Author: Essy Dias

While everyone is busy pointing you to the latest and greatest tragedy and proof of how bad every single thing around us is, I’m going to try to point you in a different direction. Instead of looking down, I’m going to try to get you to look up! I woke up very early this morning… some might even consider it the middle of the night. When I stepped outside at 4am, to breathe in some fresh cool air before starting my day, the above view is what I saw. I then made my coffee, and sat down for my time with the Lord. And of course in true Divine fashion, He proceeds to use that little moment to lead me forward. The first book I opened was “You Shall Not Want… 30 days with the Psalms”. And on day two, it reads “We lift up our eyes to you, Lord of the heavens and earth!” And before that “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth”.

Indeed it does, on this earthly pilgrimage, it’s very tempting at times to rely on our own strength, and I honestly believe that’s why the Lord allows for so much of our weakness …to get that out of the way right up front. “Look girlie…you have no personal strength, so don’t even entertain that particular thought.”

But long ago the Lord revealed to me, that I would “see the goodness of God in the land of the living”, and He’s kept that promise. I may not have much as far as physical or material things go, but I have Him… and THAT is the pearl of great price, worth ridding everything else for.

We often are mislead into believing that our faith is only to get us into heaven after we die. And although it’s true that the fullness of heaven will only be revealed to us then, it begins NOW.

It must begin now because we need to become saints NOW. There is urgent work to be done.

And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. – Luke 10:2

‘The harvest’ refers to the abundance of God’s Merciful Love, blessings and grace, that are ready and just waiting distribution. This readily brings to mind the priestly role, but not only… we all have a job to do. We are ALL called to be His workers… and that means to be saints.

On day 12 of 33Days to Merciful Love, we read… “if you live the Little Way (of St. Thérèse) that is, if you recognize the darkness of your littleness, keep trying to grow in holiness, and trust in the Lord’s promise of mercy, you will become a saint. It’s that simple.”

What is this work that He has for us? One such assignment is revealed to us in today’s Gospel.

“Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.” – Luke 10:3

So we see the work of becoming a saint is not to simply sit back and enjoy the heavenly view in awe, but to go out and work in the vineyard.

He further states.

“Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
   eat what is set before you,
   cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’”

There’s so much to unpack here, and I’ll share with you what I, an ADHD contemplative, get from it.

*”Whatever town you enter”. So this doesn’t necessarily mean that we are all going to be sent on a mission to far away lands. Our ‘town’ might be our very own home, or our work place, wherever the Lord has us at this particular time.

*”and they welcome you” oh this one is hard. Not everyone will welcome us or eagerly receive the gifts of the harvest that we are so eager to share with them. They don’t appreciate it and we can do nothing for them. This is heartbreaking when it’s those we love so dearly.

*”Eat what is set before you” … eat what’s on your plate… do the thing that is right before you without complaining or trying to get out of it, complete your duty of the moment before setting out on new ventures. Hello, where are my adhd people at? Are you understanding this? 😉

*”cure the sick” … seek out those in dark, broken places… meet them at their pain points…being aware of their infirmities they are better prepared for the healing that you’ll bring to them… you have what is necessary… the gifts of the Holy Spirit will provide.

*”say to them, the Kingdom of God is at hand for you. Show them the big picture and get them involved in the mission.

“Remember that God‘s merciful love is like water it rushes to the lowest place.”

33 Days to Merciful Love

Through this blog I’d like to locate my fellow pilgrims, those traveling this path with the added burden of a neurodivergent brain (ie. ADHD, Autism, Giftedness, etc.)

Our brains just don’t function the way that every body else’s seem too, and this world and what it deems essential just can’t accommodate or fully accept us. We can feel very much like square pegs in round holes. But I have Good News to bring you … we are not alone. I actually believe that many of the saints knew our struggles personally.

Our Heart is restless until it rests in you.

St Augustine

What neurodivergent person on this journey can’t identify with a restless heart? Hello!!!

