By Your Side - Tenth Avenue North

A beautiful song in reminder of God's tender love for us.

Touch of the Master's Hand

A friend shared this beautiful poem with me the other day, and I thought I would pass it along. Who are we to know how God can work in someone's life, or the value He has placed upon them? We are all children of God, and Our Father in Heaven, loves us.

By: Myrna Brooks Welch

T'was battered and scarred, and the auctioneer:
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile:

"What am I bidden, good folk," he cried,
"Who'll start the bidding for me?"
"A dollar, a dollar"; then "Two!" "Only two?
Two dollars, and who'll make it three?

Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;
Going for three - "But no,
From the room, far back, a grayhaired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;

Then, wiping the dust from the violin,
And tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a caroling angel sings.

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low, Said:
"What am I bid for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the bow.

"A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?
Two thousand! and who'll make it three?
Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice,
And going, and gone," said he.

The people cheered, but some of them cried.
"We do not quite understand,
What changed its worth," Swift came the reply:
"The touch of the master's hand."

And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.

A "mess of pottage," a glass of wine;
A game - and he travels on.
He is "going" once, and "going" twice;
He's "going" and almost "gone."

But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought
By the touch of the Master's hand.

Christmas JOY

Wow...new job + moving + discerning religious life = no time for blog posts.

A lot has happened since I last wrote. Not only am I excited for the doors God has opened, I feel God says to me, "You haven't seen anything yet." I cannot imagine what Jesus has in store for me, but I know that is full of LOVE. I feel as though I could burst at the seems with joy (partly due to Advent and Christmas coming up!), and I know that there is more to come.

How can one be so full of JOY, and know that this can't even compare to what awaits us for eternity? For, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." (1 Corin. 2:9) It is truly incomprehensible.

So, Advent. I feel as though this Christmas is different somehow. I feel more alive and closer to Jesus than ever, and I have continued to pray to understand deeper the spirit and mystery of Christmas and Jesus coming to us as a little child. So far, as previously stated, I have learned of JOY! But there is still much more to take in.

I am headed for a vocational retreat with a wonderful group of Sisters this weekend. I am praying to stay open and quiet in spirit, listening to hear Jesus's voice. Please, all who read this, say a Hail Mary for me, or any prayer. Know that I am praying for all of you.

Much Peace and JOY! to all of you in this beautiful preparation for Christ's coming.
~One in love with Christ

P.S. JOY is contagious. Spread some around!

Spanish Cloistered Nuns See Surge in Vocations

This will make you smile. :-D

Happy 40th Anniversary Sesame Street!

Check out today's Good Morning America. 

Includes a History of Sesame street and fun with some of the show's characters.

Happy 40th Sesame Street! :-D

Flowers Among the Thorns....Love Amid Life's Chaos

It's interesting; life is.

I feel as though lately I've been on a desert whirlwind and I can't quite grasp much of anything. I feel confused at times, and wonder at what God is up to. I think I am going through a dry spell spiritually, while so much is happening on the outside.

Starting a new job, discerning my vocation (I simply am clueless at this point which order of religious sisters God wants me to be a part of), moving, financial worries, family issues, my health...so much that I worry too much about instead of giving it to Him. I must constantly remind myself to surrender everything in trust and love to Jesus, who can handle it all much better than I can. :)

But through all this, Jesus is reminding me how much I truly need Him, for without Him, I am nothing. It is only by His grace and love, that my life draws meaning.

Also, more and more I am seeing the providence of God unfolding in my life. Trusting in that providence however, can be somewhat more difficult. Still, circumstances, I not only believe but have also experienced, are never coincidence. Even if we can't see the plan of God before us, be sure that He does.

Often times, I find myself looking back, (it is one of the only ways to recognize God's plan, in the past) and I see God working amazing things. It baffles my little brain to think that Our Father in Heaven cares that much about just one person to order the universe in such a way! Imagine the planning and work that God must put into that!!!

