"He'll have to change his mindset for this race," the speed skating commentator said as another group prepared for a qualifying race. The young people in the Olympics are often described as envisioning their entire routine before they take to the ice or the slopes. They've been taught to picture themselves perfectly executing their routine, their race, their downhill run. If they can't picture it, they won't attain it. To return to the sports world, for many years no one ran a mile in under 4 minutes. It was thought to be impossible, until someone did it (Roger Bannister). The bar was raised and runners began to think in terms of less than 4 minutes. We too can raise the bar of what we expect God to accomplish through our lives and in our world by putting on the mind of Christ and remembering that he can do more than we can ask or imagine
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"Keep on keepin' on," is an old exhortation. I think it stems from St. Paul's words to the people in Philippi: "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12b-14). As I watched some of the figure skating at the Olympics last night I heard one of the commentators say that the couple skating had practiced a particular move for years before putting it in the competition. How many times did they fall, do you think? At the end of one year of trying, did they want to give up? No. They ignored how many times they failed and pressed on, kept on, straining toward perfection, having in mind the Olympic gold, the prize which called to them. For reflection: Jesus never gave up. Paul never gave up. Peter never gave up. What has God called you to do that you have not yet accomplished? Let us pray. Jesus, I thank you for taking hold of me. I am pressing on to take hold of that for which you took hold of me. I am forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I am keeping on toward the goal you have set for me. Jesus, God, chose to be born as a human being. He chose to be born as a baby, not arrive as a full-grown man. He chose to be born into an average family, not one of wealth, position or prestige. He chose to learn and take on the family business. He chose to follow in the footsteps of the prophets his Father had sent before him. Jesus chose to speak to the people, to speak to the religious leaders, to speak to the governmental leaders. He chose to love, to heal, to rejoice, to weep, to preach and to pray. Jesus chose to die. Jesus chose to rise. Jesus chose us. What else might we see or not see in the Kingdom? Paul mentions in his letter to the Galatians that "there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free" (Galatians 3:28). If there are neither Jews nor Greeks, then religious and political divisions are gone. They are gone because all are "sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized in Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (3:26-27). In the Kingdom the only designation that matters is that we belong to Christ. We don't belong to a religion or to a country. We don't belong to someone else. We cannot be bought or sold or given to someone else because we belong to Christ. So there is no slavery, no bondage, no sex trafficking. There are no religious or political wars. All are equal and treat each other with respect and love. For reflection: This type of equality is difficult to imagine in our present situation where what country you belong to, or what religion you practice, or your sex determines much of your life. Let us open our minds to Christ, put on the mind of Christ, clothe ourselves with Christ. And imagine. Lately I have been asking God for keys. (No, not car keys or house keys.) What is the key for healing autism? What is the key for healing multiple sclerosis? What is the key for healing down syndrome? What is the key for healing asthma or allergies? I haven't been asking for treatments, I've been asking keys to healing. When Jesus walked the earth, he healed people, he didn't treat them. He didn't offer a treatment to the 10 lepers. He didn't offer a treatment for blindness or lameness. That's not to say that I don't appreciate everything doctors today can do to treat and heal. I do appreciate them and their knowledge. But there are so many diseases for which we have no answers as to cause, no treatment for relief, and no cure. Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you (Luke 11:9). For reflection: Can we join together in asking God for keys to healing? What disease affects you or your family? Let us pray. Jesus, we are asking, we are seeking, we are knocking. Please give us the keys to open the doors of healing. Holy Spirit, author of hope, inspire us with the answers. "I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). The Lord spoke those words to people in captivity. He was encouraging them to live their lives to the full - to build houses, plant gardens, marry, have children and grandchildren - while they were in captivity. "Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper" (Jer 29:7). Like a good father, even when he is punishing his children for misbehaving, he wants them to do well; he is on their side and planning to help them do better. He also encourages them to make the most of a bad situation. Don't sit and sulk. Don't give up. Do what you can to improve your own life and the lives of those around you. If you work for the peace and prosperity of those around you, you too will benefit. For reflection: It has been 2500 years since this encouragement from the Lord was spoken. These are still words to live by. What am I doing to increase the peace and prosperity around me? Do I have a tendency to sulk or to keep moving forward, knowing that God has good plans for me? Let us pray. Father, I know that you have good plans for me, plans to prosper me and not provoke me. Help me to keep holding on, moving on, going forward, working for the betterment of all. May peace and prosperity surround me wherever I go. Paul's letter to his assistant Timothy is full of instructions. Earlier we looked at his instruction about praying for governmental leaders. Today let's look at 1 Timothy 2:8. Paul says he wants "men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing". I don't know how common it is for men to pray with hands uplifted. It is probably more common in some churches and gatherings than in others. Lifting hands is a sign of lifting hearts and minds to God. That prayer posture - lifted hands - also causes us to lift our heads. It's a completely different prayer posture from bowing our heads and clasping our hands. Paul's instruction "without anger or disputing" was probably because Timothy's group had been doing just that. It reminds me of Jesus' admonition in Matthew 5:23-24, "If you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift". Lifting hands and hearts is difficult when we are angry or arguing with someone. For reflection: What posture(s) do I assume when in prayer? Do they differ with the type of prayer (prayer of thanksgiving, praise, petition, sorrow)? Let us pray. Today, Father, I lift up my holy hands in praise to you. You are the King, eternal, immortal, invisible. You are my source of inspiration. Honor and glory are yours forever and ever. Many of the early Christians seemed to hear God clearly speak to them. Monday we looked at Saul who heard Jesus speak to him on the road to Damascus. Today (Acts 8:26-40) we see that Philip hears the Lord tell him to take a certain road. Taking that road, he hears the Lord again speaking and telling him to go over to a particular chariot. In the chariot he finds an Ethiopian Jew reading from the scroll of Isaiah the prophet. Some people refer to this as a "divine appointment". It's an appointment God has written on his calendar, but we don't have written on ours. The way to learn of these appointments or opportunities is to be listening to God on a daily basis. It also takes guts. Philip had to trust that he was hearing God, leave what he was doing, and act on what he heard. If he wasn't hearing God, he might have felt foolish going off somewhere else, waiting by the road and wasting time. But if he hadn't followed the first instruction, he never would have heard the second one, and he would have missed the appointment. For reflection: Am I listening for possible divine appointments? When I hear an instruction from the Lord, will I follow it? Let us pray. Holy Spirit, move in me. Move in my spirit. Open me to your voice, your promptings. I want to be accustomed to the sound of your voice guiding me each day. In honor of the National Day of Prayer for the United States, I'm posting the song Stand by John P. Kee. Pray and enjoy.
I'm posting something different today. The YouTube video below is about Good Friday - but Sunday's Coming! I heard this used as the homily at a Good Friday service and thought it was worth sharing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YByT6wfdhJs |
AliceI started this website and blog on May 1, 2012. I am a Catholic who has been in ministry for many years. I first developed what I would call a close relationship with Jesus in the early 1970s. Ever since then I have been praying with people for healing and other needs. It is because I have seen so many of these prayers answered that I am so bold as to offer to pray for you individually through this website and phone line. Archives
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