Category: Devotional

Each Tiny Act is an Extraordinary Event…

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Madeline Delbrel – Author – We, The Ordinary People of the Streets

“Each tiny act is an extraordinary event, in which heaven is given to us, in which we are able to give heaven to others.
It makes no difference what we do, whether we take in hand a broom or a pen.  Whether we speak or keep silent.  Whether we are sewing or holding a meeting, caring for a sick person or tapping away at a typewriter.

Whatever it is, it’s just the outer shell of an amazing inner reality: the soul’s encounter, renewed at each moment, in which, at each moment, the soul grows in grace and becomes ever more beautiful for her God.

Is the doorbell ringing?  Quick, open the door!  It’s God coming to love us.  Is someone asking us to do something?  Here you are!  . . . it’s God coming to love us.  Is it time to sit down for lunch?  Let’s go–it’s God coming to love us!

Let’s let him.”

Madeline Delbrel (1904-1964) was a French woman who converted from atheism to Catholicism which led her to a life of social work in the atheistic, Communist-dominated city of Ivry-sur-Seine, France.

The above quote is taken from her posthumous publication We, the Ordinary People of the Streets (1966).

Delbrel notes that each little act we do is like an expression of God. We are either receiving Him or giving Him to someone else. Since we are created in the image and likeness of God, we can say that with every little act of love, it’s as if we are showing our “God-side” to another person.

The reverse is also true; as another person receives our small act, they, in return, are expressing God’s love for us. Almost like a mirror – what we give out is what we receive back.

This is why the Golden Rule is so popular – We need to treat others as we ourselves want to be treated. If we treat someone with kindness, it makes it very difficult for them to treat us poorly in return. If we show frequent expressions of goodness to people, they in turn will show us their goodness as well. Maybe not right away, but eventually.

Fit In Your Faith Today: Think of just a small event or action that you do everyday and celebrate it. Remember that although it’s small in your eyes, it’s perhaps a huge act to someone else. Small acts of kindness, a smile to a stranger in passing, a card sent to someone who’s having a rough day – these are all just small things but should be celebrated because you are showing your “God-side” to the world.

Things of This World

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1 John 2:15-17

Do not love the world or the things of the world.
If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
For all that is in the world,
sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life,
is not from the Father but is from the world.
Yet the world and its enticement are passing away.
But whoever does the will of God remains forever.

 

According to the Life Application Study Bible regarding this particular scripture: Some people think that worldliness is limited to external behavior – the people we associate with, the places we go, the activities we enjoy. Worldliness is also internal because it begins in the heart and is characterized by three attitudes:

1. sensual lust – trying to get our physical desires met outside the will of God

2. enticement for the eyes – coveting and accumulating things, bowing to the god of materialism

3. a pretentious life – obsession with one’s status or importance

By contrast, God values self-control, a spirit of generosity, and a commitment to humble service. It is possible to give the impression of avoiding worldly pleasures while still harboring worldly attitudes in one’s heart. It is also possible to love sinners and spend time with them while maintaining a commitment to the values of God’s kingdom.

Fit in your Faith Today: What do you value the most? Do you spend most of your time obsessing over worldly things? The things that you can’t take with you after you’re gone? Or do you spend most of your time valuing the most important things in life – generosity, spreading good, humbleness and self control?

 

Start Your Day With Prayer

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Prayer of St. Thomas Aquinas

Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. Amen.

 Do you start your day with a prayer? A prayer of gratitude, or even just the words “Help me, Jesus?” Prayers are just conversations with God. Sometimes people think they have to be these long, memorized, recited words. But they don’t!

Sometimes you can just start your day with a simple “Thank you God for another day to worship you.”

Or “I’m not sure what to say today Lord but I just wanted to say thanks for blessing me with all that I have.”

This prayer above from St. Thomas Aquinas is a great one that sums up what many of us need everyday.

“A mind to know God” – There’s a saying that you fill your mind with God’s word before you even get out of bed, that way it leaves little else for your mind to be “littered” with throughout the day. Have God always on your brain.

“A heart to seek God” – Always be searching for Him. You don’t know to look very far. He’s near us, He created us, He is in us.

“Wisdom to find God” – Reading devotionals like this one are a great way to seek wisdom. Of course the Bible provides all the wisdom about God that you could possibly need. Saturate your mind with His words.

“Conduct pleasing to God” – This is probably one of the more difficult requests. Do you conduct yourself throughout the day in a manner that would be pleasing to God?

“Faithful perseverance in waiting for God” – One day we will meet God. In the meantime we must wait for Him with great anticipation.