It's humbling to think my Father would do so much for me! How much more then must he love and care for the whole world! How much Our Father must love us! It is something that I cannot begin to understand, but only trust with in my heart.

Speaking of Love, of the tender love of God...when Jesus fills your heart with greater capacity for love, and you see how gentle and meek is Jesus who loves us....it's inexpressible.

Blessed Mother Teresa says:

"I think that every time we say the Our Father, God looks at His hands, where we are etched. ‘See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands...’ (Isaiah 49:16). What a beautiful description and also expressive of the personal love God feels for each one of us!"

So just remember, whatever is going on in your life, God has a plan. And it is all being worked out by a Father who loves us so much, that he gave up His Son, to die for us. Look at a crucifix if you need reminding. :) For I believe that when we look at Jesus on the Cross, He is saying to us, "I love you this much."

Catholic Religious Vocations

Sit back, relax, and take it in. :-)

"Who am I?"

From an excerpt of the book: Spiritual Direction, by Henri Nouwen.

"The basic question "Who am I?" resurfaces throughout life. An old Talmudic tale sheds light on the true identity and value of each and every human being at the deepest level:

The Fugitive and the Rabbi

One day a young fugitive, trying to hide himself from the enemy, entered a small village. The people were kind to him and offered him a place to stay. But when the soldiers who sought the fugitive asked where he was hiding, everyone became very fearful.The soldiers threatened to burn the village and kill every person in it unless the young man was handed over to them before dawn.

The people went to the Rabbi and asked him what to do. Torn between handing over the boy to the enemy and having his people killed, the Rabbi withdrew to his room and read his bible, hoping to find an answer before dawn. In the early morning, his eyes fell on these words: "It is better that one man dies than that the whole people be lost."

Then the Rabbi closed the Bible, called the soldiers, and told them where the boy was hidden. And after the soldiers led the fugitive away to be killed, there was a feast in the village because the Rabbi had saved the lives of the people. But the Rabbi did not celebrate. Overcome with a deep sadness, he remained in his room.

That night an angel came to him and asked, "What have you done?" He said, "I handed over the fugitive to the enemy." Then the angel said: "But don't you know that you have handed over the Messiah?" "How could I know?" the Rabbi replied anxiously. Then the angel said: "If, instead of reading your Bible, you had visited this young man just once and looked into his eyes, you would have known."

Are we not challenged in daily life to look deeper into the eyes of the people we encounter - even if they are running away from something - and to see in them the face of God? Perhaps just knowing that they too are beloved children of God will be enought to prevent us from handing them over to the enemy. Are we not also challenged and encouraged to look more deeply at the way God sees u - beloved, accepted, affirmed, and worthy of salvation? Are we, like the fugitive, relections of the Messiah?

There is in each of us an inner voice of Love that says: "You are the beloved of God!"

[Unfortunately] The ultimate spiritual temptation is to doubt this fundamental truth about ourselves and trust in alternative identities. Sometimes we answer the question "Who am I?" with the response, "I am what I do." When I do good things an dhave a little success in life, I feel good about myself. But when I fail, I start getting depressed. And as I get older and can't do much, all I can say is, "Look what I did in my life...look, look, look, I did something good."

Or we might say, "I am what other people say about me." What people say about you has great power. When people speak well of you, you can walk around quite freely. But when somebody starts saying negative things about you, you might start feeling sad. When someone talks against you, it can cut deep into your heart. Why let what others say about you - good or ill - determine who you are?

You might also say, "I am what I have." For example, I am a Dutch person, with kind parents, a fine education, and good health. But as soon as I lose any of it, if a family member dies, if my health goes, or if I lose my property, then I can slip into inner darkness.

How much of our energy goes into defining ourselves by deciding "I am what I do," "I am what others say about me," or "I am what I have?" When that's the case, life often follows a repetitive up-and-down motion. When people speak well about me, and when I do good things, and when I have a lot, I am quite up and excited. But when I start losing, when I suddenly find out that I can't do some task anymore, when I learn that people talk against me, when I lose my friends, then I slip into the pit.

