Reaching for Heaven

Everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says: "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light." Ephesians 5:14 We are rarely in complete darkness. Even when I stumble around at night, eventually my eyes adjust and I can see enough to find my way around the house. In the same way, our spiritual lives are not ever in complete darkness no matter how troubled we might feel. Christ, our light, is always at our side. If we keep our eyes closed and choose to wallow in solitary darkness, that is our choice, but one that is completely unnecessary. All throughout the Scriptures, we are promised light, and we know that God fulfills his promises. Too often, we walk ...

LORD, I call to you; come quickly to help me; listen to my plea when I call. Let my prayer be incense before you; my uplifted hands an evening sacrifice. Set a guard, LORD, before my mouth, a gatekeeper at my lips. Psalm 141:1-3Do you ever have those moments during the day where you want to take back something you've said? Ideally, if our lips are being used in prayer, they're less likely to utter those things that make us hit our foreheads in disbelief of the things that sometimes come out of our mouths. Now, I don't know any of us who spend our entire day engaged in vocal prayer - so perhaps this little psalm prayer should be our first!We sometimes forget the power our words have to wound ...

112You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, so that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you for ever. Psalm 30:11-12When we are in the midst of our own misery, it sometimes feels as though it will never end. Yet, even out of the greatest suffering, God brings joy and hope. I know in my own life, though it was a miserable walk through the most trying time of it, in the end I only recall the peace and hope that God had placed in my life...through friends, through the gift of Himself. I cannot imagine how one deals with sorrow and suffering without the hand of God walking them through it and lifting ...

Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her." Luke 10: 40-42Continuing on our theme of "busyness" this week, we have the story of Martha and Mary. It's a story I, and I'm sure many of you, know well. For my part, it is because I tend to be more of a Martha, always scurrying about, "serving." I am at first somewhat mystified when Jesus says that Mary has the better part, and then I hear him ...

What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, "I will live with them and move among them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people." 2 Corinthians 6:16Having just come back from Rome, it is easier to envision the masses of images and idols that served as objects of worship for the ancient people. Yet, in our own day and age, we lift up our own graven images and objects that take the place of God. Where are we on Sunday - church or in front of the TV? How about daily? How many of us take the time each day to worship God (and I don't mean just recite a few prayers, call it good and move on...)? I know I am guilty of that all too ...

In vain is your earlier rising, your going later to rest, you who toil for the bread you eat; when he pours gifts on his beloved while they slumber. Psalm 127:2We work harder and longer hours than ever before, trying to make ends meet, trying to live up to some standard set by some person we don't even know. We do all this to what end? The cry in Ecclesiastes comes to mind - "Vanity of vanities!" What does all this toiling accomplish? Is it even toiling or idle busyness that keeps us occupied all hours of the day and night? Television, internet, even books and socializing to some extent, can distract us from what we really need.Where are we making time to rest in the Lord? It seems absurd in ...

[This generation] seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Johan became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. Luke 11:29b-30Signs, signs everywhere there's signs... Have we become a culture obsessed? There is definitely a pocket of people in a frenzy over the end-times. This hurricane, that fire...could it be the onset of the end times? Let's not forget the Mayan calendar ends in 2012! Isn't this just a new twist on the Garden...seeking to have the full knowledge and power of God?As a people of God, our sign is the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus told us that we know not the day nor the hour, but that we must live our lives ...

The challenge? Eat for a whole week on $30. Read more about the challenge many Atlanta bloggers are participating in over the week. Frugal'n'Fab gives it a slightly different spin, reminding us that so much of the world eats for far less than that (try $1/day). In fact, she may begin a weekly Wednesday challenge, but you'll have to read her blog for that!The question to you is this: could you live on $30 a week for food? ...

But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you. Luke 6:35-38It's a tough day for mercy for some, I imagine. This morning, the recipient of the Nobel Peace ...

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened...If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” Luke 11:9-10,13Ask and you will receive... I think this may be one of the most hopeful and yet disheartening verses of Scripture for many people. Hopeful, because Christ makes us a great promise. Disheartening because we stop reading after two lines and misunderstand him. So many times I've been asked 'why, if ...

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." Luke 11:1Of course, if you continue reading this passage, it leads us to Luke's version of what has become known as the staple Christian prayer of the Our Father. Many saints over the years have provided their prayerful guidance in the use of that prayer. Jesus leaves us with great direction in teaching us, through his disciples and the apostles, that prayer. But, what do we do when rote prayer becomes all we can offer? Is that enough?The beauty of the "rote prayers" of Catholicism is that they are there when that IS all we can offer. It ...

The Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love. How good is the Lord to all, compassionate to all his creatures. Psalm 145:8-9Kind, full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love...how many people do we know who fit that bill? I'd like to think that many of us come so very close, and yet, in that moment of carelessness, the snide remark, the angry retort, the closed heart creeps in. Is it that we are not "good Christians"? I don't think so. I think in the end, it is that we are of human flesh and blood and those human weaknesses are exploited at times.I wonder, too, if part of the problem is that we are so conditioned to decide who is "in" and who is "out" from ...

Here is an uplifting story about a proactive initiative to help college age students faced with an unplanned pregnancy... Interestingly, Belmont is the home of Belmont Abbey College which has recently found itself in the midst of a tussle regarding the legality of the restrictions in its insurance coverage for employees. The College, in accordance with Catholic teaching, does not include coverage for abortions, prescription ...

O search me, God and know my heart. O test me and know my thoughts. See that I follow not the wrong path and lead me in the path of life eternal. Psalm 139:23-24Have you ever seen those bumperstickers out there that say "God (or Jesus) is my co-pilot"? I always laugh at first and then am reminded rather quickly that they are just a little bit off on their enthusiasm. God is not our "co-pilot" - God is the pilot. We're not just passengers along for the ride, but neither are we in equal position with God.If we read any story in Scripture, we are constantly reminded that great trouble begins when we think we can take the lead and see if God will follow. The same still rings true today. Though it ...