During this Octave of Easter the theme (not a good word, but I'm using it anyway) is, of course, the Risen Christ. Now, I don't know where I've been for the last 55 years but for whatever reason the importance of not only believing that He rose but that we must seek Him always, and to know that He is here with us always, was perhaps lost on me. Seeking Him sounds so easy in our minds, so easy to grasp in the darkness of the night or in the quiet of an early dawn. In the harshness of the workplace or when dealing with a family issue or any and all of the situations we come across that make us uncomfortable, that is when the Face of Jesus is harder to see. He fades, and we are left feeling alone.
It must be remembered that as we walk with Him, as we strive to be aware of Him who is at our side always, satan is there also, for he is the one who makes us forgetful, makes us angry and confused at our neighbor. He would like nothing better than for us to forget about Jesus, let Easter fade like we let most holidays do. I was reminded just today to pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance and strength so I don't lose sight of Our Lord. These are specific actions that I must do every day because I'm weak, and during a normal day, unless I truly focus He does fade away, it's so very easy for it to happen. I guess a good way to look at it is to love God with all my heart, mind and soul, and my soul that longs will find its' way.
Come Holy Spirit, fill my heart with your holy gifts.
Let my weakness be penetrated with your strength
this very day,
that I may fulfill all my duties conscientiously,
and that I may do what is right and just.
Graciously hear me, O Holy Spirit,
and pour your light into my heart, my soul, and my mind.
Help me to live a holy life and to grow in goodness and grace.
Amen.
(excerpt from) "Daily Prayer to the Holy Spirit"
-Medjugorje Day By Day
4 comments:
I love to sit by the lake at our mountain house and fish. It's quiet and peaceful, so I am quiet and peaceful. There have been many times while fishing when a beautiful trout has latched on to my bait and I am working at reeling her in that the lone eagle comes from nowhere, swoops down and tries to snatch her before I do. It’s times like these that I have to work a little more aggressively to maintain my rainbow prize.
The devil reminds me of that eagle, sitting far away, but always watching and ready to steal the prize.
I’m pretty sure it was you that wrote once that you always had the Blessed Mother in the corner of your eye….Am I right???
Stay alert and watchful.
We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song!
God bless you
PS..I love this prayer to the Holy Spirit, I too say it often and
your reflection is wonderful…
You know of course that it is really He who seeks after us. These thoughts you are having that you need to, 'seek Him always, and to know that He is here with us always' is your own soul's response to His Call. He is the Good Shepherd and we are just lost sheep who can do nothing without Him. Even our next breath can't happen without His Will.
And yet, by the act of you even having this blog, writing about your faith journey, continuing to struggle to get up each day, go to Mass, and pray to the Holy Spirit as you do ... each of these are your responses to Him. Each is a step forward and more monumental than you realize.
Listen with the eyes of your heart. He is seeking you. He has given you His all; you only need to love Him in return. Give Him your all. And the only way you can do it, is with His help.
May He bless you abundantly this Easter Season!
It is amazing how things become obvious that we've overlooked for so many years - I keep realizing that as I travel my own spiritual path 54 years on the road!).
Sometimes I thinks it's because we are simply not ready yet to understand, or we're too distracted - Satan! - to look in the right direction.
And right you are, Satan will do everything in his power to help us forget that Jesus is risen, Jesus is with us, Jesus is always in plain sight - if we look for Him.
You are so right that we must always look for Jesus in everyone and everything, keep Him forever in our sight and never forget His deep and tender love for us.
I love booklady's comment.
Post a Comment