Entrustment to Mary = Thy Will Be Done

Well the election is over and my candidate did not win.  Through it all God lovingly showed me a lot of truths about myself.  I saw that I seek the easy way out. I wanted my candidate to win so the issues I care about would be taken care of or resolved, allowing this “Scaredy Cat” to return to her comfort zone. I saw that I am a sore loser.  I saw that I put my trust in “man” more than God. I saw that I pray for “my will be done” - for I was not satisfied with the results of the election which God allowed to happen.

To adhere to Christ means to surrender our will to His will. Spiritual life is brought about under continuous tension between the will of God and the will of a person. The tension comes from the fact that we revolve continuously around our will, around whatever is convenient for us, while it is obvious that the scope of our plans and desires, of what we want, does not correspond to what God wants. Tadeusz Dajczer, The Gift of Faith, 3rd.ed. (Ft. Collins, CO: IAMF, 2012), 22-23

In my human thinking - it made sense that God would want Obama to lose so that the unborn children could have a better chance to see life.  But now looking at it spiritually maybe I am being called to have to personally get involved in changing hearts of women so they will not choose to have abortions.

In my human thinking - it made sense that God would want to guarantee our religious freedom by ousting the administration which is attacking this liberty. But now looking at it spiritually maybe I am being called to defend my faith as a Christian soldier sharing the Gospel message with those who live only for the world.

In my human thinking - it made sense that God would want to stop the redefinition of true marriage = between a man and a woman. But now looking at it spiritually maybe I am being called to be a witness of this truth to those who do not see the dangers of these social changes for our country and for their souls.

Entrusting myself to Mary helps me see how important it is to accept God’s will over my will. Mary knew that God’s will was better than any plan she may have had for herself.

If we are surprised that God foils our plans and leads us down a different road than the one we imagined, let us recall that it was the same in the life of the Blessed Mother. Mary also thought of her sanctity, her road, her mission differently. The one who gave up motherhood was called to an exceptional and unique motherhood. This call foiled all of her plans. Ibid, 116.

So I cannot find security in my country’s leaders, but I can find it in my Blessed Mother’s arms. She always leads me to the security of her Son’s love and Father’s mercy. All of which is armor for me to put on as I face the battle between my will vs. Thy will - be done.

If living by faith means adherence to Christ and to His will, then in this context it should be emphasized that seeking our own will is the worst thing we could do. It is the source of evil and sin, the source of our misfortune and enslavement. Ibid, 24.                                               

Faith, precisely because it is a free act, also demands social responsibility for what one believes. The Church on the day of Pentecost demonstrates with utter clarity this public dimension of believing and proclaiming one's faith fearlessly to every person. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit that makes us fit for mission and strengthens our witness, making it frank and courageous.

Excerpt from the Apostolic Letter "Motu Proprio Data" Porta Fidei of the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI.

                                                                                               

Entrustment to Mary = Finding Solace in the Words of St. Faustina

As with many, this past election took an emotional toll on me.  A trusted priest directed my soul to the following words of St. Faustina:

“My goal is God…and my happiness is in accomplishing His will, and nothing in the world can disturb this happiness for me:  no power, no force of any kind.”[1]

These words were a balm for the turmoil in my soul, and almost immediately, hope began to resurface.  Instead of being irrationally angry at the election results or frustrated with people who did not vote the same way I did, I saw the need to return to self, and see how God was speaking to me.  The focus became, once again, the need to look at my own conversion.  How faithfully am I seeking the will of God in my daily life?  How faithful am I to my prayer life, to serving Him within my vocation? 

During prayer, I was reminded of the attitude of St. Francis, as I had read about previously within The Gift of Faith by Fr. Tadeusz Dajczer:

"Francis never criticized anyone.  He believed that if evil was all around, it was he, and not others, who must first be converted.  …The more rot and scandal that St. Francis saw around him, the more he desired to conform to the image of Christ in purity, humility, and poverty.  It was he, Francis, whose fault it was that the world was so evil; therefore, it was he, Francis, who had to be radically converted – and history proved that he was right.  For when Francis was converted, when he became so “transparent” to the Lord that the image of Christ could be reflected in him, Europe then began to heave itself up from the fall….