In yesterday’s reflection, I wrote the following.

“Humility requires that we look at our selves… all those areas that we struggle with and try to hide or improve on in our own way. All those little broken pieces that we try desperately to glue back together. Whether they were a result of our own sinfulness, our temperament, our disorders or inordinate tendencies. God wants us to hand them all over to Him.”

I read somewhere that folks with adhd especially, have a very high rate of addiction. Perhaps one plausible reason is that our brains were created with a bit less dopamine than the average bear. That near constant search for that next dopamine hit to keep us at just a functional level, could explain what gives way to our restless hearts, it is our self medicating attempt.

Our hearts were made for Him, not for the numerous artificial dopamine suppliers that many often turn to instead… from the less innocuous social media, shopping and food addictions to others that are a bit more pernicious, like sex and drug addictions. We run the gamut of our particular inclinations. Like the saying goes… “there but for the grace of God, go I”.

So what then? If we are to “rest our hearts on God”, or simply be little and humble as St. Therese tells, so are we to “simply remain “little” and then wait for the Lord to stoop down, take us into his arms, and raise us to the heights?” as Fr. Gaitley so aptly inquires on day 10 of 33 Days to Merciful Love. No, of course not… Christianity is about faith AND works … we pray and then we obey. But being little, our works usually don’t avail to much, and we can get very frustrated with our lack of results. How many of you have felt this way? That we are just not productive, fruitful or successful, our brains often not allowing us to bring a project to completion. However what we need to remember is that even though we are commanded to act, the results of our action is up to Him.

Saint Mother Teresa is known to have said that “God does not call us to be successful, but to be faithful.”

Fr. Gaitely theorizes that our efforts in the spiritual life are “absolutely necessary and absolutely useless.”

One of my favorite stories that clarifies this truth is the following.

Pushing the Rock – Author Unknown

Thus, giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure.

These thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man even more. “Why kill myself over this?” he thought. “I’ll just put in my time, giving just the minimum of effort and that will be good enough.” And that he planned to do until one day he decided to make it a matter of Prayer and take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.

“Lord” he said, “I have labored long and hard in your service, putting all my strength to do that which you have asked. Yet, after all this time, I have not even budged that rock a half a millimeter. What is wrong? Why am I failing?”

To this the Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, when long ago I asked you to serve me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the rock with all your strength, which you have done. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push. And now you come to me, your strength spent, thinking that you have failed. But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back brown, your hands are calloused from constant pressure, and your legs have become massive and hard.

Through opposition you have grown much and your abilities now surpass that which you used to have. Yet you haven’t moved the rock.

BUT YOUR CALLING WAS TO BE OBEDIENT, TO PUSH AND TO EXERCISE YOUR FAITH AND TRUST IN MY WISDOM, this you have done. I, my friend, I will now move the rock.”

On day 12 of the consecration, it goes on to say

“In sum, then, the little way is often a little way of darkness. It’s about accepting that we are to put up with ourselves with all the darkness of our weakness, brokenness and sin -without getting discouraged. It’s recognizing, without giving up, that some struggles are chronic. It’s realizing, without despairing, that they may be with us till our dying day. But it’s also about realizing that this does not prevent us from becoming saints.”

We are to use all our weaknesses, either from our temperaments, differences in biology, or sinful nature… and allow God to do His thing. This is why humility is so important, if we are to hide what the world considers imperfections, we are not only hiding an important part of who we are, but opportunities for growth and healing too.

My spiritual readings this morning began with the words “ The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament discloses the divine handiwork.” —psalm 19:1

This fills me with such joy as I marvel at His great design. How it all was meant to go, how it still continues to this day in some aspects, and how the great plan of redemption continues regardless of how far it has fallen in others.

We were supposed to be living in full union with Him, enjoying paradise on earth. Sin entered the world, it marred the plan for sure. But God didn’t simply crumple it all up and throw it in the waste basket… all that He had created was good… it had been declared so from the very beginning.

