Butterfly

Thank you all for your prayers! I am doing better. I'd like to share a quote that was timely and encouraging...

Just as the butterfly must wait upon its maker to be transformed, so must we. God is His infinite wisdom has a sovereign and individual plan for the transformation of our hearts and minds. Psalm 27:14 says "Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!" Being transformed is a process, so do not loose heart. "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus."

~from a past issue of the Girlhood Home Companion (Volume 1, Issue 12)

Lord,

I am trying my hardest. Really, I am. But I am weak and tired, and I never knew how thankless serving You could seem to be. I can totally echo Teresa of Avila today..."If this is how You treat Your friends, Lord, no wonder You have so few". I re-consecrate to You the broken, struggling vessel that is me. I trust that there will be an end to the tunnel, a calm in the midst of pain. I trust that You are pruning me for future greatness (You better be!). I trust that though I can't see the why in it all, You can...

~~~

To my readers (if anyone is left reading this neglected blog by now): I'm having an extraordinarily rough day, so could I please petition for your prayers for this tired soul? The main struggle right now has to do with the obstacles I'm facing as a parish catechetical leader. A boost of grace would be a big help. Thank you so much.

~~~

Vocationally, the journey is still in progress. I tell you, He sure does like to max out this trust thing. As in, lead us blindfolded for extended periods of time! But with Him in the driver's seat, I just trust and listen. After all, that is what a handmaiden does. He directs in His time...not mine. In an interesting way, I heard just the other day about a community that I hope to learn more about. I shall try to share more when time allows...

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end."

~Ecclesiastes 3:11

His Mercy

This past Sunday (the Feast of Divine Mercy), after a week filled with many graces, but also with many difficult moments, it was powerful to pray the prayer after the Chaplet of Divine Mercy...

Eternal God, in Whom mercy is endless,
and the treasury of compassion, inexhausible,
look kindly upon us, and increase Your mercy in us
that in difficult moments, we might not despair,
nor become despondant,
but with great confidance,
submit ourselves entirely to Your holy will,
which is love and mercy itself. Amen.

It amazes me sometimes how I can pray some prayer plenty of times, maybe even for year, and then it will hit me in a whole new way at a time when it becomes really personally relevant. That prayer, especially the last five lines above, was like a balm to my soul on Sunday. It was exactly what I need to pray and hear at that moment!

"But I will call this to mind,

as my reason to have hope:
The favors of the LORD are not exhausted,

his mercies are not spent;
They are renewed each morning,

so great is his faithfulness.
My portion is the LORD, says my soul;

therefore will I hope in him.
Good is the LORD to one who waits for him,

to the soul that seeks him;
It is good to hope in silence

for the saving help of the LORD."

~Lamentations 3:21-26

(I didn't realize until recently that such a hope-filled passage was in Lamentations... thanks to Sr. M. Franchesca!)

Quote of the Day and New Website!

"It was not you who chose me,

but I who chose you

and appointed you to go

and bear fruit that will remain."

(John 15:16)

Oh, that quote is SO meaningful to me, especially right now! The consecrated life was/is not of my own choosing. I have long desired so deeply for the fruit of motherhood. But His words, "I have chosen you to bear fruit that will remain"... could very well be referring to the fruit of spiritual motherhood.

Today I discovered that the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia have a most beautiful newly-redone website. I will be visiting them in a few weeks and it is exciting to explore everything on the new site. Be sure to visit it!

www.nashvilledominican.org

Solemnity of the Annunciation

"Ecce ancílla Dómini.

Fiat mihi secúndum verbum tuum."

Behold, the handmaiden of the Lord.

Be it done to me according to thy word.

-Luke 1:38

Visit Women for Faith and Family for a beautiful history of the prayer "The Angelus"! This feast of the Annunciation is a special one for me. If you haven't made note of the blog header, now would be a good time to do so. :)