Untouchable Superpowers

My little neighbor came over yesterday to pay me a visit.  We pulled up a stool so she could help me peel potatoes, but that was pretty hard and boring.  So, she waited as patiently as she could until we could go outside and jump on the trampoline.  In the meantime, she played the piano, and fed the dog, the fish, and the cat.

She jumped to her heart's content and I mostly chased her per the "You can't catch me!" invitation she offered.  I learned she was going to be Wonder Woman for Halloween.  At one point, I picked up a handful of dead leaves and threw them in the air.  When they landed on her, I told her they would take her super powers away.

As she held one, she looked me in the eye and said, "These kind of leaves can't take my superpowers away.  My superpowers are in my heart, and only green leaves can take my superpowers away!"  Then, she threw the leaf with a look of royal dismissal and promptly took my superpowers away with the flick of a magic strand of trampoline skirt.  Not only that, but she sent my superpowers to land in the branches of a neighboring tree.

Naturally, the next thing she did was give herself flying powers, and left me cross-legged on the trampoline.  Proud, powerless, and highly-entertained.

Her grammy came back for her and my soup needed tending, so we called it a day.  And I've been thinking about my little-superhero-neighbor ever since.  Mostly, I'm amazed at how wise she is to know that her superpowers are in her heart, and that whatever you happen to be holding or might say cannot take them away.

Interesting how little bodies can hold such big truths!  Makes me wonder how different things might be if the truth only grew with us, instead of shrink or disappear altogether, as it seems to do.

Thanks for the reminder, little one.  You should come over more often.

Four Supremely Important Questions

"Redemption, salvation for every individual, consists in doing the will of God, no more and no less."  Fr. Walter Ciszek, He Leadeth Me

Redemption and salvation are THE two most important things for any human life.  Consequently, it is supremely important to understand what the will of God looks like in our daily lives, if that is the means to obtain THE two most important things.

But, "It's hard to know what God wants!"  Right?

Wrong.

According to Fr. John Devlin (one of the retreat masters from my silent retreat), "We must choose between the reign of Christ (loving God and others) and the reign of the devil (whatever increases self and creates distance from God)."

Luke 16:13 and Matthew 6:24 tell us, "No one can serve two masters."  Fr. John agrees, yet points out the reality in our daily lives. "Sometimes, we serve two masters within the same hour."  Can you identify with this?  For most of us, we are constantly choosing self or battling to resist.  We often have an internal struggle on our hands.

He reminded us that after following the Ten Commandments, fulfilling the duties of our state-in-life (spouse, parent, single, religious) is our primary pathway to holiness.  As good as other opportunities and activities are, they must not interfere with the calling we have already received, and the duties which accompany that calling.

So, a few practical questions are very helpful as we navigate our daily lives:

1.  Who am I serving?
2.  Will this get me closer to Heaven?
3.  Am I doing what I should be doing right now?
4.  Is there anything better that I should be doing?

I have found the answers to these questions, throughout a day's time, to be very illuminating.  Since returning from my retreat and pondering these questions, I have changed several things in my life that previously I did habitually and unconsciously.  Specifically:

1.  I silenced the text alert on my phone, so I am not continually being distracted by it, and interrupting what I have already determined needs to be done.  (Instead, I check it and catch up in a quiet moment when I am not otherwise engaged).

2.  I took Facebook off of my phone.  Way too easy to kill a minute, or 5, or 10, several times a day.  Now, I only get on Facebook when I intend to, because it requires me to plop in front of the computer (which I don't like to do).

3.  I stopped checking blog statistics in between posts.  I am writing for God, and to God I am leaving the results.  I was "stealing time" for something that belongs to God anyway.

4.  I am keeping one day commitment-free and limiting the length of other engagements, so that my schedule reflects that my family is my first priority, after God.  I was not doing anything to safeguard the time that is necessary to fulfill the duties relating to my state-in-life, as a wife and mother:  Housecleaning, planning well for meals, jumping on the trampoline, building Legos, and just "being"...

God can also lead us by the circumstances of any given moment.  Often, what we should do next demands to be done, and involves no thought at all.  However, Fr. John reminds us, "We do not answer to the circumstances of our lives.  We answer to the Lord."

"He [God] writes His own Gospel in the hearts of the just.  All their actions, every moment of their lives, are the Gospel of the Holy Spirit.  The souls of the saints are the paper, their sufferings and actions, the ink.  The Holy Spirit with the pen of His power writes a living Gospel, but a Gospel that cannot be read until it has left the press of this life, and has been published on the day of eternity.  Oh! great history!  grand book written by the Holy Spirit in this present time!  It is still in the press.  There is never a day when the type is not arranged, when the ink is not applied, or the pages are not primed." Jean Pierre de Caussade, Abandonment to Divine Providence

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for this sunny day, time with the women in my women's group this morning, priests who devote themselves to You for the salvation of souls, and for any clarity we gain on our salvation journey.  Thank you for extended quiet where You are most easily heard, and for all of the lights, graces, and consolations You bestowed upon me during those 3 days of silence. 

Lord, please help me to be honest with myself, so that I may be honest with You and others.  Help me to know myself well, so that I may cling to You ever more tightly, and to my own pride, less and less.  Thank you for being so gentle with me, and revealing areas of weakness in times of abundant grace.  I love You.  Amen. 

