Step 2 – Walk in Trust

Chastity

2347 The virtue of chastity blossoms in friendship. It shows the disciple how to follow and imitate him who has chosen us as his friends,134 who has given himself totally to us and allows us to participate in his divine estate. Chastity is a promise of immortality.
Chastity is expressed notably in friendship with one’s neighbor. Whether it develops between persons of the same or opposite sex, friendship represents a great good for all. It leads to spiritual communion.
Catechism of the Catholic Church

Without chastity, real love is impossible. It is required of all persons, married and single. It’s about putting sex in its rightful place and not using others for our own pleasures. The Catechism lays it all out. You can check it out HERE .

The beauty of God’s ways is that it is never too late for any of us. Some seem to get it right away, others it may take a little longer. St. Agustine was one that took quite a bit of time, and then became one of our greatest saints. You may be inclined to say like he did, “God make me chaste, but not yet.” But here’s the thing…Kingdom living, which is what God’s children are called to, is not about seeing how much we can get away with and still get in. It’s about making use of it all the minute we can, so that we have the benefit of His graces as soon as possible. Living in sin has dire consequences that effect the here and now and it’s not merely about where we will spend eternity.

Chastity, permits us to honor God’s plan for creation by allowing us to love and respect ourselves properly in line with who and whose we are, and then love others in the same manner. The enemy often distorts and misdirects our creative force (eros) in many ways. It is put there to bring together those who have a job to do in common and is meant to inspire His children towards a common goal for His purposes (with parenting being the best example) not towards each other to become stagnant there. One looks outward together and moves the individuals forward, the other at it’s most benign merely blocks the path and immobilizes. (Read more HERE)

Justice

752 In Christian usage, the word “church” designates the liturgical assembly,141 but also the local community142 or the whole universal community of believers.143 These three meanings are inseparable. “The Church” is the People that God gathers in the whole world. She exists in local communities and is made real as a liturgical, above all a Eucharistic, assembly. She draws her life from the word and the Body of Christ and so herself becomes Christ’s Body.
Catechism of the Catholic Church

In paragraph 1931 of the Catechism it states…”No legislation could by itself do away with fears, prejudices and attitudes of pride and selfishness which obstruct the establishment of truly fraternal societies. Such behavior will cease only through the charity that finds in every man a neighbor and brother.” We can’t expect it to, in fact any government that tries, is impeding free will. This is not to say that we shouldn’t have laws, we need to protect human life and protect our freedoms. But so many these days are looking to the government to do the church’s job . As we often hear, a government that gives you everything is a government that can take it all away. The church should never be under the subjugation of such a government.

So as we stand here fighting to maintain our political freedoms, we need to join up forces to increase the body of Christ as well…His Church! It’s the only real answer to all of society’s ailments. Yet, it’s the exact opposite of what we see happening. Communism (and all its varied branches), which is essentially an atheistic political governance, is spreading like wild fire. The reason can only be because we Catholics have not done our job properly. It is now time to change that. We can’t leave it simply to the hierarchy, or to ‘professional Catholics’…but it’s the duty of all of us, to reach those closest to us, in a way that only we can. That requires that we allow the ‘dogma’ to live loudly within us. Stay strong!!!

Boldness

851 Missionary motivation. It is from God’s love for all men that the Church in every age receives both the obligation and the vigor of her missionary dynamism, “for the love of Christ urges us on.

“343 Indeed, God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”;344 that is, God wills the salvation of everyone through the knowledge of the truth. Salvation is found in the truth.

Those who obey the prompting of the Spirit of truth are already on the way of salvation.

But the Church, to whom this truth has been entrusted, must go out to meet their desire, so as to bring them the truth. Because she believes in God’s universal plan of salvation, the Church must be missionary.
–Catechism of the Catholic Church

Yes…the church (all of us) must be missionary (one who promotes the faith)…and who is in more dire need of this right now than those in our very own circle. I think it is often even the ones already in church, in the pew right next to us that are in need of being fully drawn in. We must start with those closest to us and work our way out. How do we reach them? Pray and obey, you’ll be shown the way! At times us simply living our lives openly and sincerely without fear, will do it. We just need to be attentive to opportunities. Where ever you spend your time, there are people that need the Good News…think of Facebook as a missionary field. 😀 The darker the times, the greater the need.

