Monday, March 29, 2010

Patience

Women of Faith:

I am a very impatient person. I want to get places fast, get things done and move on. Cars traveling slowly, people walking to “smell the roses,” and people who weigh out their decisions carefully thinking about what others will think can sometimes drive me crazy. And bureauracy frustrates me (and guess what I work with every day!)

Yet, I know God puts these obstacles in my life for a reason. He puts the slow drivers in front of me so that I don’t get a speeding ticket (has happened more than once (not the ticket, the slow driver!) He puts the people that smell the roses in front of me so that I stop and appreciate the beauty around me. And those people weighing out decisions have more than once caused me to change my own mind and do something differently which had a better outcome than the path I would have taken.

I also know that impatience does not make me a “good” person. It is often the cause of anger, frustration, ill spoken words and judgement. It is part of my constant “chanting” prayer, “help me Lord, give me patience, slow me down.”

My impatience in day to day tasks follows directly into my faith life. There, I want others to understand, accept, and care about their faith life as much or more than I do. I want others to “see the need for God” just as I “see a need for him.” And, I want us to be ONE, truly ONE. I have to keep reminding myself that God has “perfect timing.” And that these things will come when it is His time, not mine.

We have all heard and thought about the answer to the question: “What would you most like to achieve?” And almost laughed when the answer was “World peace.” My similar answer to that question would be this, “I want, what would have to be heaven on earth, I want oneness. I want a place where love abounds, where we are all one, where we have One God and One heavenly goal, One Church, One Faith, and One Truth.” I want us to all worship in One church every week, not just on special events, like weddings and funerals.

Of course, this answer leads to me to further impatience! And I ask “why?” Why does everyone else not want to learn the faith, why do so many chose to live less than truthful lives, why is there so much division, and so little understanding between people especially between Christians?” Sometimes, when I attend a retreat with all faiths, or a wedding or funeral, which by nature are interdenominational, I can almost cheer the unity I feel. And at other times all I can see is division: Division in families, division in marriages, division in churches.

Paul gave these instructions to the Ephesians about patience and unity: Eph 4:1-13” Brothers and sisters, I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature to manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ.”

Paul asked for patience in striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through a bond of peace so that the end result will be one church, one faith, one baptism, and one God over all. I have to remember that impatience is not the way to get there, but rather the key is patience, to bear with one another thru love.

What am I doing to “slow” myself down? Do I appreciate the unity that we know as Christians enough, or does my impatience blind me to the “good” things we are achieving together? Does my impatience give the devil a stronghold to make me angry, or do I instead use my times of impatience to refocus and remind myself that God is in charge and God will make it all work, “in his own time.”

Dear God: “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.” Forgive my impatience, which has led to frustration and anger. Forgive my rushing and “have it all quickly” attitude.”Thank you for putting the right obstacles in my path to slow me down, and for teaching me patience. Thank you for glimpses of heaven and moments of unity, like witnessing a long married couples anniversary, or celebrating family events together. Help me to continue to pray, to never give up, to be patient and have understanding of differences. Remind me to “stop and smell the roses,” and to enjoy different recipes of life. Give me patience to live “worthy of your calling,” and to help others to “attain the unity of faith and knowledge.” In Your Name I Pray, Amen.

Patient Blessings,
Charlotte

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Family Forgiveness and the T

Family, Forgiveness and the Prodigal Son Monday Morning #40

Women of Faith:

Spending the last several days with our family in Colorado and holding our beautiful new granddaughter, Karolina, have reminded me of the importance of family togetherness and the constant forgiveness being part of a family requires. Sunday’s gospel story of the prodigal son, reminded me of how often a family must accept its members weaknesses, and be ready to offer forgiveness with compassion and understanding, even in the smallest happenings in a short day. Christ’s death and resurrection was the ultimate love and forgiveness story because he gave His life to forgive my sins, each one, including those that I repeat and those that I am not ready to ask forgiveness for.

