Pray Internally........ Live Externally

That is my favorite new motto, which came to me yesterday during Mass. It seems odd that this would come to me during a community prayer meet, but such is life. You just never know where or when you will be inspired.

God loves when we come together in a communal celebration of worship and thank Him for all the good things in life. Many times our community is what sustains us. You can see that phenomenon often after tragedy strikes or even daily by the donated food that lines the pantries across our nation. Yesterday we had one of our visiting priests, who used to be a part of our community, get up and thank us for our past support of his parish in Nigeria. It was our community that provided the funds for his parish to build their own place of worship. This is the second church that we have built in Nigeria and both were done so through our financial support. We have also built a school, in the last few years, and provided the books and computers and other items necessary for a good education in today's world. That is certainly the beautiful side of humanity and is the definition of living externally. It is giving to others what you have of your excess, or better yet, doing without so that you can enhance someone else's life. A sacrifice is the most beautiful act that you can do for another and so much more rewarding. You do not have to build schools and churches in a far off country to live externally; there are things much closer to home that you can do. It is as simple as acknowledging your neighbor. 

After all, it is the simple things that mean so much, a smile, a gesture, a friendly touch...

Get out of your own head and small little world and treat others the way that you want to be treated. Hold the door for the next person coming out behind you; take your neighbor's garbage can in; be kind to cashiers and the others in line; lay off the horn ~ that will not make traffic move quicker. For God's sake SMILE. It's true, a smile does not cost you anything. It can, however, be priceless for the one receiving it as well. You cannot change the world, but, you can change the way that you interact with all of the people in it, particularly those that come in contact with you. You don't live in a bubble, therefore, what you do does have an affect on people. Make it a positive one.

BTW, keep your good actions to yourself for your good acts are between you and God and nobody else.

As for praying internally, well I'll leave that part of my motto to the big guns. Nobody said it better than Our Lord in Matthew 6:5-15:

 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,[a]
    but deliver us from the evil one.[b]’

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

Have a blessed week. Peace,

Mare

God is Awesome

Yup. No two ways about it. God is Awesome. A good friend of mine from Nigeria, Fr. Basil, always has us say God is good all the time and All the time God is good when he says the Mass. God is good and as often as we go about our daily lives and do not realize or think that he is with us in all that we do and say sometimes he just has a way of subtly reminding us.

Long ago and far away, before I was a revert to Catholicism (not that I was ever that far away from it) I remember reading that there are signs in life that show you that you are on your correct life path. I am pretty sure it is some type of new age thing and I probably read it during that phase of my life when I dabbled in it for a moment or two.  Sometimes I do still question my existence, just like every other person on the planet does at one point or another (actually existence is the wrong word to use for this ponderance; I think vocation may be a better one for it). Yesterday my co-adorer and I were bad girls again, bad, bad, bad but we did not start it. The woman that comes in to check on the fresh flowers in front of the altar started it by asking us for some donations to ship supplies to Fr. Basil*s parish in Nigeria. But Diane and I got into a discussion afterward about our vocations in this life. It is the vocation of the flower lady to come into the Perpetual Adoration Chapel every week to make sure the flowers are fresh and beautiful for our Lord, and that the room is clean and the candles burning well. Diane (also a revert) is pretty close to what we refer to as a Savant when it comes to the Mystics of the Church. She has read everything there is to know about their lives, their visions, the messages and she is definitely a fount of information for all things where mystical saints are concerned. She and I talk often on the phone about all types of things but have not spoken over the last few weeks so that is where our chatting came from yesterday.

Our last conversation, about 2 weeks ago though, freaked her out a little. We were talking about (I believe) her job, which is in an office. Out of the blue I asked her about her scapular that she wore and what her daily devotion was while wearing it. I am pretty sure it was at this point I could hear her mouth drop open because I heard the uncertainty in her voice as she asked me why I had asked her that? How did I know that she was wearing one? Well obviously I can see it outlined on her back through a white blouse or sometimes the cords on her neck. But she still could not believe that I had asked her that question. It seems that she had been praying recently, very recently, for God to show her the way to grow closer to His Mother Mary. Diane just bought the scapular and put it on her neck and did not know that when you wear one you are supposed to do certain prayers or a rosary every single day (the full five-decades of the rosary). She was speechless, but God worked through me to teach her how to become closer to his Mother, through the daily rosary. She still shook her head yesterday and said I could not believe you asked me that. Now Diane has a new vocation and she loves it and she is growing closer to Mary with each prayer that she utters and with each bead that flows through her fingertips.

My vocation? Well,  I hope and pray that I am doing it well, because this is a big part of it, writing these words. Meeting those that may or may not come to church at the flea markets and fairs and sharing these beautiful products with them. Hearing their life experiences and sometimes even comforting them when they break down and relate extremely personal details of their lives. Praying daily and often and telling others to do the same. Listening. Sharing. Caring. The website, its Prayer Page and Our Community Page, our Facebook Page and this humble blog all created by me for you with just my aging brain and fingers and A LOT of inspiration and guidance by the Holy Spirit. Glory Glory Gifts is more than a vocation to me; it is my life and my joy to share Jesus with every person that I meet whether it be on-line, on the phone or in person.

If you ever wonder if your vocation in life is taking you on the right path, here is a beautiful prayer that St. Theresa taught us. It is perfect for any person to say, not just those that believe in the saints. 

May today there be peace within. May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith. May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content knowing you are a child of God. Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.

A perfect prayer and thought for any person regardless of faith to contemplate every single day.

Peace,

Mare