So what did sin manage to do? It doesn’t only mess with our souls, it first messes with our minds … most especially our memory of who we are and most importantly whose we are. We become susceptible to lies and manipulation. Way before Eve ever even took the first bite of that apple, her mind had already been swayed.

The Good News is that God’s plan persists. He loves us too much to leave us wrangling in the after effects of our own feeble minded choices. That is His merciful love in action.

That great plan for us to be fully united to Him, continues … the Father unites us to Himself through His Son. There was no other way, there is no other way. Our sinfulness and wandering spirit is too great.

In today’s Gospel we read  “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

What is it about children that qualifies them for such an honor? It’s their humility and docility. Their willingness to be lead and trust-fullness without reservation. Adulthood and painful life experiences rubs a lot of that out of us, we think we know better and therefore we have no need for a Savior.

Humility requires that we look at our selves… all those areas that we struggle with and try to hide or improve on in our own way. All those little broken pieces that we try desperately to glue back together. Whether they were a result of our own sinfulness, our temperament, our disorders or inordinate tendencies. God wants us to hand them all over to Him.

That’s what makes St. Therese’s Little Way so attractive. It teaches us to relish in our own worldly littleness, because those are the exact areas where Jesus comes in and redeems for us.

The saying, “God loves us the way we are, but too much to let us stay there”, holds true. His love for us is never diminished, regardless of what we do or don’t do, oh but what a mess we can create sometimes, and how it must hurt His heart.

In today’s reflection on ‘33 Days to Merciful Love’ , we read that “mercy involves two things: the heart and the arms. It’s God’s being moved to compassion at seeing our suffering (heart) and then taking action to help alleviate it (arms).

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“Come Holy Spirit, fire of Mercy, help me to recognize my own lowliness and to rejoice in God’s Mercy.”

This is was the closing prayer for day 8 of “33 Days to Merciful Love”.

I love doing consecration preps, it’s a focused time with the Lord, a pilgrimage if you will…where I’m lead deeper and deeper into the Father’s Will. I’m given the opportunity to look at my life and take inventory of where I’m at, and where I need to be.

The lessons keep coming in, sometimes just reiterating a previous point, but other times giving me new ways of seeing things. On day 6 of this same consecration was such a time. Fr. Michael Gaitley writes about a discussion with another priest and being asked “And how do you live trust? What’s its concrete expression in your daily living?” He claims to have been stumped and that the other priest’s response changed his life. And I kind of think it has mine as well. His answer was. “The way you live trust is by praise and thanksgiving, to praise and thank God in all things. That’s what the Lord said to St. Faustina.”

This is of course not a new concept, and it’s one that the Lord has been working on me about for quite some time. But this time it feels like it really cemented the concept in my mind. That this gratitude for ‘all things’, is not merely what is happening at this moment…which I’ve been getting better at.. actually thanking Him for all that came my way, knowing that if He allowed it, then it could serve a greater purpose…sometimes that thank you would come through tears and pursed lips…but I did mange it in most cases. But it’s also about where I’ve been, and what has lead me to where I am now. God has never been far from me, even when I wasn’t paying attention. It’s also about all the things that make me, me… my temperament, and abilities, or lack thereof, my desires, and the things that bring me joy or perhaps trap me in temptation.

I decided to name this new phase of this old blog, ‘walk in trust‘ The daily grind of an ADHD contemplative, in her 6th decade of this pilgrimage called life. It’s more personal than what I’ve attempted before. It certainly won’t be to everyone’s liking…it’s my walk…it’ll be about the lessons I’m learning. About the mundane aspects of living out my faith, and some silly ones…I like clothes, and makeup and just plain being girly (yes even at 61), so we may see some of that. And like my headline says…I’m an ADHD contemplative…ummm…contradictory you think? Well that’s part of what makes me, me. 😀 So stay tuned…

The term “Eucharist” originates from the Greek word eucharistia, meaning thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving and the Mass

Christokos the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus, literally translated as “Christ Bearer”.