15 Graces To Pray For

Today is my first day back after a 3-day silent retreat to participate in the Ignatian spiritual exercises.  I have so much I want to share with you, but know I have to pick and choose the things that are good for you.  Before I get carried away, let me very seriously encourage you to make one of these retreats in your lifetime.  The sooner, the better.  The more often, the better.

You cannot return the same after spending a weekend conversing with Jesus Christ.

These retreats come around twice a year in these parts.  Next year, mine will be February 13 - 16 in Castroville, TX.  Put it on your calendar if you live less than two states away!

I attended this same retreat last year and it was the impetus for starting this blog.  If you haven't read my very first few posts, it will give you the necessary background for understanding my motivation every time I write.  In a nutshell, last year I was completely convicted of God's love for me, and the pain it causes Him when we fail to trust Him.  I felt very compelled to do something to love Him back, and encourage others to do the same.

This year, I was reminded of His love for me (my conviction from last year remains), His generosity, His patience, and His mercy.  I had many personal lights and wrote my program of life, which is basically a plan that identifies the major area of sin in your life, how it manifests itself, the opposing virtue, and specific measures to practice that virtue. 

It is very personal, and every person's looks different.  I am not opposed to sharing mine with you, but am going to wait for that inspiration, as I'm not yet sure if it would be helpful to you.

However, I know something that will be helpful to you.  For each of the 15 meditations, we were encouraged to ask for a specific fruit or grace.  I want to invite you to ask for the same graces and encourage you to incorporate them into your prayer life. 

In Apostolate for Holy Motherhood, Christ says, "Ask of Me all that is good for thee spiritually, and it will be granted thee..."

Lord, please grant me the grace...

1.)  Of detachment of all that is not You nor leads me to You.
2.)  To seek You alone.
3.)  To know the malice of sin, so I may despise it in my own life.
4.)  To be ready for death at any moment.
5.)  To be a disciple that is called to Christ's right hand at the final judgment.
6.)  To be meek and humble of heart.
7.)  To imitate You in simplicity.
8.)  For a deeper desire to follow You.
9.)  For the grace to experience the depth of the Mass.
10.)  To know You as a person.
11.)  To accompany You in Your suffering.
12.)  To be as faithful a friend to You as You are to me.
13.)  To ardently desire Heaven.
14.)  To be an apostle, who with You, can do all things.
15.)  To use well the gifts You have given me, especially my intelligence and free will.

Thank you for hearing me.  I love You.  Make me love You more and more.  Amen.

Following Those Little Inspirations

I had a beautiful experience yesterday.  I followed the inspiration I received the day before.  On Saturday morning, I was getting ready for Our Lady's Brunch when a thought flew into my head - "Buy flowers for you neighbor for Mother's Day."  I thought to myself "That's a nice idea." and went about my day.  The thought wouldn't go away and then it dawned on me who the flowers were to be from. 

My neighbor's daughter was killed in a car accident 6 years ago.  She wanted me to give her mother flowers from her for Mother's Day.  When I realized this, I was excited to do this for her, but afraid, too.  What if I was wrong?  What if it would be too painful for her Mom?  What if my neighbors think I'm crazy?

I pondered these questions for most of the day and asked the Holy Spirit to confirm this for me, if I was really supposed to do this.  Nothing concrete came and I knew I had to ask my husband what he thought.  He said, "Theoretically, you could just give her (our neighbor) the flowers and not say anything about your inspiration, but in reality, you won't be able not to tell her everything."  He knows me so well.

So, that was the green light.  I wrote her a card explaining the thought and my revelation about the thought.  After re-reading it several times, I was pleased with the verbiage, but still thought my neighbor might think I was crazy, so when I took the flowers to her, I left the card behind.

She was so surprised to see me and my boys with 6 white roses in hand (I wanted yellow, but my hubby said they were out) and I told her "Happy Mother's Day!"  Then I said, "The truth is, these really aren't from me.  I believe your daughter wanted me to give you these from her on this Mother's Day."  A tear fell down her cheek.

She said "I think you're right."  Then, she proceeded to tell me she had a long cry over her daughter the day before and how Mother's Day was hitting a lot harder this year than in year's past.  I told her I had written a card to go with the flowers and since she didn't think I was crazy after all, that I would go get it."

I did that and when I returned, she invited me in.  She showed me the prayer quilt her daughter's church made for her shortly after her death and she showed me a beautifully framed print entitled "Mother", which described  how a mother shows her children God's love.  This framed tribute stays wrapped up in the prayer blanket.  It was her daughter's final gift to her.  Her daughter ordered it before she died and my neighbor received it after her death.

So, having experienced her daughter's love and thoughtfulness after her death on another occasion, it wasn't so shocking to her that this could happen again.   

What happened to me yesterday is described beautifully In the School of the Holy Spirit by Jacques Phillipe:

"God grants what He commands.  When God inspires us to do something, at the same time, He supplies the ability to do it, even if it is beyond our capacity or scares us at the start.  Every notion that comes from God brings both the light to understand what God intends, and the strength to accomplish it:  light that illuminates the mind, and strength that gives power to the will."

Dear God, Thank you for the Holy Spirit and the Communion of Saints.  Thank you for my neighbor.  Thank you for inspirations and the courage to follow them.  Please console all mothers who long to see their children again one day and bless them abundantly.  Amen.