“A hope of finally embracing God” – This prayer ends with words of comfort. Picture the final embrace you will receive once you finally pass from this life and into the next. It shouldn’t cause you any distress; it should give you comfort to know that we will one day meet Our Father.

Fit in Your Faith Today: Start everyday with a prayer. It can be as simple or as short or as long as you want. You’re having a conversation with God; talk to Him. Use St. Thomas’ prayer if you want. Or come up with your own. Create this habit and note if you feel or find yourself in better spirits because of this great way to start your day!

Back on Track

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1 John 1:1-4

Beloved:
What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life —
for the life was made visible;
we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life
that was with the Father and was made visible to us—
what we have seen and heard
we proclaim now to you,
so that you too may have fellowship with us;
for our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
We are writing this so that our joy may be complete.

According to Life Application Study Bible: First John was written by John, one of Jesus’ original 12 disciples. He had a special relationship with Jesus. The main problem confronting the church at the time this letter was written was declining commitment. Many believers were conforming to the world’s standards, failing to stand up for Christ and compromising their faith.  (Sound familiar to today?)

False teachers were everywhere and they were accelerating the church’s downward slide away from the Christian faith.  John wrote this letter to put believers back on track and to show the difference between light and darkness and to encourage the church to grow in genuine love for God and for one another. He also wrote to assure true believers that they possessed eternal life and to help them know that their faith was genuine – so they could enjoy all the benefits of being God’s children.

Can you relate to the motivation that John used to write this letter? He was trying to spread love, not hate. He tried to get people out of the darkness of evil by shedding light upon them. This entire introduction to First John can definitely be applied to our world today. How many times do you turn on the tv and see the “darkness?” It can be hard to avoid all the bad news and evil that seems to flood the news channels and newspaper headlines.

We can stay on track and remember that light will overshadow the dark. Truth will reign supreme over false testimony. Good will prevail over evil. How? By being a witness to the light that John writes about in this letter. Remember that Christians back then even had doubt. They were giving in to the false teachers and forgetting about their Father in heaven. Don’t let yourself fall away from Christ, even in the toughest of times. Even when it seems like everyone around you is stuck in a bad place. Come back to the light and to the fellowship with God.

Fit in Your Faith Today: Look for the light in the darkest of places today. It may be in your own heart or someone you love who is struggling with an addiction, or a destructive habit, or someone who has just fallen into the darkness. Help them (or yourself if it’s you!) to get back to where the light shines bright.

Preach On and Often

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Matthew 28: 19-20

Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples; baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age.

Ever have some good news that you can’t wait to share with someone? You remember that anxious and exciting feeling of anticipation as you told them, “I have something awesome to tell you!!” Well that’s how a lot of Christians feel too. As we learn more and more about our God and our savior Jesus Christ, we want to be able to share this information with others. Why? Because it’s helped us when we needed it. Because it’s great to know God!

Maybe you found hope in going to mass every Sunday. Maybe you attended a support group at your church. Maybe you found a great website or blog that shares inspirational scripture and it helped you through a difficult time. 🙂 Sometimes we need to share this news with others. You might hesitate because you aren’t sure if they want to hear it. Or maybe you’re fearful that they will reject your message as “hogwash” or hurt your feelings by telling you that they don’t believe in God.

Jesus wants us all to be his apostles. This doesn’t even mean we have to become great evangelists or professional speakers. You can share the message by just showing kindness to someone. Or by inviting them to come to mass with you. Let the other parishioners and the priest do the evangelizing for you. It really is easy to “preach” without sounding preachy. It’s in our actions and in our words but it’s also in the little things. Just showing someone kindness, giving a little gift to someone who is less fortunate, or simply sharing part of the written word on social media, or sending something nice to someone’s inbox (or the real mail too) is evangelizing. It’s a small but powerful way to share the Good News with others.

Fit in your Faith Today: Let the good news spread. Share part of your faith today in some form with someone today, either through the written word, or social media, or speaking to them, or showing them an act of kindness. Remember, don’t be selfish with your faith; share it with others!

Be Determined and Confident

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Joshua 1: 9

Remember that I have commanded you to be determined and confident! Do not be afraid or discouraged, for I, the Lord your God, am with you wherever you go.

The words that were spoken to Joshua by the Lord in this passage were to encourage him to be confident that he could lead the Israelites to the promised land. Moses had just died and the people were still mourning his passing. Joshua was their newly appointed leader and this was the Lord’s “pep speech” to him.

We can take these words and make them our own. When we are being guided by the Lord to do something that maybe we feel we aren’t equipped to handle or maybe we feel we aren’t worthy, this passage can serve as our own pep speech. When we are lacking confidence in anything in life, so many words in the Bible can help us.