Lk 15:1-3, 11-32 “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me (deserving).’ … the younger son … squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation….Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger…..”’
So he got up and went back to his father…. his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion….His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘….Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;
he was lost, and has been found.’…(unconditional forgiveness).
Now the older son… became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you… yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’
The father said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”

I have been fortunate to have an extended family who has shown love, forgiveness, acceptance and compassion for each other and for each others faults. Those are the traits that Jesus is teaching in the story of the Prodigal son and the traits that make marriages and families bind together. Like every person though I have not been immune to the fallout from unforgiveness and unacceptance which has led to family grudges, bitterness and divorce. I am saddened each time I hear of another friend or family member who’s relationship is being torn apart. I truly believe in Pope John Paul’s statement, “as goes the family, so goes the community. And as goes the community, so goes the world.”

Marriage statistics outside of God’s sacrament show that 1 out of every 2 marriages currently ends in divorce. Marriages with the grace of God and regular church attendance show less than 1 out of every 250 marriages end in divorce. And add regular, daily prayer together with your spouse and the statistics change to less than 1 in every 1100 ending in divorce. What an amazing multiplication of how God’s influence and love in our lives strengthens our marriages and our families. (By the way, it doesn’t make any difference which church denomination you belong to—these are ALL church statistics, not a specific denomination).

Think about it another way, without our parents marriage, and their parents marriage and all those grandparents before, none of us would be here today. Put a break in any of God’s unions of the “two becoming one” and we are no longer a part of this conversation. (Compound those statistics with the abortion statistic of 1 out of 4 conceptions ending in abortion, and just being a child of God with the opportunity for love and forgiveness becomes statistically small).

In turn I would not be experiencing the joy and happiness received by being able to spend time with my family and my new grandchild if somewhere along the way, many, many times, family members had not forgiven and accepted the Prodigal sons in their lives.

So how does marriage and family life fit with the story of the prodigal son? We are all sinners, just like the youngest son, and come home to our spouse to ask for forgiveness, many times, sometimes as often as daily or hourly. We also must be like the parent, like the father, ready to give forgiveness and accept our loved ones faults.

Why then is it so difficult to be like the father and the youngest son in the story? Why is it sometimes so difficult to ask for forgiveness and acceptance? And why is it so difficult to accept and forgive the person/s we love the most when they ask our forgiveness?

The difficulty comes because we set our expectations for love higher for those we love the most, we build a circle, a chain of thinking that we deserve love and forgiveness like the older son thinks he deserves, and the more we deserve something the higher our expectations become.

When instead we should be like the prodigal son and the father and build that circle, that chain, in love with compassion, and forgiveness. In prayer by asking for God’s grace we should build a chain of continual forgiveness, asking and receiving forgiveness, not because we deserve it, but because we accept and forgive the faults of those we love, just as Christ did for us on the cross. Adding love, acceptance and forgiveness to our family circle tightens the circle, just as Jesus’s loving arms are tightened around us.

How often must we forgive, and accept? In Matthew 18:22 Jesus instructed us that we must forgive “as many as seven times seventy times” our wrongdoings. That really means we must forgive continually.

How many times am I like the older brother in the story, holding a grudge, building a circle of unforgiveness? Am I unwilling to forgive and accept the “unfairness” of a situation because I think I should be “loved more” than another. Do I become jealous of someone else’s good fortune because it has come at my own expense? Or am I willing to accept that good fortune is God’s will and someone elses’ blessing, because I already have enough of my own blessings?

Can I be more like the prodigal son’s parent, willing to accept a request for forgiveness from my spouse or someone close to me? Am I willing to have compassion for the wrongdoings of others, even if I have been hurt in the process? Do I strive to act like Jesus when he died on the cross, ready to sacrifice everything, to bring joy and love into the circle and bring love “back into the flock?” Do I realize that forgiving the sinfulness of my spouse or another family member is the same act of forgiveness Jesus tells about in this story and the same act of forgiveness he gave for us on the cross? Do I seek to create a household honoring God thru unconditional and repetitive forgiveness?

Can I strive to also be like the youngest son, willing to realize my sinfulness, ready to ask forgiveness, ready to become a servant to the family member I have wronged. Can I learn be like the young son, willing to accept less, because with love, all things are possible?