What I want to say to you is that this whole zigzag approach is wrong. I am not what I do, and you are not what you do, or what others say about you, or what you possess. "You are God's Beloved!"

The voice that speakes from above and from within whispers softly or declares loudly: "You are my Beloved son or daughter, on you my favor rests." It certainly is not easy to hear that voice in a world filled with voices that shout: "You are no good; you are ugly; you are worthless; you are despicable; you are nobody unless you can demonstrate the opposite." These negative voices are so loud and so persistent that it is easy to believe them. That's the trap of self-rejection. It is the trap of being a fugitive hiding from your truest identity.

Self rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that declares we are loved. Being the beloved [of God] expresses the core truth of our existence.

Dear friend, being the beloved is the origin and the fulfillment of the life of the Spirit...From the moment we claim the truth of being the beloved, we are faced with the call to become who we are...[St.] Augustine's words, "My soul is restless until it rests in you O God," capture well this journey. That I am always searching for God, always struggling to discover the fullness of Love, and always yearning for the complete truth, tells me that I have already been given a taste of God, of Love, and of Truth. I can only look for something that I have, to some degree, already found."

And so, I continue to look for that which I have already found. I continue to seek, and know that I will find. I remind myself of who I am. Know who you are. You are the Beloved of GOD!

Feast of St. Faustina Kowalska

"Have confidence, My child. Do not lose heart in coming for pardon, for I am always ready to forgive you. As often as you beg for it, you glorify My mercy." 
(Jesus to souls  - Diary of St. Faustina, 1488)

Today marks the feast of an amazing woman, St. Fuatsina Kowalska, one of the greatest saints of modern times. Because of Jesus' desire to work through St. Faustina, we are given a deep treasure that catapults us into the Divine Mercy of God.

Many will recognize the image of the Divine Mercy of Jesus (at left), which Jesus Himself, revealed to St. Faustina. St. Faustina also left us a storehouse of knowledge of the Divine Mercy of God in her Diary. If you can, read it. It will change your life. (See here find out more about it).

Prayed on ordinary Rosary beads, there is also the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. And, look for the Feast of Divine Mercy, commonly known as Divine Mercy Sunday, celebrated the Sunday after Easter.

Not only do we remember a great woman of God today, but also the message she brings from Jesus, that we can never fathom the depths of God's infinite mercy and love.

St. Faustina, Pray for us!

The Connection of the Cross

The following is a wonderful homily by St. John Chrysostom. It truly is amazing how connected we are from the beginning when God made the earth and the first man and woman. In God and through Jesus Christ the Son, together with the Holy Spirit, we are truly brought together as sons and daughters to share in the love of our Maker, Savior, and His Spirit. Jesus paid our penalty, and lifted us up with Him on His glorious cross.

"Adam and Christ, Eve and Mary

You have observed His outstanding triumph, the splendid achievement of the cross. Now let me tell you something even more remarkable, the manner in which He gained His victory, and you will marvel all the more.

Christ conquered the devil using the same means and the same weapons that the devil used to win. Let me tell you how this occurred.The symbols of our fall were a virgin, a tree and death. The virgin was Eve (for she had not yet known man); then there was the tree; and death was Adam's penalty. And again these three tokens of our destruction, the virgin, the tree and death, became the tokens of our victory. Instead of Eve there was Mary, instead of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, the wood of the cross; in stead of Adam's death, the death of Christ.

Do you see then that the devil was defeated by the very means he used to conquer? By a tree the devil laid Adam low, and by a tree Christ defeated him. The first tree sent men to the world below, but the second called back those who had already gone down. The first tree buried man, already naked and a captive; the second revealed the victor naked to all the world.

The first death condemned those who were born afterward, but the second death raised up even those who were born before. Who will speak of the powers of the Lord? Though dead we became immortal. Such is the great achievement of the cross. Do you now understand the victory and the way is was won?

