to another. It is taking time to hear what is being said, commenting on what is heard. It is taking the message told and acting upon it, whether it is with a hug, a prayer, or the lighting of a candle. It is being there for someone after knowing what has been told to another.
   
   It is felt within the heart. The heart is strong, filled with warmth, reaching out to others. It is going beyond oneself, to always offer a hand, an ear, a voice, an observance, to those surrounding us.
   
   It is understanding. No judgments are made. It is nodding one's head, in agreement to what is occurring in the lives of our fellow brethren. It is showing one will be there for our brothers and sisters, no matter what.
   
   It is acting upon faith and displaying faith. It is living the way God wants to to live, based upon our strong belief in Him. It is never giving up, to continue to live the faith, how having God in a one's life serves as a continuing inspiration so many can see how wonderful life is, in spite of the downfalls we endure.
   
   It is never feeling alone. It is knowing the Holy Spirit dwells within us, never leaving us, not even for a given moment. It is always feeling His love, warmth, care, attention and thoughts, day and night, throughout our lives, in this Kingdom and in the next.
   
   
   

A Conversation With a Seven Year Old

A darling seven year old girl was talking to me on the phone the other day. It all started while having a phone visit with her mother. Her mother had just told me her daughter had a question for her religious education teacher. When she asked her question, the teacher had told the little girl she had asked a good question, but to save it until next year. Her teacher at that time could answer it.

To say the least, I was somewhat taken aback by this reply. The next thing I heard myself saying was to the mother was to put her daughter on the phone, I would do what I could to answer it and any other questions on her mind. The mother was happy to do so, as she and her husband could not keep up with her curiosity about life itself. For the next one and a half hours, this inquisitive child asked me questions. I imagine these were questions she had been storing up for quite some time.

What she asked was beyond her years. I instantly connected with Judith (the name I am giving her, as Judith in the Bible was a wise and intelligent woman). Her first question was not a religious one, but why we had eyelashes. I told her they prevented dust or whatever else is in the air from entering the eye. I added that without eyelashes, our eyes make a clicking sound, that we can hear and feel our eyes blink each time we do so. I said this last bit of information was from my own experience, when a gas oven burned my face, taking away my eyelashes.

This fascinated her. The rest of the conversation, Judith fascinated me. She had many, many questions about God and what he does for us. She began by asking us if we all became angels of God when we die. Since none of us have been to heaven, I told her, we can’t say for sure if we all become angels, but we are part of his group of saints, praying for all of us on earth.

Satisfied with this, she wanted to know about evil and why we have it, using many examples of where she has seen sadness or heard about it. This dialogue lasted quite a bit, as I explained about choices God allows us to make, to grow in our wisdom. Without experiences, we could not strengthen our souls. God was there to always love us, to help us get through those difficult times. Unfortunately, some people make poor choices, which do harm others. We can only pray for them, that they will learn better decision making, to feel God’s spirit within them. It is hard for all of us to understand wrong choices people make, much less a seven year old child trying to grasp this.

Judith was not yet satisfied. She said she one more question for me. How, she said, did we get placed in a mommy’s tummy. This was a question her parents especially dreaded. Whenever it came up, they changed the topic, as it was an awkward one to answer. They were not yet ready to explain it to their daughter, who was going into second grade in a few days.

I did answer her question. But, I answered it in a spiritual way. I told her how our souls were created before we became human beings. God had to find that special mommy and daddy to plant each particular, precious soul. It started as a little seed, inside the mommy. Just as a seed grows in the garden when we take care of it, the mommy takes care of her little seed, making sure it receives all the goodness it needs. This puzzled her, wondering how this could happen. I told her about the tiny mustard seed, that when planted, turns into a strong bush. She, too, grew, to be a strong baby, ready to be born into the family. Sometimes it’s hard to understand just how God works, but that is what makes God so magnificent.

As our conversation drew to a close, I could feel the weight lifted from her shoulders. Her voice became lighter and she talked faster, excited to have her mind filled with new things.

I, too, felt a weight lift from my shoulders. I had let everyday problems get to me, the daily activities which at times bear down upon an adult. Getting wrapped up in them had let me forget about the greatness of God and the wonderful soul he has given me. It took a little girl to make me remember what is most important in my life. I am to continue to nourish my heart, my soul and my mind, as they are those precious gifts from God.

Water Wonders

While out watering our beautiful, blessed garden the other day, I once again realized just how wonderful water is. Here I am, sprinkling water on all the colors of our garden, while the water itself made its own rainbow of colors. The water was vibrant, letting everything be showered with new life. Yes, new life, as the moisture let everything revive from the baking heat into being strong once again.
My thoughts drifted as I continued to bring my thirsty plants back to life. I began to think of the vast amounts of water our world has. The beautiful ocean is such a spiritual entity for me. Though I seldom have the chance to visit the sea, I love to sit by its edge, imagining all the life it holds,. From where I contemplated with my thoughts about this, I knew I could not actually see all what the magnificent waters held. But I believed, not seeing. I smiled, visualizing activity under the blue-green waters. There would be those rainbows of colors, supplied by God, making each living plant and animal dependent upon one another.
As the days passed, I have still continued to think about what water does for us. It brings my own self back to life when I thirst, and gives me tremendous strength as I feel the sensations of it as I do my daily workout at the pool. I can’t stay away from it. I want to continue to feel the soothing effects it provides me as I glide from one place to another in the water. My smile comes back, as I thank God for giving me the privilege to feel the water upon me, both internally and externally.
While moving in the water, praying and meditating my thoughts to God, I am reminded how my life began with water. I received the baptismal water, which created its own beautiful rainbow of new life for me. I was blessed in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. What joys opened up for me, to know the strength to carry me in my faith and my life began at that very moment. The Holy Spirit resided within me, and through God, Jesus was always there to protect me, to carry me and walk beside me. The world was not black and white anymore, but filled with every color of the rainbow, as I was surrounded with love.
The water is pure and clear. It is silent as it gives life to the gardens, to life in the seas and to my own life. Yet, what a loud resonance it makes, giving all in our world the life God provides for us!

"O God, you are my God,
and I long for you.
My whole being desires you;
like a dry, worn-out, and waterless land,
my soul is thirsty for you.
Let me see you in the sanctuary;
let me see how mighty and glorious you are.
Your constant love is better than life itself,
and so I will praise you.
I will give you thanks as long as I life;
I will raise my hands to you in prayer.
My soul will feast and be satisfied,
and I will sing glad songs of praise to you."
Psalm 63:1-5