Dear God, Thank you for your love within my marriage. I realize it is what creates a family and forgiveness and acceptance are what makes a family a stronger circle. Help me to be like the prodigal son, ready to seek forgiveness of those I love. And help me to be like the prodigal son’s parent, ready to accept “I’m sorry and I want to come home” just as you do each time I sin. Thank you for the prodigal son’s reminder to me that I don’t need it all, I only need love, your love and my families love. Help me to seek love and forgiveness like the prodigal son; and to be open and ready to accept and give forgiveness with the compassion of the prodigal father. Amen.

Blessings, Charlotte

Monday, March 22, 2010

New Beginnings

Women of Faith:
Spring—A Time of New Beginnings.


Welcome to some “new” friends, may this mark a new beginning in your continued search for the truth on your spiritual journey. For all of us maybe this is a good time to share this meditation with a sister in faith so that they too may have a new beginning.

This has been a week of new beginnings, our new granddaughter, Karolina, born March 9, 7 lbs; a new stage in Kristy’s relationship with Tyler, yes, he became her fiancĂ© on the ski slopes of Beaver Creek, CO; and with the loss of a special faith friend, Faye, a new life with God, ready to be a new guardian angel in heaven. All of these are cause for celebration, because the Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy. Ps 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6

One of the greatest hopes I find in my relationship with God, is found in today’s reading from Jn 8:1-11 when Jesus forgave the adultress, after allowing the Pharisees, who wanted to condemn her, the choice, that they could stone her, if, they themselves were without sin.

So many times am I like the Pharisees ready to “cast stones,” only to realize that I too am a sinner and my sin is no less than any other. I got good advice today, that when I have the inclination to “judge” I should instead PRAY. Pray for those who might not be tithing, Pray for those who I think are acting selfishly, Pray for those who can’t or won’t listen to or seek the truth, Pray for those who are less than faithful to their spouse, Pray for those who are hurting those who love them, Pray, Pray, Pray.

I have hope from this reading, though, because knowing I am a sinner, I also know I will be forgiven, just like the adultress was forgiven. No sin is too great for God’s forgiveness. And as Joe said today, not only must I forgive others, but I must forgive myself. That is the greatness of a new beginning, to be able to start over, and follow Jesus’ advice to the adultress to “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”

I must Pray for my own change, to be given strength and grace to help me when I am inclined to gossip or judge, to be more compassionate to other people’s needs and choices. There is no way I can be in another person’s circumstance. As much as I try, I cannot completely walk in someone else’s shoes and see why they make the choices they make.

Spring and lent are a time to begin anew. Our slates can be wiped clean. Our past sins, our faults, can be changed. We can be converted, like Paul who persecuted the Romans and became one of the main writers of the bible, suffering in jail because he followed Christ.

Regardless of whether a fault is personal (like not taking care of our bodies, by overeating(gluttony) and/or not exercising); against another (like envy, greed or jealousy); or against God by not putting Him first in the choices we make (like not taking time to pray each day, failing to attend church, or by ignoring the church teachings to fit my needs so that I can accept something that society has legalized, like abortion, gay marriage, or other relationships outside of sacramental marriage). For any of these sins we can be forgiven, we can begin anew, we can change our thoughts, ask forgiveness, or maybe even change courses in our decisions and thoughts, if we ask for God’s help. It is never too late for a new beginning. For with God, all things are possible.

Dear God: You have done great things for me, I am filled with joy. Please forgive me when I judge the faith and actions of others, I cannot know their hearts. Thank you for all the gifts you have given me, especially for a loving family who depends on your guidance and is continually seeking your wisdom and grace. Help me to forgive myself and others, to not look back, but to go forward and to know your grace to help me “sin no more.” Help me to accept my sufferings, and to not let them lead me to sin. Thank you for giving us your son, Jesus, to show us how to suffer and how to forgive. Amen.

And if anyone can’t find natures “new spring beginnings” I invite you out to see my crocuses that are blooming, and 2 new puppies—don’t know how long that combination is going to last :)

Blessings!
Charlotte

Monday, March 15, 2010

Family, Forgiveness and the Prodigal Son

Women of Faith:

Spending the last several days with our family in Colorado and holding our beautiful new granddaughter, Karolina, have reminded me of the importance of family togetherness and the constant forgiveness being part of a family requires. Sunday’s gospel story of the prodigal son, reminded me of how often a family must accept its members weaknesses, and be ready to offer forgiveness with compassion and understanding, even in the smallest happenings in a short day. Christ’s death and resurrection was the ultimate love and forgiveness story because he gave His life to forgive my sins, each one, including those that I repeat and those that I am not ready to ask forgiveness for.