In today’s Gospel we read of Mary bringing Jesus to her cousin Elizabeth’s home, and as Mary greeted her, the Holy Spirit came upon her and her child and she was able to see her for who she was… Mother of her Lord and worthy to be blessed for all generations. S

She wasn’t taking anything away from Jesus by declaring this, only noting her unique status. Well, unique in the sense that she’s the only one that gave birth to Him physically. But carrying Him forth is an honor that she shares with each of us. We too are invited to be Christokos…to bring Christ to this dark world that so needs Him.

Jesus was with her, when Elizabeth declared her blessedness, and He is in our midst every single time we invoke her name to this day.

“The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” – Zephaniah 3:17

Let me say that again “He will renew you in His love”!

“Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation;* the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17

The following is from ‘Praying the Eucharistic Stations of the Cross” : “Joseph and Mary gazed with wonder upon his face in Bethlehem. The woman at the well discovered the truth when she looked into his eyes. Zaccheus climbed a tree to glimpse him. His closest disciples marveled when they beheld the glory of his face on Mount Tabor.

And now? His face, bruised and raw, is a pitiful sight. Veronica runs to wipe his blood-stained brow. And his face leaves an image on her holy veil.

The Eucharist builds up that image of Christ in us. People should look upon us and see him. We are called to be other Christs, and by the grace given in the holy sacrament, it is made so. The veil is a true image, a true icon. But a greater icon still is the heart conformed in love to him.”

In todays readings we hear “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. – 1 Peter 2:9

We were created in His image, and are living here and now for a purpose… all of us are… whether we choose to accept it or not, or whether we even realize it. Oh what a powerful inborn dignity and responsibility that carries with it. God loves us so incredibly much.

“Eternal Trinity, you are my Creator. I am the work of your hands and I know how deeply enamored you are with the beauty of your workmanship.” -Catherine of Siena ( Set Aside Every Fear).

That may seem a bit egotistical at first glance, but His true workmanship is not only our physicality although that’s certainly part of it… but our very soul. “We carry this treasure in jars of clay”.

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COMMUNION AND STEWARDSHIP: Human Persons Created in the Image of God “For its part, Catholic tradition has always insisted that, while the imago Dei is impaired or disfigured, it cannot be destroyed by sin. The dialogical or relational structure of the image of God cannot be lost but, under the reign of sin, it is disrupted in its orientation towards its christological realization.”

In the Blue Book #21 c-f Our Blessed Mother tells Fr. Gobbi.

“All men redeemed by my Son are also my children; they are my children in the fullest sense of the word. Even those who are far away, even the sinners, even the atheists, even those who reject God, those who fight against Him and hate Him: they are all my children. And I am Mother to them. For many of them, I am the only Mother they have, the only person who is taking care of them, who truly loves them. And so my heart is continually consumed with sorrow and with a greater love for these children of mine.”

Then in section J: “And so there is then the Movement of my priests. It is desired by me to make reparation for the immense harm caused in souls by atheism, to restore in so many desecrated hearts the image of God, the merciful countenance of my Son Jesus”.

Then she goes on to tell us how the image of God is so frequently desecrated, through the demon of corruption, the spirit of lust which is defiling souls from an early age. (q-u)

“The priests of my Movement must restore purity in souls and fight firmly against the Demon of Lust in all its manifestations.

They must combat styles that are more and more indecent and provocative; they must combat the press that publicizes evil and entertainment which ruins morals. They must struggle against the prevalent mentality that legitimizes and justifies everything, and against current morality that permits everything.

Above all, my priests will have to be pure, very pure! I myself will cover them with my immaculate mantle, and I will make them new men, priests who are upright and spotless.

To those who have fallen I will give a new purity; I will call them to a second and more beautiful innocence of repentance and love.