We must acquire a great zeal for souls and need to work together to build up the Kingdom…

“The kingdom of God is at hand”

541 “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying: ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe in the gospel.'”²⁴⁶ “To carry out the will of the Father Christ inaugurated the kingdom of heaven on earth.”²⁴⁷ Now the Father’s will is “to raise up men to share in his own divine life”.²⁴⁸ He does this by gathering men around his Son Jesus Christ. This gathering is the Church, “on earth the seed and beginning of that kingdom”.²⁴⁹ (Catechism of the Catholic Church)

Goodness

2500: The practice of goodness is accompanied by spontaneous spiritual joy and moral beauty. (Catechism of the Catholic Church)

Sometimes it’s hard to control our feelings and emotions, especially when faced with someone who we know doesn’t like or respect us. This is so relevant for us today who live in such a divided world. Even within our own families we are now facing the reality that our world view is not only rejected, but spurned. But through all of the craziness we’ve been shown over and over examples of Christians who reflected nothing but calmness and goodness, even in the face of evil being spat at them.

So although we can’t often change our interior disposition (although God can and we should pray for it), the one thing we can do is be open to emitting Jesus’ own goodness and love through us. One very simple way of doing this is through our smile. As one who struggles with RBF (if you don’t know what this is, you can look it up. 😉 ), I have to intentionally make an effort to do this.

By this simple task, we are not only conveying Jesus’ goodness to others, but it can actually alter our frame of mind and lead us to better health. Our body picks up on these subtle messages…oh, she’s smiling…we must be feeling good…let’s pump out some feel good hormones. 😀 Feel good hormones are great alkalizing agents, and the whole body benefits from it.

So…do yourself and the world a favor…SMILE!!!!

The Values Factor

I’m reading a book that I’ve only recently learned about, it’s called The Values Factor, written by Dr. John Demartini. This isn’t a Catholic book, I must tell you upfront that I like to read from a variety of world views…I absorb what is for me and let go of the rest. If I discover while I’m reading it, that it’s completely contrary to my own world view, then I discard the entire book. It’s just how I do things. 😀 Anyway, I’m enjoying this one very much, its similar in some ways to the popular Love Languages book, It goes through a series of questions that leads you to reflect on what you really are all about at your core and the values that you hold the most dear so that you can live your life the most authentically. For instance you may say that your truly value something, but if for some reason you are always finding that you lack time, money, or whatever to get to it, then it’s probably not one of your higher values and could even be a societal ‘should’. I have several of those as a Portuguese woman, this may be true for all women but in my opinion it’s especially true for the Portuguese, my list of shoulds is pretty darn long. I should keep a spotless house, I should be a great cook…I should, I should, I should…and not surprising, that little voice in my head uttering these words sounds very much like my mother. The problem is that those aren’t MY highest values at all…not even close. Are you unsure of your highest values? What you need to do is look at what you already do, day in and day out. How do you spend your time, your money, you’re energy. Chances are good that barring addictions or any such thing, you are already pursuing your highest values…you just may not have put it all together yet. It’s what brings us joy and what can also potentially irritate us the most about others who don’t hold the same values as us. So this is a great way not only to learn about ourselves and our particular gifts, but to learn about others as well and come to respect and value them for what they can offer instead of what we’d like them to do. I’ve discovered that my 3 highest values are, revealing the Kingdom of God, Teaching, and Healing. In other words, the things that drive me and fill me with passion have these thing at their core. Whether it’s reflected in my parenting, my marriage, my career choices…these three things will always find its way in.

Jesus tells us in Mark 1:15 that “the time has come and the kingdom of God is at hand…repent and believe in the Gospel.” The Kingdom was established with Jesus Christ and it continues today…not merely as some future destination but very much here and now. This kingdom is for those who hold Christ as their King, living in obedience to His will. Of course while we are still living here in this world we can’t experience the fullness of the kingdom in its totality yet…but we can get glimpses of it in our daily lives. Jesus left us with all we needed for the journey. He left us His church, Sacraments and a community of believers for support (the church militant) as well as all those that have gone before us (the church penitent and triumphant) and the angels who were specifically created to help us on our way…and He sends the Holy Spirit to guide us the entire way. So the kingdom of God is home base for God’s children…the saved souls who have chosen Him, those in a state of grace and it starts here and now. However, choosing the Kingdom is a choice that we have to keep making over and over. Again..the Sacraments help us with this. How can we not desire it above all things and do all in our power to not lose it?

So…where does my highest value for revealing the kingdom come in? Well, I feel like Catholics often lose sight of this here and now aspect of our faith and we instead aim for heaven as some after life thing way down the road. It’s nice..but I can wait…let me have my fun now a la St. Augustine. But the tragic fact that many learn too late is that by not choosing heaven NOW, you lose access to all that was created purposefully for you and risk losing heaven altogether later. The graces imparted on a soul that is living totally for God can’t be compared to anything the world can give. So this is my passion…to reveal God’s Kingdom to others…wherever I see Truth, Beauty and Goodness…that’s a glimpse of the Kingdom and I want others to see and desire it too. The Lord provides the gifts…we just need to use them. So, whether via words in a blog, or perhaps my photography, it’s all to be used to glorify Him.