Lk 15:1-3, 11-32 “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me (deserving).’ … the younger son … squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation….Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger…..”’
So he got up and went back to his father…. his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion….His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘….Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again;
he was lost, and has been found.’…(unconditional forgiveness).
Now the older son… became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you… yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’
The father said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’”

I have been fortunate to have an extended family who has shown love, forgiveness, acceptance and compassion for each other and for each others faults. Those are the traits that Jesus is teaching in the story of the Prodigal son and the traits that make marriages and families bind together. Like every person though I have not been immune to the fallout from unforgiveness and unacceptance which has led to family grudges, bitterness and divorce. I am saddened each time I hear of another friend or family member who’s relationship is being torn apart. I truly believe in Pope John Paul’s statement, “as goes the family, so goes the community. And as goes the community, so goes the world.”

Marriage statistics outside of God’s sacrament show that 1 out of every 2 marriages currently ends in divorce. Marriages with the grace of God and regular church attendance show less than 1 out of every 250 marriages end in divorce. And add regular, daily prayer together with your spouse and the statistics change to less than 1 in every 1100 ending in divorce. What an amazing multiplication of how God’s influence and love in our lives strengthens our marriages and our families. (By the way, it doesn’t make any difference which church denomination you belong to—these are ALL church statistics, not a specific denomination).

Think about it another way, without our parents marriage, and their parents marriage and all those grandparents before, none of us would be here today. Put a break in any of God’s unions of the “two becoming one” and we are no longer a part of this conversation. (Compound those statistics with the abortion statistic of 1 out of 4 conceptions ending in abortion, and just being a child of God with the opportunity for love and forgiveness becomes statistically small).

In turn I would not be experiencing the joy and happiness received by being able to spend time with my family and my new grandchild if somewhere along the way, many, many times, family members had not forgiven and accepted the Prodigal sons in their lives.

So how does marriage and family life fit with the story of the prodigal son? We are all sinners, just like the youngest son, and come home to our spouse to ask for forgiveness, many times, sometimes as often as daily or hourly. We also must be like the parent, like the father, ready to give forgiveness and accept our loved ones faults.

Why then is it so difficult to be like the father and the youngest son in the story? Why is it sometimes so difficult to ask for forgiveness and acceptance? And why is it so difficult to accept and forgive the person/s we love the most when they ask our forgiveness?

The difficulty comes because we set our expectations for love higher for those we love the most, we build a circle, a chain of thinking that we deserve love and forgiveness like the older son thinks he deserves, and the more we deserve something the higher our expectations become.

When instead we should be like the prodigal son and the father and build that circle, that chain, in love with compassion, and forgiveness. In prayer by asking for God’s grace we should build a chain of continual forgiveness, asking and receiving forgiveness, not because we deserve it, but because we accept and forgive the faults of those we love, just as Christ did for us on the cross. Adding love, acceptance and forgiveness to our family circle tightens the circle, just as Jesus’s loving arms are tightened around us.

How often must we forgive, and accept? In Matthew 18:22 Jesus instructed us that we must forgive “as many as seven times seventy times” our wrongdoings. That really means we must forgive continually.

How many times am I like the older brother in the story, holding a grudge, building a circle of unforgiveness? Am I unwilling to forgive and accept the “unfairness” of a situation because I think I should be “loved more” than another. Do I become jealous of someone else’s good fortune because it has come at my own expense? Or am I willing to accept that good fortune is God’s will and someone elses’ blessing, because I already have enough of my own blessings?

Can I be more like the prodigal son’s parent, willing to accept a request for forgiveness from my spouse or someone close to me? Am I willing to have compassion for the wrongdoings of others, even if I have been hurt in the process? Do I strive to act like Jesus when he died on the cross, ready to sacrifice everything, to bring joy and love into the circle and bring love “back into the flock?” Do I realize that forgiving the sinfulness of my spouse or another family member is the same act of forgiveness Jesus tells about in this story and the same act of forgiveness he gave for us on the cross? Do I seek to create a household honoring God thru unconditional and repetitive forgiveness?