Learn now how this victory was achieved without any labor or effort of our own. We bloodied no weapons, nor stood on the battle line, nor bore any wounds, nor saw any fighting, and yet we won the victory. It was the Lord's combat, but our was the crown. And since it is our victory, let us be like soldiers and raise joyous voices in song in praise of our achievement. Praising the Lord let us say: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?

All this was the glorious result of the cross. The cross is our trophy raised against the demons, our sword against sin, and the sword Christ used to pierce the serpent. The cross is the Father's will, the glory of the Only -begotten, the joy of the Spirit, the pride of the angels, the guarantee of the Church, Paul's boast, the bulwark of the saints, and the light of the entire world."

*Taken from the Office of Readings (p. 1660)

Feast of St. Thérèse of Lisieux

"I know of one means only by which to attain to perfection: LOVE. Let us love, since our heart is made for nothing else. Sometimes I seek another word to express Love, but in this land of exile the word which begins and ends (St. Augustine) is quite incapable of rendering the vibrations of the soul; we must then adhere to this simple and only word: TO LOVE."
- St. Thérèse

In honor of her as one of my favorite Saints, I will post a number of resources on St. Thérèse for anyone interested. See the 'Continue reading here' link below.To learn about her life in detail see Here. To hear more great words of wisdom on her from Archbishop Fulton Sheen, here is Part 1, and Part 2. To read a wonderful blog post on her devotion to the Merciful Love of Jesus, go Here. Check out the video below as well. :-).

"It does not require much time to make a saint,
it requires, only, much love."

 -Archbishop Fulton Sheen on St. Thérèse of Lisieux

"You Did It to Me"

On December 11, 1979, Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Here follows an excerpt of her message that day.

"Jesus makes Himself the hungry one, the naked one, the homeless one, the sick one, the one in prison, the lonely one, the unwanted one, and He says: "You did it to Me." He is hungry for our love, and this is the hunger of our poor people. This is the hunger that you and I must find, it may be in our own home...

I...[visited] a home where they had all these old parents...I saw in that home they had everything...but everybody was looking towards the door...And I turned to the sister and I asked..."How is i that these people who have everything here, why are they all looking towards the door, why are they not smiling?" I am so used to the smiles on our poor people, even the dying ones smile. And she said: "This is nearly every day...They are hurt because they are forgotten."...This is where love comes...Maybe in our own family we have somebody who is feeling lonely, who is feeling sick, who is feeling worried...Are we there to receive them?...

I was surprised in the West to see so many young boys and girls given into drugs, and I tried to find out why..."Because there is no one in the family to receive them." Father and mother are so busy they have no time...The child goes back to the street and gets involved in something...These are things that break peace.

But I feel the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a direct war, a direct killing, direct murder by the mother herself. And we read in the Scripture, For God says very clearly: "Even if a mother could forget her child, I will not forget you. I have carved you in the palm of my hand."...That unborn child has been carved in the hand of God...

Many people are very, very concerned with children in India, with the children of Africa where quite a number die, maybe of malnutrition, of hunger and so on, but millions are dying deliberately by the will of the mother. And this is what is the greates destroyer of peace today. Because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing in between...Let us ensure this year that we make every single child born, and unborn, wanted...Have we really made the children wanted?...

We picked up [a man] from the drain, half eaten with worms, and we brought him to the home: "I have lived like an animal in the street, but I am going to die like an angel, loved and cared for." And it was so wonderful to see the greatness of that man who could speak like that, who could die like that without blaming anybody, without cursing anybody, without comparing anything. Like an angel - this is the greatness of our people.

And that is why we believe what Jesus has said: "I was hungry, I was naked, I was homeless, I was unwanted, unloved, uncared for - and you did it to Me.""

*Excerpt taken from "Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light. The Private Writings of the 'Saint of Calcutta.'" Edited with commentary by Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C.