I want it to be the Movement of my priests which will bring back the fragrance of purity to the world: for it is only on the billow of this perfume that my Son Jesus will once again become the King of hearts and of souls.

These messages are for all of us. Lack of modesty and impurity has greater impact than the fashion world would have us believe. It is not inconsequential as so many of us learn so late. Once we know who we truly are in Christ then we are more apt to dress the part. We want people to see Christ when they look at us, and not merely our separate body parts. So we don’t cover our bodies because we are hideous, we dress appropriately because of our great dignity. Think Queen Elizabeth in her day or some other dignitary … perhaps Kate…would it be ok for them to be photographed in scanty clothing or in any type of provocative fashion … regardless of age?

Like todays reading tells us : Beloved, I beg you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against your soul. – 1 Peter 2:11

As to this prevalent demon indiscriminately attacking the Body of Christ… in the book ‘The Secret of the Holy Face*’ Fr. Carney reiterates what our blessed Mother has told us about the need for reparation. “the Church must defend herself by means of reparation, reverence, and reversion. I believe God has preordained a certain number of people who need to be in the state of grace and do battle with the demons and their agents.”

Blessed Sacrament

And again…“The Eucharist builds up that image of Christ in us. People should look upon us and see him. We are called to be other Christs, and by the grace given in the holy sacrament, it is made so. The veil is a true image, a true icon. But a greater icon still is the heart conformed in love to him.”

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“You are the clear waters of a sea filled with sweet secrets, a magic mirror that you invite me to look into to see myself as your creature, to see you united with my humanity.

Beauty above all beauty!

Wisdom above all wisdom!

Wisdom itself!

Food of angels!

A fire of love to humanity!

A garment to cover our nakedness!

Sweet food for the hungry!”

*(Set Aside Every Fear) Catherine of Siena

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“I await you who come to me with the light of faith burning in your soul, with charity aflame…” (Set Aside Every Fear)~ Catherine of Siena

There are some words in the English language that are changing so rapidly that their original intent is quickly becoming unrecognizable. I believe ‘charity’ is such a case, perhaps even the word love itself will soon follow it.

Below is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say about charity aka love!

Charity

1822 Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. 

1825 Christ died out of love for us, while we were still “enemies.”¹⁰⁰ The Lord asks us to love as he does, even our enemies, to make ourselves the neighbor of those farthest away, and to love children and the poor as Christ himself.¹⁰¹The Apostle Paul has given an incomparable depiction of charity: “charity is patient and kind, charity is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Charity does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Charity bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”¹⁰²

Umm…so no where on here do we read of love being a feel good emotion for us to bestow on those who are like minded and can love us back.

I’ve written about my recent attraction to the Holy Face. It started with a novena to St. Veronica for photographers that I did a while back. I was captivated by how the Lord allowed her to capture His likeness in her veil. As a portrait photographer, this is something that has always intrigued me… how to capture someone’s true essence through my lens.

I believe that via this particular pedagogy, He is teaching me to grow in love for each person that He brings to me and to recognize Him, in them… even those that are ‘the farthest away’ and are still yet to discover their own worthiness as having been created in His image.

“Through him you have confidence in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”- 1 Peter 1:21

He’s also teaching me that as much as I’m being called and instructed on how to love and see Him in others, my faith and hope need to be on Him alone and He’s the one that makes true love possible.

When uniformity with God’s will and seeing Him face to face, living in His presence, becomes our greatest desire, then God honors it.

God told St. Catherine of Siena “This life, this desire, this possession, this love, this seeing, this having, this joy, begins here and now for those who desire me.”

But to even get to the point of this great desire, this hunger for Him, we must stop the ‘self fulfillment’ that we talked about yesterday, that the devil tempts us with. When we keep feeding our flesh with the measly scraps that the world has to offer, it ruins our appetite for God.

In Galatians 5:17 it says “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”

This is a very common tactic of the Enemy, to distract us and keep us from our inheritance, which is living life to the fullest (full union with Him). He even lies to us about what that is.