…The world was enriched by his sanctity, not so much in the way of learning about a man who actualized the spirit of the Gospel in an extraordinary and heroic way, but in the way of the system of connected vessels, since his sanctity affected people that he never came into contact with.  The light of faith lets you see that, through Baptism, you belong to the Body of Christ, that you are incorporated into the system of connected vessels of this Body.  This Body so greatly needs the converted and the saints.  It is in great need of your conversion and your sanctity…reformation of others should always begin with yourself….”

(Tadeusz Dajczer, The Gift of Faith, 3rd. ed. (Ft. Collins, CO: IAMF, 2012), 178, 179.)

Yikes! I guess I have a lot of converting to do.  So, thank you, God, for the gift of our Blessed Mother.  She is indeed an extraordinary connected vessel.  Her happiness was and continues to be in accomplishing His will.  May WE hunger together for this very happiness, one moment at a time. 

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[1] St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 3^rd. ed. (Stockbridge, MA: Marian Press, 2007) 310 (paragraph 775).

Entrustment to Mary = Living by Faith

For the year of faith, it was suggested we meditate on the Nicene Creed. In the Creed it says: 

“…He ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.”

If you pray the rosary regularly, then you have had your share of reflecting and meditating on the Glorious Mystery “The Ascension.”  It has always been one of those mysteries that doesn’t stir me too much – I often wonder why it is considered “Glorious” as it seems to be when Christ left us.

Today, however, I had a new awareness: the realization of just how important “faith” must be in my life. It is so critical, that Jesus ascended into Heaven and did leave us behind – He left us so that we could only believe in and through FAITH. If faith wasn’t required for the journey, then He’d be here where we could see Him – and I’m not talking about in the form of the Holy Eucharist!  So, if faith is as critical as I believe, then I have to truly spend time working on my faith-life. It is not something to take for granted. Of course, that is what the Church in her wisdom understands, and why we have the current Year of Faith.

A priest recently shared in a conference that too often people view the foundation of their faith like the foundation of a house. You build the foundation, then you leave it alone. You seldom think about the foundation of your house. Years can go by, and it doesn’t even cross your mind that it is supporting the house – unless something drastic happens, life a crack in the foundation, or a sink hole below it. This priest said that in the spiritual life, the foundation of faith is not something we can ignore and leave unattended for years. He said it is the basis for everything we do in the spiritual life and we have to always go back to it – day in and day out. It has to be the basis for every activity we endeavor.

Over the last three years, I had some cracks in my “foundation.” I started deceiving [1] myself in the spiritual life and was beginning to allow excuses for not meditating, not going to regular confession, and not attending daily Mass. I was allowing the worldly routines to influence me. However, when I began to notice this situation, WE (Blessed Mother and I) went back to the foundation of my faith. Together, She gave me the light to see something deeper – She helped me to see that when I was doing those spiritual practices, I was doing them because of grace! That’s right – it wasn’t that I had found the secrets to holiness…oh no! It was that Blessed Mother had obtained for me the graces to hunger for God. I, in response to those beautiful graces, got full…of my pride! I took credit for the grace. I no longer saw faith as the gift it is, but saw it as mine, so I stopped asking for it.

In retrospect, the best thing that could have happened to me was this crumbling of my pride of accomplishment. It makes me now repeat often “Mary, I need you MORE!” “Mary, hunger in me and with me for prayer time…for confession…for Holy Eucharist!” Now, when WE do go to confession or Holy Mass, I can be amazed by that grace! My daily experience becomes full of awe with what Mary and I accomplish. On my own I do not choose to live by faith…but with Mary…WE do! Praise be to Our Lord, Jesus Christ!

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[1]  “Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always presupposes effort. The great figures of prayer of the Old Covenant before Christ, as well as the Mother of God, the saints, and he himself, all teach us this: prayer is a battle. Against whom? Against ourselves and against the wiles of the tempter who does all he can to turn man away from prayer, away from union with God. We pray as we live, because we live as we pray. If we do not want to act habitually according to the Spirit of Christ, neither can we pray habitually in his name. The ‘spiritual battle’ of the Christian’s new life is inseparable from the battle of prayer. (2612, 409, 2015)” CCC 2725