Can I strive to also be like the youngest son, willing to realize my sinfulness, ready to ask forgiveness, ready to become a servant to the family member I have wronged. Can I learn be like the young son, willing to accept less, because with love, all things are possible?

Dear God, Thank you for your love within my marriage. I realize it is what creates a family and forgiveness and acceptance are what makes a family a stronger circle. Help me to be like the prodigal son, ready to seek forgiveness of those I love. And help me to be like the prodigal son’s parent, ready to accept “I’m sorry and I want to come home” just as you do each time I sin. Thank you for the prodigal son’s reminder to me that I don’t need it all, I only need love, your love and my families love. Help me to seek love and forgiveness like the prodigal son; and to be open and ready to accept and give forgiveness with the compassion of the prodigal father. Amen.

Blessings,
Charlotte

Monday, March 8, 2010

Before I Go

Women of Faith:

I have been reading a book entitled, “Before I Go, Letters to Our Children about what Really Matters” by Peter Kreeft.

In my profession I often hear, “There are two things in life that are certain, death and taxes.” J And quite obviously I deal with both every day. The older I get though, the more aware I am of how different death can be for people. I remember the deaths of my great grandparents when I was just a child, my Dad’s death when I was a teenager, old and young friends who have died early in life and well into life, deaths that were expected and deaths that came with much grace, dignity and suffering. And I see life, well lived and in God’s grace, accepting of life’s sufferings, and those who know no God and suffer each day trying to “find” a purpose. And our family is fortunate to have a Grandma who makes each day count at 102!

I have seen “regrets” at funerals. Stories about times that weren’t forgiven and now it is too late. And I have heard and witnessed beautiful stories of “how I would want to be remembered. “

In Kreefts’ book he says it this way: “Memento mori. That’s Latin for ‘remember death.’ It’s a medieval saying, and it’s a good test of our perspective. Death (our own) puts life into proper perspective. Things that seemed important recede into triviality when you’re dying—things like fame and money and ‘stuff.’ And things you usually ignore—things like love, trust, honesty, self-giving and forgiveness—these stand out as infinitely more important.”

Do I know when I will die? No. Is death facing me at the door? Today, hopefully not, but, yes, everyday, because of death I am certain. So what are some of the things I would want to tell my own children, before I go, about what really matters.

First, pray unceasingly. God is always there for you. He will answer your call and take care of your needs. He is the only one who can perform a miracle and the only one who can save us. We cannot save ourselves. If you open your heart to Him He will show you how to accept suffering and handle burdens with dignity. He will guide you to use your talents and ultimately your treasures wisely. Prayers will help to change the parts of your life which cause others hurt. He will pick you up and hold you up. Jesus’ example of dying for us, is our example of how to live unselfishly for others. But we must pray always, for Him to be a part of our lives.

Next, answer the opportunities to love and to forgive. Be quick with forgiveness and have a short memory when you are wronged. Take care of others and don’t hold grudges for human shortcomings. Spread God’s message by being your own living example, by caring for and forgiving your neighbors (those you already love) and your enemies (those who are downtrodden and need your love). Look for God’s greatness, His example, and His love in the poor who must truly trust in His generosity to meet their needs. People are important, not things.

Finally, there is no one more important than God, your spouse and your children—in that order. You are not important. God is. Always make time for God and Church. For if you give unselfishly to God, you will give unselfishly to your spouse and ultimately to your children and others.

Always be humble and willing to take off your shoes, bare your soul and walk on “holy ground.” “When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, Moses! Moses!”He answered, “Here I am.”God said, “Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father,” he continued, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.” Ex 3:1-8a, 13-15

Our time here is uncertain, because death is certain, so always be ready to face God. I can’t know the day or the hour when I will be called to walk barefoot to meet Him. The most difficult suffering is to live with regret, with having not forgiven someone because of a human weakness, regardless of how much it hurt at the time. We can hate an action, but we cannot hate a person, because we are all created in God’s likeness. Let the people you love know that you love them. Death might be today, it might be tomorrow, or we might be here praying unceasingly (as St. Paul said) at 102.