But He told St Catherine “They (His followers) will transcend the body and its laws which oppose the Spirit and all that comes between them and the truth, all that prevents them from seeing me face-to-face.”

So how do we do that? How do we ‘transcend the body’? It starts with knowing ourselves. See where our natural inclinations lie, learning about the Four Temperaments is great for this. You can go HERE to take an online test. I think the more we grow in spirit the more balanced we’ll be… but there may still be one area that surpasses the others. Once we know that one… we must check out what its negative tendencies are and work on those.

And also be aware of where the Devil is working his hardest to get us. Chances are that’s where our greatest attribute for the Body of Christ is to be found and he’s trying to block our way. We must not let him. Here’s where ‘reparation’ comes in. If he’s leading us in one direction, we must run fast to the opposite no matter the cost.

The following are the seven deadly sins which are at the root of all other sins and their opposite virtue that we are to practice instead.

• Pride-humility
• Envy-kindness
• Wrath-patience or
  forgiveness
• Sloth-diligence
• Greed- charity
• Gluttony-temperance
• Lust- chastity

Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places“

Todays Gospel we hear Peter began to say to him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed you.” – Mark 10:28

As His children, we too are to ‘leave everything’ according to our own state in life and particular calling. That is, everything that is getting in the way of us hearing Him and being able to obey Him completely; our sins, our negative tendencies, our addictions…our own will…all must go.

But we don’t empty ourselves of these inordinate attachments with God’s grace in order to remain empty… but so the Lord can fill us Himself … and reward us according to what is best for us NOW… including allowing ‘persecutions’ so that we can be strengthened for the job He has in mind for us here on this side of heaven.

Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. – Mark 10:29-30

We’ve been discussing God’s love and mercy and how He makes us part of Himself and fills us with His grace and abundance of gifts.

One thing that is crucial to remember though is that we are only the container … we can not be possessive of what He pours freely into us. The riches that we’ve been entrusted with are to be used for the good of all His children, we are merely stewards. We are to be rivers and not reservoirs, where the water of the Spirit flows to its final destination and doesn’t just sit there.

The story of the long handled spoons comes to mind.

“ One day a man said to God, “God, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.

God showed the man two doors. Inside the first one, in the middle of the room, was a large round table with a large pot of stew. It smelled delicious and made the man’s mouth water, but the people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. God said, “You have seen Hell.”

Behind the second door, the room appeared exactly the same. There was the large round table with the large pot of wonderful stew that made the man’s mouth water. The people had the same long-handled spoons, but they were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The man said, “I don’t understand.”

God smiled. “It is simple,” He said, “Love only requires one skill. These people learned early to feed one another. Those who are hungry are greedy people, and they think only of themselves.”

The Devil’s great temptation is always one of self fulfillment. Do this thing, and you’ll finally get all you’ve ever wanted.

“The Devil will take advantage of your blindness and put before you a banquet of his delights, colored to look like something that is good for you. For each person he chooses what is most appealing to their principal weakness, and to each according to their station in life. The Devil will issue you an invitation to death disguised as life.”

-Set Aside Every Fear (Catherine of Siena)

Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who have pleasure in them. He provides food for those who fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant. – Psalms 111:2, 5

As we step out in obedience and give as He commands us without thought to self, He Himself comes and feeds us… via His direct grace and via His other children and angels.

In today’s Gospel we hear … “You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” – Mark 10:21

So the following thoughts are me rambling, trying to digest what the Lord is saying.

‘Sell what you have”… that’s a monetary exchange, so the Lord isn’t asking us to commit the sin of simony… taking money for spiritual favors… but those other things that we ‘possess’ and are preventing us from being free to follow the Lord. Or in a practical way He could even be telling him/ us to get to work… to put his talents to use to make money to reach ‘the poor’… and who are the poor you ask? It’s tempting to see it as very black and white… the homeless of course…they abound all around us, especially in big cities. But is that all?