Put yourself in Joshua’s shoes. He probably felt a lot of pressure to live up to Moses’ reputation. He may have felt unworthy to take on this new role. But the Lord assured him that he would have his back. What a great encouragement to him this must have been and what a great confidence booster for us as well.

Fit in your Faith Today: Read the rest of the passage in the book of Joshua for even more uplifting words and pretend that God is speaking to you directly. Life is not easy, the road is always rough, but with God on our side, we can be strong and confident that we will be successful.

 

 

God always and in everything

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St. Vincent Pallotti

Not the goods of the world, but God. Not riches, but God. Not honors, but God. Not distinction, but God. Not dignities, but God. Not advancement, but God. God always and in everything.

 

Do you worship things of this world? Do you idolize people who have higher honor than you? Do you think if you’re famous or successful, that it’s the key to happiness?

If you do, you’ve fallen for a trick. A scam. Because the things of this world are just that – things. You can’t take any promotions with you to heaven. You can’t take those fancy clothes or that expensive car or your house with you either. None of this stuff that we seem to worship here on earth matters.  Nope, in the end, what does matter is our love for each other and our love for God. That’s it.

Fit in your Faith Today:  Do you worship things? Do you find money as being something you can never quite seem to get enough of? Do you need to prioritize the important things in your life? Start with your relationship with God. Then consider your relationship with others. Is it suffering due to your obsession with material posessions or success in your life? Re-examine your priorities and put God first.

Worry Less, Pray More

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Philippians 4:6-7

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Are you a worrier? Would others describe you as someone who is always anxious and worrying about the problems in your life? I could be described as a worrier. But I kept hearing the same piece of advice being repeated to me over and over by various people: Give it to God.

At first you might scoff at it and think, “Give WHAT to God? My problems? How can that possibly help?” But the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. Worrying doesn’t really solve anything. What does? Well, praying about it can at least ease the tension. Once you speak the words of what is on your mind to God, even if you’re just praying out loud and not quite sure you think God is listening (He is) it really does help. You can actually feel the weight being lifted off your shoulders as someone else takes the burden.

A couple other key words in St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians above is THANK HIM. So many times we pray ASKING for God to provide us with something. The more important word we should remember when praying is to start off by giving thanks. Because no matter what is going on in your life, there’s someone out there who has an even bigger dilemma and it’s good to recognize that despite your current distress, someone else out there could use a prayer too. So Thank God for all you have and then ask him to take the burden off your shoulders. Ask Him for guidance to help you figure out what to do. Ask him to bring you peace and ease your mind of any anxiety.

Fit In Your Faith Today: Who or what are you currently worrying about? How can you ask God to bring you peace to your current situation?

Pray for Wisdom

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Proverbs 8: 9-12

My words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those with knowledge.

Choose my instruction rather than silver, and knowledge rather than pure gold.

For wisdom is far more valuable than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with it.

I, Wisdom, live together with good judgement. I know where to discover knowledge and discernment.

Wisdom should affect every aspect of our lives, from beginning to end. We should always strive to increase our wisdom, always willing to learn something new about our faith, about relationships, about life. Under God’s direction and guidance, we can attain all kinds of wisdom and knowledge.

As for the value of wisdom, Proverbs teaches us it’s far valuable than gold or silver and jewels. Our goal should never be to increase our wealth. If we keep our eye on the prize of wisdom, we’ll be far happier with the results.

Money and fame and material possessions have temporary effects. They will only give us satisfaction that lasts a short while. It’s far better to have a wealth of knowledge, than a wealth of money.

Fit in Your Faith Today: What can you learn about God today? What is He trying to teach you and how can you share this new found wisdom with others?

The Lost Sheep In Your Life

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The Parable of the Lost Sheep

Luke 15: 1-7

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to him, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So to them he addressed this parable. “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

 After reading this parable, we might consider ourselves to be the lost sheep. We might compare ourselves to that lost animal that wanders off the path that God has set for us, hoping to be found again.

But what if you are the shepherd and the lost sheep is one of your friends or family members? Maybe it’s someone you used to see at church but haven’t in a long time. Or maybe it’s a friend you used to be close with but they have started hanging out with a different crowd, one that you might not understand or get along with for one reason or another.

Consider that lost sheep in your life ask yourself how you can make a point to reach out to them and see what they are up to. Have you reached out to this person recently? If not, why? If you did, how did it go? Some of these lost sheep might not want to return “home.”  And there’s really nothing we can do about it right now. But one day they might want to come back and we should be there with open arms as God our Father would want us to be. He always welcomes back his lost sheep and we should too.

Fit in your Faith Today: Think about who is lost in your life and how you can make an active effort to bring them back home.