Dear God, I give praise and honor to you for each day I have to live in your love. I am sorry for the days when I have put my own needs ahead of yours. Thank you for giving me a new chance each day, for wiping the slate clean and giving me your ultimate forgiveness on the cross. Help me to change each day, each hour to be more like you. Help me to accept my sufferings and to not be afraid. Help me to always be ready to take off my shoes and walk on your “holy ground.” Amen.

Blessings on your week,
Charlotte

Monday, March 1, 2010

Temptation and Truth

This week’s gospels seem to try to pack as much into one week of Lent as we could possibly try to take in. The readings give us opportunities to begin to change our outlooks and to seek to serve Christ and to make Him a habit this Lenten season by ending with the reminder of the covenant (promise) we have made with Him because of His death on the cross for us. Gn 15:5-12, 17-18

The gospels began this week with the devil tempting Jesus using God’s own words Lk 4:1-13 “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you, and: With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” Of course Jesus did not try God, but answered the devil with his own wisdom, “It also says, You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”

As long as we are following God’s Truth, then God will guard us; but if we KNOWINGLY twist the Gospel’s message to meet our own needs, to follow not the Church’s teachings, but a person who is teaching less than the Truth, we put our destination of Heaven in jeopardy. We are putting God to the test, a God who as long as we are being the best we can be, is here to guard us and support us in all of our failings.

This reminds me of the times I have been in a continuing ed class, or listening to someone I believe to be an expert, where the instructor/expert said something as if it was the truth, yet, in my heart, or for whatever other reason, I felt like something just didn’t quite make sense. I would go home and search for more documentation, and, yes, the teacher had taught or said something in error. Regardless of whether the teacher outright “lied” or just misinterpreted something else that was written, everyone else in the class or listening at the time, probably took the instructor to be “right,” to be telling the “truth.” And unless someone sends an email to everyone, retracting the mistruth or telling them that the instructor had made a mistake, than there are probably some that will always believe this “lie” to be the “truth.”

I also think of the times I have heard someone say, “do as I say, not as I do.” We must not only hear and speak the Truth, but we must act the Truth as well. This is especially true when it comes to being good role models for our children. We can’t say it’s not okay to smoke, and then smoke ourselves; or tell them that eating a certain food is unhealthy but yet never exercise, or buy junk food for them to eat. Or what about when we disrespect our spouse, by talking poorly about them to our friends, and yet tell our children that marriage is a sacrament between two people who are committed to love as one, and as God loves us.

We are bombarded everyday by commercials telling us to eat this, don’t eat that, do this, don’t do that. What do we believe? What motive does a person have for telling us the truth, or for making up their own truth? Do they want to sell us something, make us feel good, or maybe even make themselves feel good because they get us to follow them? Who are my mentors? Who am I following? Are they telling me the Truth? Where do we find Truth? What can I be sure is the Truth? Do I study God’s word and the Church teachings?

We must be on the continual lookout for the “devil’s” who may tempt us by twisting God’s own words; or the “teacher” who is teaching less than the whole truth, or possibly twisting a truth, like the devil did, so that we follow the devil rather than God.

God gives us free will, and the freedom to choose, but God doesn’t say “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” He says “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jn 14:1-6

So is our choice God’s Truth or the devil’s truth? Is our choice Liberty and Happiness, or God’s Way? Do I try to avoid suffering at all cost, including the suffering caused by following God’s Truth? Where do/did our “teachers” beliefs come from? We believe in one God and God says there is one Church, a church undivided, a church united by Christ. We must study to learn and then be ready to prove what we are taught. We must be the best we can be, and live to fulfill God’s covenant by living in faith, not fear.

Dear God, I give praise to Your Truth, the Truth will set me free. I am sorry for the times I knowingly listened to a lie and believed a lie because it fit my needs. Thank you for giving me time to read, and the time to listen to your words, and the time to figure out what is really Your Truth. Thank you for giving me choices. Help me to always seek your Truth and to use that Truth to make the right choices and follow You, not just when I want, but all of the time. Amen.

This week I will seek the Truth.
Blessings on your Faith Journey this Lenten season,

Charlotte
PS: If you want to read more about the choices of Truth, and the Lies our society believes, check out the following article written by Andy: http://www.offenburger.com/guestpaper.asp?link=20100225