My Second highest value is Teaching. Looking back I remember gathering the neighborhood kids and setting up a ‘school’ where I was teacher, I didn’t know any more than they did of course, but I just had a desire to share whatever I knew. I carried this desire with me as I taught CCD as a young adult, then later on became Formation Director for my lay Carmelite community and in the past decade homeschooled my own children. I believe that what God blesses us with is to be shared and that’s not only material goods but all of His gifts…and I see all good things as coming from Him. So when I discover new things, I love to spread the word. 😀 This can easily slide into preaching sometimes, and it’s something that I have to be aware of as not everyone likes to be preached to. 😉

And finally my third highest value is that of healing which is the other great passion of mine that came about probably in middle school. It shows itself in my love for anything that is health related. I wanted to be a Pediatrician early on, then in high school I amended that to nursing. I was part of a Nurses Assistant class where we got hands on experience in the hospital and nursing homes, I loved it and felt sure that would be my journey, right after graduating I applied for nursing school and when my top choice put me on a waiting list, I gave up and went to work in the technical field instead which actually fits in well with my current gig as photographer….and is perhaps one of my highest values as well (I’m a tech nerd…studied computer science in college and love all kinds of gadgets and apps). However my passion for all things health related didn’t die there and I later on became aware of why the Lord had given me this gift to begin with when my parents later in life needed my assistance with many aspects of their health care and I assumed charge as their primary care giver. My love of healing has taken a more holistic turn these days. I believe that our bodies were intelligently created and I love studying and teaching about it every chance I get.

So whatever you enjoy doing…have another look at it…the Lord has a special purpose for you. Our highest values are like our finger prints…they are very specific to each one of us. We can perhaps share some values, but they will never be identical in precise detail. There’s only one you. So put that light of yours up on the hill, the world needs what you have to offer.

Live in Truth

Live in the truth for which you were created! You know what you should be doing, just do it. Be a doer of the Word, not simply a hearer. Fix your gaze on things that cannot be seen. Follow God’s will. Seek Truth, Beauty and Goodness in every sector of your life.

It’s so simple really, and mystical and lovely.

You need a community of believers to support you on your journey, to walk with you on the way of perfection.

There are ‘worldly sins’ that are devised to entrap us all. These Capital Sins must be fought against, but it’s not enough to simply eradicate them, you need to replace them with good virtues. Satan is the Lord of this World and these sins originate with him but they only lead to the torment of constant cravings for more and more physical pleasures. However God’s children are equipped for the battle through faith.

Loving God’s Children

God remains faithful and stable no matter our circumstances or feelings about it. We can feel confident in abandoning ourselves to His will. So be doers of the Word and don’t be satisfied with merely hearing it. This ‘relationship’ becomes a fruitive union, where we become more and more like Him, who is full of Glory and Majesty.

Suffering, when given to Him leads to restoration of this union, don’t fear it.

On the other hand Satan, the Lord of this world promises so much but all of it merely leads to greater cravings of physical pleasures.

Be familiar with what true goodness and love is, be indifferent to the lack of it in yourself, and in turn seek and appreciate it in others.

The greatest way to love God and His children is through obedience to His commandments.

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves His children, too. We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey His commandments. Loving God means keeping His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome. For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith and who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. –1 John 5:1-5

Truth, Beauty and Goodness

Light and Strength permeate from the ‘heart’ (mind and soul), it allows us to seek and desire to pursue truth, beauty and goodness. (Verum, Pelchrum, Bonum) which require reverence to be appreciated, and which is a gift from God.

We need a community of believers to help us walk in this way of reverence. There are certain societal sins (Capital Sins), we need to put an end to and start listening to and obeying God instead of Satan.

We are saved by the Body and Blood of Jesus which came from Mary (caro Christi, Caro Mariae), and we are raised to new life by Him. Ask Mary to guide you to her Son, flesh of her flesh.

You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil–the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the Spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God! –Ephesians 2:1-3

Total Self Giving

“They are living a life of total self giving. I ask it of you also.”

This was another ‘message’ received during my time in the chapel during my retreat. These monks live a regimented life of self negation for the love of God and their fellowman. Am I called to this too? Yes, perhaps not in the same form that they are living it…but yes. I was convicted of how often I live in search of love for myself, instead of looking to give it away. Wherever we may find ourselves, we are there to BE Jesus to these folks, to GIVE love. And remember the message I posted earlier…a call to love is a call to serve! In our homes, in our jobs, in our churches, in our schools, even in our social networks.

Prayer of St Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.

Called into relationship

Being a Christian isn’t simply following a list of to-dos (or don’ts), but a living, breathing, relationship. First of all a relationship with our triune God, then with all those that are in His fold. The world gives us hook ups and quickies and says that relationships are passé. God says that we are better than that, and that we will never be truly satisfied until we partake of His Divine will!